Crossword Genius

Fellow traveller on vacation in front of a sacred text (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

mantra

'sacred text' is the definition.
(mantra is a kind of sacred text)

'fellow traveller on vacation in front of a' is the wordplay.
'fellow' becomes 'man' (fellow can mean a man).
'on vacation' suggests removing the centre (after the inside letters have vacated the word).
'in front of' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (some letters go in front of others).
'traveller' with its centre taken out is 'tr'.
'man'+'tr'+'a'='MANTRA'

(Other definitions for mantra that I've seen before include "Buddhist chant" , "oft repeated stock phrase?" , "Sacred word for repetition" , "Word or phrase repeated as aid to concentration" , "Words repeated as an aid to meditation" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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