[Midhun Narayan]

Pradakshina is going around or circumambulating the deity with devotion. It is one of the aspects of Shodashopachara. Shodashopachara is the worship of deity done in sixteen segments. When we enter a Hindu temple, we see a lot of devotees going around the temple garbha griha, the innermost chamber of the shrine housing the temple deity, with their hands folded in front of them and their eyes closed (mostly), Commonly known as pradakshina (circumambulation) – this Sanksrit word means ‘moving around a sacred object for a good cause’.

Pradakshina literally means: to the right (Dakshina means right). So in Pradakshina, one goes to the left hand direction to keep the deity around the Sanctum Sanctorum on one’s right side. Pradakshina is one of the customary aspects of going to a temple.
With regular chanting of divine Veda manthras in the temple it is believed that there will be accumulation and roaming of positive vibrations/energy around the idol/temple. While making Pradakshina the mind will get purified, the devotee absorbs the positive energy and gets the divine aura that surrounds the Deity.

Pradakshina is a form of Prayaschitta (expiation). It should be performed with utmost humility and devotion in a meditative mood with focus on the concerned deity and not just as a routine. Pradakshina is performed as a mark of respect, obeisance and total surrender to the deity. It should be performed slowly and not in a hurry with our thoughts and actions dwelled on the God with folded hands. We bow to the supreme divinity within us, chanting

yaani kaani cha paapaani janmanthara kruthaani cha
taani taani vinashyanthi pradakshina pade pade
“All sins committed by an individual from innumerable past births are destroyed by each step taken during Pradakshina”
From the Rig Vedic verses Rig: 2.42.3 and 2.43.1

“Pra as an adjective means very much. Pra can also come as a prefix to verbs and take on the meaning of onward, forward. Onward to Dakshinam or south is pradakshina . When one does that, one’s right side is facing the deity inside the garbhagraham and the circumambulation is Dakshinacharam or auspicous as recommended by the Veda.”

According to Skanda Purana Ch.9 v.68:
Pradakshina – PRA + DA +KSHI + NA
PRA – Dispelling Sin
DA – bestowing the desire
KSHI – Causing the destruction of Karma
NA – Salvation

Thus, Salvation of destruction of Karma and giving boon of having their own desire by destroying their SIN.
“The sins committed by the mind are destroyed by the first step (of pradaksina), the sins committed in speech by the second and the sins perpetrated by the body by the third step.”
(Skanda Purana Ch.9 v.28)

Types of Pradakshina
– Atma pradakshina : Circumambulating around oneself, acknowledging the atma in himself.
– Giri Valam: Circumambulating around a hill.
– Adi pradakshina: Circumambulating using very short steps; the heel of the foot touches the toes of the other foot and the person walks forward.
– Anga pradakshina: After bathing in the temple’s pond or well, the person, with wet clothes, rolls around the temple chanting the Lord’s name.
– Mutti podudal: Circumambulating the temple on one’s knees.

Parikrama is done around :
sacred fire (Agni – the fire God)
Tulsi plant
Peepal tree
Sacred Cow (Go Pradakshina)

At times the outermost parikrama path covers the whole village/town/city, thereby implying that the length of the path can stretch.
Many people take vows to perform pradakshina rounds if their requests for divine help at the time of need are met. So it is common to see Hindus perform 10, 108, or 1000 rounds after a successful surgery, after a wedding or after the birth of a child. Each step of a pradakshina is said to eliminate sins that a person had committed in his present and past lives. It is not necessary that a pradakshina has to be only in a temple.

Usually the pradakshina is done by circumambulating the whole temple but in Shiva temples, there is a slight variation. In a Shiva temple, one can go around the temple till the Gomukhi. The Gomukhi is the outlet where the water used for the Lord’s abhishekam is drained out. This Gomukhi is not to be crossed in a Shiva temple, as it is considered disrespectful to the deity. To complete the pradakshina, devotees have to turn around and go to the other side of the temple, to the other end of the Gomukha. The Gomukha should not be crossed under any circumstances.

How to perform it
Kalika Purana mentions the method of Pradakshina as,
Prasarya dakshinamhastam svayamnamrashirahpunah
Dakshinam darshayanparshvamanasapi cha dakshinah
(By spreading the right hand in the front, by bending head and by showing our right part of body to the god and also by being modest, one should make Pradakshina.)

Legend
There is a popular legend about the significance of Pradakshina. It is said that the Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva asked thier two sons, Ganesha and Subrahmanya, to get “worldly experience” in the pursuit of knowledge and asked them take a “tour of the universe”. Subrahmanya spent decades traveling the world on his peacock. Ganesha walked a full circle around his mother and father and justified his action by stating that “since the world is contained within you, I have already encircled the world”!

Thus Ganesha justifies the importance that Hindus attach to the practice of Parikrama.

Significance of doing Pradakshina
We cannot draw a circle without a center point. The Lord is the center, source and essence of our lives. We acknowledge this by performing Pradakshina recognizing him as the focal point in our lives, we go about doing our daily chores. This is the significance of Pradakshina.
Scientifically speaking, every point on the circumference of a circle is equidistant from the centre. This means that wherever we may be or whoever we may be, we are equally close to the Lord. His grace flows towards us without partiality.
According to Adi Sankaracharya, real Pradakshina is the meditation that thousands of universes are revolving around the Great Lord, the unmoving centre of all forms.

Pradakshina in a clockwise manner
It is normal to do Pradakshinam always in clockwise direction. This is because we assume that the Lord is always on our right side. This reminds us we must always lead a righteous life, in the right path called Dharma.
We always assume God is the centre of our existence. He also exists everywhere so when we do Pradakshina we accept that our actions and thoughts are always centered around God. The centre point is always fixed and remains the same at whatever distance we do the pradakshina so we are reminded of the eternal truth that God is the centre of Gravity and the main focus of our existence this is the main principle of Pradakshinam.

The world is always rotating around itself on its own axis as well as around the sun. All the planets also rotate on their own axes. Just like in the Solar system, the sun is at the centre around which the planets rotate, Our Pradakshinam should be done with God at the center. The Pradakshinam should be done slowly an never in a hurry. Our thoughts and action must dwell in God.

Number of Pradakshinas
For each deity, the minimum number of Pradakshinas to be done are specified:
Ganesha: 1
Surya (Sun): 2
Shiva: 3
Vishnu, Durga, Devi: 4
Ayyappa: 5
Subrahmanya (Karthikeya): 6
Peepal Tree: 7

Pradakshina offered to Shiva should be half. The water outlet of the Shivalingam should not be crossed during Pradakshina as it is a part of Shiva lingam. Hence the Pradakshina should be half. This Pradakshina is called as Somasutri Pradakshina.
The Swayambhu Agama says that doing Pradakshina 21 times to any deity is sanctified.

Adding to this Our scriptures Say –
Matrudevo bhava,
Pitrudevo bhava,
Acharyadevo bhava.

Meaning: May you consider your Parents and Teachers as you would the Lord. With this in mind we also do pradakshina around our parents and divine personages.

[Midhun Narayan]

Let me give quotes/ views of various spiritual gurus on the Shiva Panchakshari mantra. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami writes that,

‘Na is the Lord’s concealing grace, Ma is the world, Shi stands for Siva, Va is His revealing grace, Ya is the soul.’ He continues,elaborating,that,”the five elements, too, are embodied in this ancient formula for invocation. Na is earth, Ma is water, Shi is fire, Va is air, and Ya is ether, or akāsa. Many are its meanings.”

Paramahamsa Muktananda also eloquently explains this point and tells of how the Om Namah Shivaya mantra benefits ones mind and spiritual path, he speaks of the nadi’s, the channels of pranas and the purity of mind. Repeating this mantra rids the mind of tamas and rajas, making it suitable for lofty spiritual experience.

Paramahamsa Muktanandaji has said the following words in relation to the Om Namah Shivaya mantra:-

“Underlying this mantra is a great secret. As we chant the five syllables Namah Shivaya, the five elements that comprise the body are purified. Each of the syllables corresponds to one of these elements: the syllable na to the earth element, the syllable ma to the water element, the syllable shi to the fire element, the syllable va to the air element, and the syllable ya to the ether element. Each syllable purifies its corresponding element. As long as the body and the mind are not completely pure, we cannot fully benefit from our spiritual practice. Therefore, we repeat Om Namah Shivaya to help cleanse them.”

In a certain Yoga Magazine, Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati has expounded somewhat on the vibrational quality of the mantra and its relationship with the main chakras, he says

“When we repeat the mantra Om Namah Shivaya, for example, we are not becoming a Shaivite, we are not adoring or worshipping a deity, but we are stimulating the force of these different chakras. ” Om” is the sound of ajna chakra which is responsible for clarity, for creativity, for the intuitive faculty of mind. Ya or Yam is the mantra of anahata, Va or Vam is the mantra of swadhisthana. Similarly Na, Ma, Sha are different sounds or syllables corresponding to the different chakras.”

Subramuniyaswami again offers some elucidation on the mantra’s relationship with the chakras, and other matters such as prana and the astral. The sage says that

“When Om Namah Shivaya is repeated, we go through the chakras, Na Ma Si Va Ya Aum. The Aum is in the head chakra. Within Namah Sivaya is each of the elements–earth, water, fire,air and ether–which in the mind are transmuted into all-pervasive consciousness, and that is also transmuted into the great chakra way above the head at the end of the Aum. In just the breath, the space of time between the next repetition of “Aum Namah Sivaya Aum Namah Sivaya Aum Namah Sivaya,” the pranas, having reached Parashiva, fall back into the spiritual, mental, astral and physical worlds, blessing them all with new energy, new life and new understanding. “Namah Sivaya Aum, Namah Sivaya Aum, Namah Sivaya Aum, Namah Sivaya Aum” is the constant process of life. It is the essence of life itself.”

[Midhun Narayan]

Shivaratri Fast is considered to be the most important vrat for Shaivites or Shiva Bhakts. Shiva Purana goes on to say that if a Shiva bhakt observes Shivaratri Vrata with sincerity, pure devotion and love he is blessed with the divine grace of Lord Shiva.

There are merits for observing the Shivratri Vrat:
According to Hindu mythology, observance of mahashivratri Vrat with discipline helps a devotee to control the two great natural forces that affects us, Rajas Guna (the quality of passionate activity) and Tamas Guna (the quality of inertia). When a true bhakt spends an entire day at the Feet of the Lord and worships with sincerity, his motion is controlled and evils like lust, anger and jealousy, born of Rajas are ignored and subdued. Besides, when a bhakt observes vigil throughout the night (jaagran) he manages to defeat the evils of Tamas Guna too. It has also been mentioned that when a devotee observes a round of worship every three hours, the Shivaratri Vrata becomes perfect.

At the end of the day it’s about the strength of your belief. I suggest you take/ observe a fast only if you truly believe in Lord Shiva. Performing any action halfheartedly will never yield results. Observe a Shivaratri Fast with sincerity and chant the name of Lord Shiva with perfect devotion to be absolved from all sins. Such a devotee reaches the abode of Lord Shiva and lives there happily. He is also liberated from the cycle of birth and death.

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