By Swami Harshananda
Ādityatirtha literally means ‘place of pilgrimage connected to Āditya or Sun-god’.
Places of pilgrimage have always played a very important part in the life of a devotee. Endowed with natural beauty and conducive to peace and blessedness these places have been attracting millions of pious pilgrims since millennia.
Ādityatirtha is one of the less known places of pilgrimage mentioned in some of the scriptures.[1] Situated on the bank of the now invisible Sarasvatī river, the place got its name on account of its association with Āditya (Sun), who performed a sacrifice there and obtained lordship over all bright objects. It was here that Lord Viṣṇu killed the demons Madhu and Kaiṭabha.
Again it was in this sacred place that great sages like Vyāsa, Kṛṣṇa and Suka performed austerities and gained perfection. The Padmapurāṇa locates it at the confluence of the river Sābhramatī with the sea.
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore