Yatras

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A religious pilgrimage or journey taken for spiritual purposes, often to sacred sites or places of significance
2. A journey undertaken by devotees to honor religious significance, seeking spiritual growth or fulfillment during the travels
3. Referring to the act of traveling to holy locations as part of a devotional practice in certain cultural traditions

Etymology: "Yatras" is the plural of "yatra," a Sanskrit noun meaning a journey, procession or pilgrimage. The word derives from "yātrā," formed from the verb root "yā," "to go," so at its core it is simply a going or a movement from one place to another. In the religious sense, that plain act of travelling became the defining feature of the practice: a yatra is the journey itself, and the destination matters less than the walking, the effort and the movement toward it. Because the English word is a direct borrowing from Sanskrit, it keeps the original sense of motion rather than an abstract idea of devotion. Its plural, "yatras," simply refers to several such journeys, whether a single tradition's annual routes or many separate pilgrimages undertaken across a region.

Synonyms: pilgrimages, journeys, travels