12. The Procedure for Parikrama of Sri Navadvipa Dhama – Srila Bhakti Vinoda Thakur

12. The Procedure for Parikrama of Sri Navadvipa Dhama – Srila Bhakti Vinoda Thakur 

All glories to Lord Caitanya, the moon of Navadvipa and son of Mother Saci!

All glories to Nityananda Raya, the Avadhuta! 

All glories to Sri Advaita Prabhu! 

All glories to Gadadhara and Srivasa Pandita! 

All glories to Navadvipa-dhama, the essence of all dhamas, which advented along with Gauracandra. 

Now hear, brothers, of the places that I will describe within the 16 krosas of Navadvipa-dhama. 

There eternally exists 16 rivers within the 16 krosa area of Navadvipa. On the eastern bank of the main Ganges are 4 islands and on the western bank there are 5 islands. The different tributaries of the Ganges surround these islands and give the dhama its splendor. The main Ganges always flows in the middle, while other pious rivers flow in various tributaries. Near the Ganges flows the beautiful Yamuna, and the Sarasvati flows within another river. East of the Yamuna are the long streams of the Tamraparni, the Krtamala, and the Brahmaputra. The Sarayu, Narmada, Sindhu, Kaveri, Gomati, and Godavari flow swiftly throughout the breadth of Navadvipa. All these rivers intersect to form the 9 different islands of Navadvipa. 

Following the desires of the Lord, sometimes the streams dry up, and then again by His wish they flow with water; by the Lord's wish sometimes places become covered with water, and by His wish they again become visible. In this way the dhama endlessly enacts its lila, but the same dhama remains always manifest to the fortunate living entity. If a devotee has an acute desire in his heart, all the islands and rivers will be visible. By devotion, the dhama is sometimes visible in dreams, meditation, or to the naked eye. 

The island which lies at the junction of the Ganges and Yamuna is known in the sastras as Antardvipa. Within Antardvipa lies the holy sanctuary of Mayapur, where Lord Caitanya appeared. Know, devotees, that Mahavana. in the center of Goloka, is none other than Mayapur of Navadvipa. 

Svetadvipa, Vaikuntha, Goloka, and Vrndavana always reside in Navadvipa. By the order of Gauracandra, the 7 holy cities: Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya (Haridvara), Kasi, Kanci, Avanti (Ujjain), and Dvaraka, are always present in their own places within Navadvipa. The city of Maya, at Gangadvara, has its original form as Mayapur in Navadvipa-dhama, the glories of this place are profusely sung in the scriptures. 

That person who once visits Mayapur is easily freed from the bondage of maya One who walks throughout Mayapur is freed from the influence of maya and the repetition of birth. 

North of Mayapur lies Simantadvipa. Sadhu and Sastra have explained the rules of parikrama. After having darsana of Mayapur in Antardvipa, learned devotees go to Simantadvipa. Next one should go south of Mayapur to Godrumadvipa, then one should joyfully go to Madhyadvipa. After seeing these 4 islands on the east bank, one should reverently cross the Ganges. Having walked around Koladvipa at leisure, then take darsarna of Rtudvipa. After seeing the most beautiful Jahnudvipa, go see Modadrumadvipa and then Rudradvipa. Then again cross the Ganges and walk back to Mayapur. There, respectfully enter the temple of Jagannatha Misra and Sacidevi and take darsana of the Lord. This is the procedure of parikrama for all times. One who follows this practice will obtain unlimited happiness. 

Everyone considers the best time for performing parikrama is from the tithi of Makara-saptami up to the full moon, or purnima of Phalguna. After finishing the parikrama, fortunate persons take darsana at Mayapur on the birthday of Lord Caitanya. Nitai and Caitanya bestow Their mercy and the shade of Their lotus feet on those persons, who thus attain the qualification to execute devotional service. 

Result of Doing Parikramā of Sri Navadvipa Dhama:

“Whoever walks around the 168 miles of Gaura mandala and completes a Navadvīpa Dhāma parikramā and then takes darśana of Māyāpur on Gaura Pūrṇima will receive the merciful shade of Śrī Śrī Gaura-Nitāi’s lotus feet, and quickly attain the treasure of Gaura-prema.” (Navadvipa Dhama Mahatmya, Parikrama-khanda, Chapter Three) 

Desiring to obtain the shade of the lotus feet of Jahnava and Nitai, Bhaktivinoda reveals these truths…