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Vrindavan Dham Parikrama is a customary practice for devotees and pilgrims visiting Vrindavan to walk around the town along the parikrama path. The distance of the parikrama is around 10 kilometers and great religious importance is attached to undertaking this on Ekadasi day (the eleventh day of the waxing-waning moon). By walking barefoot along the parikrama path, which takes about two to three hours, it is believed that one receives blessings from the sanctity of the locations. Parikrama, in Sanskrit, means ‘the path surrounding something. As the meaning suggests, it is a circular path taken around a deity, an idol, a temple, or a sacred hill. Circumambulation is the English term that refers to Parikrama and Pradakshina (meaning ‘to the right) both of which are referred to in a religious context. It is an integral part of Hindu worship and a symbol of devotion and prayer. A Parikrama or Pradakshina is only done in a clockwise fashion, from left to right, very rarely otherwise. Most temple idols and deities face east or the rising sun and great significance is attached to the pradakshina; the number of rounds differs from deity to deity and sometimes, festivals and occasions. Usually done after the daily worship or pooja offered to the presiding deity, it is done with numbered or measured steps and with chanting of shlokas and mantras. In Hinduism, parikrama is done around Agni, the sacred fire, as in a marriage ceremony, the tulsi plant, and the neem and peepul trees. Some examples of parikramas are Vrindavan, Braj Mandal, Govardhana hill, Varanasi, Mathura-Vrindavan, Panchkosi, etc. Music: @meditativemind
