Parikrama or Pradakshina is clockwise circumambulation of sacred entities, and the path along which this is performed, as practiced in the Indic religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. In Buddhism, it refers only to the path along which this is performed. In Indic religions, the parikrama is typically done after completion of traditional worship (puja) and after paying homage to the deity. Parikrama must be done with dhyāna (spiritual contemplation and meditation).
In Hinduism, parikrama of religious deities in a temple, sacred rivers, sacred hills and a close cluster of temples as a symbol of prayer is an integral part of Hindu worship.http://www.hindunet.org/faq/fom-serv/cache/31.html Why do we perform Pradakshina or Parikrama?http://www.hinduism.co.za/kaabaa.htm Kaaba a Hindu Temple?Hindus invariably circumambulate around their deities Hindu temple architecture include various Pradakshina paths. There could a parikrama path surrounding the chief deity and several other broader paths concentric to the main path, although it is not uncommon to find non-concentric parikrama paths. At times the outermost parikrama path covers the whole village, town, city, thereby implying that the length of the path can stretch. Parikrama is also done around the sacred Peepal tree, tulsi (Indian basil plant), and agni (sacred fire or the fire God),http://www.kamat.com/indica/culture/sub-cultures/pradakshina.htm The Concept of Pradaksina and agni parikrama, known as Mangal phera, is a part of the Hindu wedding ceremony.
In Sikhism, the term is used in an architectural manner to refer to a circumambulatory terrace around a sarovar (temple-tank), such as the one found in the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar.
Etymology
Parikrama means "the path surrounding something" in Sanskrit, and is also known as Pradakshina ("to the right"), representing circumambulation. Both words are mostly used in the context of religious practice of circumambulation of sacred entities.
Parikrama is defined as "Circumbulatory or pathway around the shrine of the temples by keeping time is a common form of prayer in India. It includes Narmada, Shetrunjaya, Girnar. This pathway made of stone around the shrine is called Pradakshina path."
Important pilgrimage circuits of indic-faiths
See yatra circuits.
Practices of Indian-origin religions
Buddhist practice
In Buddhism circumambulation or pradakhshina has been an important ritual since early times. Sacred structures such as stupa or images have a pradakhshina path around them. The chaitya is a distinct ancient type of building that only survives in Indian rock-cut architecture, a hall with a stupa at the far end, always built with a rounded apse-like end, to allow pradakhshina.Michell, George, The Penguin Guide to the Monuments of India, Volume 1: Buddhist, Jain, Hindu, p. 66, 1989, Penguin Books, A mandapa (prayer hall), added in the front transforms the original stupa into the stupa shrine — as a sacred entity which requires a circumambulatory path around it for the purpose of worship. The whole structure is planned in such a way that it becomes the centre of the mandala and symbolically represents Mount Meru.
Within Pure Land Buddhism, circumambulation became closely associated with nenbutsu practice, especially in intensive retreat settings. Practitioners commonly circumambulate a statue or image of Amitābha Buddha while continuously reciting his name, thereby uniting physical movement, vocalization, and mental focus on rebirth in the Pure Land. This form of practice is systematized in the Tiantai tradition by Zhiyi (538–597) in his formulation of the constantly walking samādhi, one of the four samādhi types described in the Mohe zhiguan. In this samādhi, practitioners circumambulate an image of Amitābha for an extended period, traditionally ninety days, without sitting or lying down, while maintaining uninterrupted mindfulness of the Buddha. Through this disciplined and sustained circumambulation, the practitioner aims to stabilize concentration, purify karmic obscurations, and cultivate direct contemplative engagement with the Buddha as the object of practice.
Buddhist faithful may perform pradakhshina by prostrating themselves at every step, thus greatly prolonging the process. The most extreme pradakhshina is that of the sacred Mount Kailash in Tibet, a mountain trek some 52 km (32 mi) long, at altitudes between 15,000 ft (4,600 m) and 18,200 ft (5,500 m). This may also be undertaken by Hindus and Jains, and some pilgrims progress by prostration, taking some weeks.
Hindu practices
Significance and symbolism of parikrama
The temple structure reflects the symbolism of the Hindu association of the spiritual transition from daily life to spiritual perfection as a journey through stages. Parikrama paths are present through which worshipers move in a clockwise direction, starting at the sanctuary doorway and moving inward toward the inner sanctum where the deity is enshrined. This represents translation of the spiritual concept of transition through levels in life into bodily movements by the worshipers as they move inwardly through ambulatory halls to the most sacred centre of spiritual energy of the deity.
Number of Pradakshinas for various deities For each deity, the minimum number of Pradakshinas to be done are specified.
Ganesha: 1 or 3 Hanuman: 3 Shiva: half or 3 Vishnu: 3 or 4 Ayyappa: 5 Subrahmanya (Kartikeya): 6 Durga, Devi: 1, 4 or 9 Peepal Tree: 7 Surya : 2 or 7
The Swayambhu Agama says that doing Pradakshina 21 times to any deity is sanctified.
Shayana Pradakshinam
Shayana Pradakshinam is done by prostration in a lying posture. It starts with a Sashtanga Namaskara in front of the sanctum sanctorum. In Sashtanga Namaskara, the devotees have six parts of their bodies touching the ground. Thus forehead, chest, stomach, hands, knees and toes touch the ground. The folded hands will be directed always towards the deity. In this pose, the devotees circumambulate on the Pradakshina path. The relatives and friends of the devotees help them to roll around.
Shaivite Pradakshinam
In Shiva temples, the devotees start the Pradakshina as usual from the front and go clockwise until they reach the gomukhi (the outlet for abhisheka water) from the Sanctum Sanctorum. As usual the clockwise perambulation is maintained outside of the Bali stones. The drainage outlet for the ritual ablution offered on the Shiva Linga with water, milk, curd, coconut water, ghee, ashes (bhasma) etc. is not to be crossed. So the worshippers have to return in anti-clockwise direction until they reach the other side of the drainage outlet to complete the circle. During this anti-clockwise perambulation, the devotee should tread a path inside of the Bali stones. The Bali stones are always to be kept the right side of the devotees. After reaching the drainage outlet, they have to return to the front in the clockwise direction keeping the path outside the Bali stones. Thus one Pradakshina is completed.
A legend related to goddess Parvati (Shiva's wife) and her two sons illustrates the importance of Pradakshina or Parikrama. It is said that the goddess asked her two sons to circumambulate the universe to gain worldly knowledge. While her first son Kartikeyan spent decades to go round the world on his peacock, her second son Ganesha walked a full circle around his mother and justified his action by stating that the World was contained within the figure of the mother. This legend justifies the importance that Hindus attach to the practice of Parikrama, and also the importance of motherhood in Hindu psychology. Another version of the same story replaces the figure of Parvati with Shiva himself.
Comparison with non-Indic religions
Like Parikrama in Hinduism, Muslims perform circumambulation around Kaaba during their Hajj which they call tawaf.World Faiths, teach yourself – Islam by Ruqaiyyah Maqsood. page 76 The circumambulation during Hajj is done in a counterclockwise manner. In contrast, Hindu, Buddhist as well as Jain traditions circumambulate a shrine or sacred site clockwise. The only exception is during paying last respects to a dead body during a cremation or event marking a funeral, where the traditional circumambulation in Indian religions is counter-clockwise.
Sites
Hindu locations
Ayodhya's Lord Rama parikramas
In the temple city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh state of India, there are following 5 Parikramas all of which commence by bathing in the holy Sarayu River first and by performing sankalpa ritual of moral oath and the pilgrimage ends at the same place at the Sarayu by releasing this sankalpa oath. Parikramas connect the three-tier Hindu cosmology, namely the outer-most macro (Mandala), the middle-one meso (Kshetra), and micro (Puri the garbhagriha inner sanctum), via the shrines en route. Parikramas, each forming an irregular circular loop, are listed in the order of increasing length from the innermost to the outermost:Singh, Rana P.B.; Kumar, Sarvesh, and Rana, Pravin S. (2021), Holy-Heritage cities and Pilgrimage Tourism in Purvanchal, India: Perspective, Prospects, and Sustainability. South Asian Affairs, ISSN 1349-8851, The Center for South Asian Studies, Gifu Women’s University, Gifu, Japan, Vol. 18: pp. 47-72.
Antargrihi Parikrama (Sanctum Sanctorum Circumambulation): of the inner sanctum sanctorum of the Ram Mandir - the birthplace of Lord Rama. Ramkot ki Parikrama (Rama Birthplace Temple Circumambulation): around the Rama Birthplace temple complex. Ayodhya Panchakoshi Parikrama (5 Kos Circumambulation) - nearly 15 km: cover 30 most sacred places related to the birthplace of Lord Rama which can be completed within six hours, through traditionally it is performed over a two-day period. Over two hundred thousand devotees including around 50 thousand sadhus from Prayag (Allahabad), Haridwar, Mathura and Kashi (Varanasi) participate in the parikrama, and full security arrangements are made for the religious occasion.Ayodhya Ayodhya Chaudahakoshi Parikrama (14 Kos Circumambulation) - nearly 42 km: from birthplace (Ramakot) to death-place (Guptar Ghat) linking 36 sacred places related to the life experience of Lord Rama. Ayodhya Chaurasikoshi Parikrama (84 Kos Circumambulation) - over 275 km: the oldest and the longest route linked with 148 sacred places and 84 lakh (8.4 million) yonis. The circumambulation path has been notified as the National Highway NH-227B, upgraded at the cost of INR3,350 crore to the 45-meter wide, 4-lane, paved-shoulder with flood lights and pilgrim facilities along the way passing through 5 districts of Ayodhya, Ambedkar Nagar, Barabanki, Basti, Gonda connecting temples, tirthas, ashrams, kundas, ghats, etc.अयोध्या में रामजन्मभूमि पर भव्य राममंदिर निर्माण के बीच रामनगरी अयोध्या के इर्द-गिर्द से गुजरने वाली 84 कोसी परिक्रमा मार्ग को राष्ट्रीय राजमार्ग घोषित कर फोर लेन सड़क का निर्माण कराया जा रहा है।, Live Hindustan, 16 Apr 2025.
Braj's Lord Krishna parikramas
Braj or Vraj area has several parikramas: