Varaha Purana 147.45: Adhyaya 147, Shloka 45
The Sacred Merit of Goniṣkramaṇa
the Tīrtha of the Cows’ Emergence/Release
Uttara Bhāga · Kṣetra-māhātmya (Ritual Movement and Circumambulation)
पञ्चक्रोशश्च विस्तारः पर्वतः परिमण्डलः ॥ तत्र भ्रमति यो भद्रे कुर्याच्चैव प्रदक्षिणम् ॥
pañcakrośaś ca vistāraḥ parvataḥ parimaṇḍalaḥ || tatra bhramati yo bhadre kuryāc caiva pradakṣiṇam ||
paMchakroshashcha vistAraH parvataH parimaNDalaH || tatra bhramati yo bhadre kuryAchchaiva pradakShiNam
यह पाँच कोश चौड़ा है और पहाड़ गोल है। जो भी वहाँ घूमता है, उससे प्रदक्षिणा करनी चाहिए।
Sandhi Notes
- पञ्चक्रोशश्च = पञ्चक्रोशः + च
- कुर्याच्चैव = कुर्यात् + च + एव
Varāha
Devotional, ready to follow ritual guidance
What is the correct practice for one who visits and moves about this circular mountain-kṣetra?
Right action in sacred space is not random wandering but intentional, reverential movement (pradakṣiṇā) that expresses surrender and cosmic harmony.
When visiting the kṣetra, keep the deity/center to one’s right, maintain purity and mindfulness, and complete the prescribed circuit rather than treating it as mere travel.
Varāha instructs Bhu Devī (‘bhadre’) on proper pilgrimage conduct—walking the circuit and performing pradakṣiṇā.
The ‘circular mountain’ functions as a ritual maṇḍala; pradakṣiṇā mirrors cosmic order (ṛta) and the sun’s rightward course, placing the devotee within a living yajña-circuit.
Pradakṣiṇā = circumambulation of the ‘yajña-kṣetra’; the five-krośa measure evokes a bounded sacrificial arena; the parvata as axis/altar around which movement becomes offering.
Embodied devotion (kāyika-bhakti) becomes a means of inner alignment: circling the sacred center symbolizes turning life around the Supreme rather than the ego.
Pilgrims who traverse the five-krośa circular mountain should perform pradakṣiṇā as a prescribed act of reverence.
Observance accrues tīrtha-puṇya and aligns the pilgrim with the kṣetra’s sanctity; neglect implies loss of the intended fruit (reduced merit).
Foreshadowing: Vraja is later defined by parikramā practices (Vraja-maṇḍala parikramā) centered on Kṛṣṇa’s līlā-sthalas; this verse supplies an early template of mandala-circumambulation.
Nearby verses specifying distances and fruits of dying/merit in the kṣetra
FAQs
It documents the linkage between spatial circuits and ritual action, a key feature of pilgrimage systems where geography becomes a liturgical route.
A circular mountain within the described kṣetra, measured as a five-krośa circuit; the specific modern site cannot be fixed from this excerpt alone.
It recommends respectful, structured engagement with a heritage landscape through regulated movement (pradakṣiṇā).
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