
Mathurā-pradakṣiṇā-vidhiḥ
Ritual-Manual (Tīrtha-Māhātmya) with Sacred Geography
Prithvi ne Varaha se pucha ki log kaise sab tirtho ka phal pa sakein. Varaha ne kaha ki poori dharti ka parikrama karna bahut mushkil hai. Ye kaam sirf devta, rishi aur veer log kar sakte hain. Lekin Mathura ka parikrama karne se wohi phal milta hai. Yeh phal to saath dweep aur poori duniya ke yatra se bhi zyada hai. Prithvi ne poocha ki yeh kaise karna hai. Varaha ne bataya ki Brahma aur Saptarshi pehle yeh karte the. Unhone ek khaas din par iska aarambh kiya tha.
Verse 1
अथ मथुराप्रदक्षिणा विध्यादिकम् ॥ धरण्युवाच ॥ श्रुतं सुबहुशो देव तीर्थानां गुणविस्तरम् ॥ प्रोच्यमानं तु पुण्याख्यं त्वत्प्रसादाज्जनार्दन ॥
Ab Mathura ki parikrama kaise karni hai, uska poora batayenge. Dharti ne kaha, Bhagwan, maine bahut baar suna hai ki teerthon ke baare mein aapne kitna detail bataya hai. Yeh sab aapki kripa se hua hai, Janardan.
Verse 2
न दानैर्न तपोभिश्च न यज्ञैस्तादृशं फलम् ॥ भूमेः प्रदक्षिणायाश्च यादृशं तीर्थसेवया ॥
Koi bhi daan de, tapasya kare ya yagya kare, usse itna phal nahi milta. Jitna phal dharti ki parikrama se milta hai. Aur teerthon mein jaane se bhi wahi phal milta hai.
Verse 3
भुवश्च चतुरन्तायास्तीर्थप्रक्रमणं हरे ॥ सर्वतीर्थाभिगमनमस्ति दुर्गतरे नृणाम् ॥
Hari, yeh dharti chaaron taraf faili hui hai. Usme sab teerthon pe jaana insaan ke liye bahut mushkil kaam hai. Bahut time lagta hai aur bahut mehnat padti hai.
Verse 4
अस्ति कश्चिदुपायोऽत्र येन सम्यगवाप्यते ॥ प्रसादसुमुखो भूत्वा तत्सर्वं कथयस्व मे ॥
Koi aisa simple tarika hai kya jisse yeh sab sahi se mil jaye? Aap khush ho ke mujhe poora bataiye ki karna kya hai.
Verse 5
श्रीवराह उवाच ॥ भद्रे शृणु महत्पुण्यं पृथिव्यां सर्वतोदिशम् ॥ परिक्रम्य यथाध्वानं प्रमाणगणितं शुभम् ॥
Varah Bhagwan bole, beta, suno. Dharti ke chaaron taraf parikrama karne mein bahut punya hai. Main batata hoon ki raasta kitna lamba hai aur kaise calculate karte hain.
Verse 6
भूम्याः परिक्रमॆ सम्यक्योजनानां प्रमाणकम् ॥ षष्टिकोṭिसहस्राणि षष्टिकोṭिशतानि च ॥
Jab poori dharti ka parikrama karte hain, toh uska naap yojanon mein yeh hai. Sathiyon ke hajaaron aur sathiyon ke sau, itna lamba hai yeh maan.
Verse 7
तीर्थान्येतानि देवाश्च तारकाश्च नभस्थले ॥ गणितानि समस्तानि वायुना जगदायुषा ॥
Yeh sab teerth, devta aur aasmaan mein taare, sab ka hisaab Vayu ne nikala hai. Vayu hai poori duniya ki jaan.
Verse 8
ब्रह्मणा लोमशेनैव नारदेन ध्रुवेण च ॥ जाम्बवत्याश्च पुत्रेण रावणेन हनूमता ॥
Brahma ne yeh kaam kiya, Lomash ne kiya, Narad ne kiya, Dhruv ne bhi kiya. Jambavati ke bete ne kiya, Ravan ne kiya, Hanuman ne bhi kiya.
Verse 9
एतैरनेकधा देवैः ससागरवना मही ॥ क्रमिता बलिना चैव बाह्यमण्डलरेखया ॥
In devtaton ne kai tarah se dharti ka parikrama kiya. Samundar aur jungle sab saath mein tha. Bali ne bhi kiya, bahar ki line ke saath.
Verse 10
योगसिद्धैस्तथा कैश्चिन्मार्कण्डेयमुखैरपि ॥ क्रमिता न क्रमिष्यन्ति न पूर्वे नापरे जनाः ॥
Yog siddh logon ne bhi yeh parikrama kiya, Markandeya jaise logon ne kiya. Lekin aam logon ke liye yeh mushkil hai. Na pehle ke log kar paaye, na aane wale kar paayenge.
Verse 11
अल्पसत्त्वबलोपेतैः प्राणिभिश्चाल्पबुद्धिभिः ॥ मनसापि न शक्यंते गमनस्य च का कथा ॥
Jin logon mein taakat nahi aur samajh bhi kam hai, unke liye yeh baat samajhna bhi mushkil hai. Agar soch bhi nahi sakte toh jaana toh door ki baat hai.
Verse 12
सप्तद्वीपे च तीर्थानां भ्रमणाद्यत्फलं भवेत् ॥ प्राप्यते चाधिकं तस्मान्मथुरायाः परिक्रमॆ ॥
Saat dweep ke saare teerthon mein ghoomega toh jo punya milega. Usse bhi zyada punya Mathura ke chakkar lagaane se milta hai.
Verse 13
मथुरां समनुप्राप्य यस्तु कुर्यात्प्रदक्षिणम् ॥ प्रदक्षिणीकृता तेन सप्तद्वीपा वसुन्धरा ॥
Jo koi Mathura pahunch ke uska chakkar lagata hai. Usne poori duniya ke saat dweep ka chakkar laga diya, yeh maana jaata hai.
Verse 14
तस्मात्सर्वप्रयत्नेन सर्वकामानभीप्सुभिः ॥ कर्तव्या मथुरां प्राप्य नरैः सम्यक्प्रदक्षिणा ॥
Isliye jo log apni saari ichcha poori karna chahte hain. Unhe poori koshish ke saath Mathura jaana chahiye aur wahan chakkar lagaana chahiye.
Verse 15
धरण्युवाच ॥ यथाविधानक्रमणं मथुरायामवाप्यते ॥ प्रदक्षिणाफलं सम्यगनुक्रमविधिं वद ॥
Dharani ne poocha ki Mathura mein chakkar kaise lagate hain, sahi tarika batao. Iska kya fal milta hai, woh bhi batao.
Verse 16
श्रीवराह उवाच ॥ पुरा सप्तर्षिभिः पृष्टो ब्रह्मा लोकपितामहः ॥ इदमेव पुरा प्रोक्तं यथा पृष्टा त्वया ह्यहम् ॥
Varaha bhagwan bole. Pehle bhi saat rishi Brahma se yehi baat pooch ke aaye the. Brahma duniya ke bade hain. Unhone bhi wahi bataya jo main ab tumhe bata raha hoon.
Verse 17
श्रुत्वा सर्वपुराणोक्तं तीर्थानुक्रमणं परम् ॥ पृथिव्याश्चतुरन्तायास्तथा तद्वक्तुमुद्यतः ॥
Puraanon mein jo tirth likhe hain, sab sun liye. Unka order bhi samajh liya. Phir poori dharti ke charo taraf ke tirth batane ke liye taiyaar ho gaye.
Verse 18
सर्वदेवेषु यत्पुण्यं सर्वतीर्थेषु यत्फलम् ॥ सर्वदानॆषु यत्प्रोक्तमिष्टापूर्त्तेषु चैव हि ॥
Sab bhagwanon mein jo punya hai, woh yahan milega. Sab tirthon ka phal yahan paaoge. Sab tarah ke daan ka jo phal bataya gaya hai, woh bhi yahin hai.
Verse 19
इत्युक्त्वा ऋषयो जग्मुरभिवाद्य स्वयम्भुवम् ॥ आगत्य मथुरां देवीमाश्रमांश्चक्रिरे द्विजाः ॥
Yeh keh ke rishi chale gaye. Brahma ko pranam kiya aur nikal pade. Mathura pahunche, jo ek pavitra jagah hai. Wahan jaake ashram bana liye.
Verse 20
ध्रुवेण सहिताश्चासन्कामयाना स्तु तद्दिनम् ॥ कुमुदस्य तु मासस्य नवम्यां शुक्लपक्षके ॥
Dhruva bhi unke saath tha. Woh us din ka intezaar kar rahe the. Kumuda mahine ki shukla paksh ki navami thi. Woh din bahut achha tha.
Verse 21
मथुरोपक्रमं कृत्वा सर्वपापैः प्रमुच्यते।
Mathura ka yeh vrat shuru karne se insaan ke saare paap dhul jaate hain. Yeh poora rasta chalna hai, tab jaake paap mukt hote ho.
Verse 22
अन्तरा भ्रमणेनैव सुग्रीवेण महात्मना ॥ तथा च पूर्वं देवेन्द्रैः पञ्चभिः पाण्डुनन्दनैः।
Sugreev ne bhi yahi parikrama kiya tha. Pandavon ne bhi kiya, woh bhi dev lok ke paanch bade log the.
Verse 23
यत्फलं लभ्यते विप्रास्तस्माच्छतगुणोत्तरम् ॥ प्रक्रमान्मथुरायास्तु सत्यमेतद्वदामि वः।
Dusri jagah jo phal milta hai, usse sau guna zyada Mathura mein milta hai. Main tumhe sach bata raha hoon, yeh pakka hai.
Pṛthivī (Dharaṇī), having heard many tīrtha-māhātmyas, asks Varāha for a practical method by which ordinary humans can gain the otherwise hard-to-attain merit of visiting all sacred places and circumambulating the entire earth.
Varāha explains the immense, numerically conceived scale of terrestrial circumambulation (earth with oceans and forests; saptadvīpa scope) and notes that such feats are achievable only by extraordinary beings; he then teaches a compensatory principle: Mathurā-pradakṣiṇā yields the fruit of (or surpasses) pilgrimage across the seven continents and the whole earth.
Pressed for exact procedure, Varāha begins to anchor the practice in authoritative precedent—Brahmā (Svayambhū) and the Saptarṣis—introducing a specific calendrical starting point (navamī, śukla-pakṣa, month Kumuda) as the ritual’s proper marker and legitimizing the substitute-practice as scripturally transmitted.
Mathurā; pṛthivī/caturantā-bhūmi (the four-cornered earth); saptadvīpa (the seven continents/island-continents); sāgara-vanā mahī (earth with oceans and forests); nabhas (celestial sphere, in reference to tārakāḥ).
The text frames an accessibility principle in sacred practice: because full terrestrial and multi-tīrtha pilgrimage is portrayed as impracticable for most humans, Mathurā-pradakṣiṇā is taught as a concentrated substitute that yields comparable or greater merit. In the dialogue form, this also functions as an Earth-centered ethic, where honoring a specific terrestrial locus (Mathurā) is presented as reverence toward Pṛthivī and her sacred geography.
A specific calendrical marker is given: navamī (the ninth lunar day) in the śukla-pakṣa (bright fortnight) of the month Kumuda. The narrative also situates the practice in a precedent episode involving sages arriving and commencing the Mathurā undertaking on that day.
Through Pṛthivī’s inquiry and Varāha’s response, the chapter treats the earth as a measurable, sacred whole (with oceans and forests) and links human movement (pradakṣiṇā/parikramaṇa) to honoring terrestrial integrity. By shifting from exhaustive resource-intensive travel to a localized circumambulation, the text implicitly promotes a model of devotion that reduces the burden of traversing the entire world while still affirming the sanctity of Pṛthivī’s landscapes.
The chapter references Brahmā (Svayambhū) and the Saptarṣis as transmitters of the ritual account, and names multiple exemplary figures associated with cosmic/terrestrial circumambulation or measurement: Lomāśa, Nārada, Dhruva, Jāmbavatī’s son, Rāvaṇa, Hanūmat, Bali, Sugrīva, and the five Pāṇḍava brothers (Pāṇḍu-nandanāḥ).
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