Verse 3.10.10

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 3.10.10:

অদ্বৈত বলেন,—“আগে দেখি’ জগন্নাথ তবে করিলাঙ প্রদক্ষিণ পাঞ্চ সাত” ॥ ১০ ॥

अद्वैत बलेन,—“आगे देखि’ जगन्नाथ तबे करिलाङ प्रदक्षिण पाञ्च सात” ॥ १० ॥

advaita balena,—“āge dekhi’ jagannātha tabe karilāṅa pradakṣiṇa pāñca sāta” || 10 ||

advaita balena,—“age dekhi’ jagannatha tabe karilana pradaksina panca sata” (10)

English translation:

(10) Advaita replied, “After seeing Lord Jagannātha, I circumambulated Him five or seven times.”

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

In the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, Chapter Eight, verses 181-182 and 184-189 it is stated:

atha pradakṣiṇā tataḥ pradakṣiṇāṃ kuryād bhaktyā bhagavato hareḥ nāmāni kīrtayan śaktau taṃ ca sāṣṭāṅga-vandanam

The procedure for circumambulation is described as follows:

“Chanting Lord Hari’s holy names one should perform circumambulation with devotion. If one is able, he should circumambulate by again and again bowing down with eight parts of the body.”

pradakṣiṇā-saṅkhyāvnārasiṃhe

ekaṃ caṇḍyāṃ ravau sapta tisro dadyād vināyake catasraḥ keśave dadyāt śive tv ardha-pradakṣiṇām

Regarding the number of circumambulations, in the Nṛsiṃha Purāṇa it is said:

“One should circumambulate Caṇḍī one time, the sun-god seven times, Gaṇeśa three times, Lord Kṛṣṇa four times, and Śiva half a time.”

atha pradakṣiṇā-māhātmyaṃ vārāhe pradakṣiṇāṃ ye kurvanti bhakti-yuktena cetasāna

te yama-puraṃ yānti yānti puṇya-kṛtāṃ gatim

The glories of circumambulation are described in the Varāha Purāṇa as follows:

“Those whose hearts are filled with devotion as they circumambulate the temple of Lord Viṣṇu do not enter Yamarāja’s city. They go to the place where the saintly devotees go.”

tatraiva cāturmāsya-māhātmye

catur-vāraṃ bhramībhis tu jagat sarvaṃ carācaram krāntaṃ bhavati viprāgrya tat tīrtha-gamanādhikam

In the Skanda Purāṇa, Cāturmāsya-māhātmya, it is said:

“O best of the brāhmaṇas, a person who circumambulates the temple of Lord Viṣṇu four times attains the result of circumambulating the entire universe filled with moving and unmoving beings. He attains a result better than going on all pilgrimages.”

tatraivānyatra

pradakṣiṇaṃ tu yaḥ kuryāt hariṃ bhaktyā samanvita ḥhaṃsa-yukta-vimānena viṣṇulokaṃ sa gacchati

Elsewhere in the Skanda Purāṇa it is said:

“A person who with devotion circumambulates the temple of Lord Hari is carried on a swan airplane to Vaikuṇṭha.”

nārasiṃhe

pradakṣiṇena caikena deva-devasya mandire kṛtena yat phalaṃ nṛṇāṃ tac chṛnuṣva nṛpātmaja

pṛthvī-pradakṣiṇa-phalaṃ yat tat prāpya hariṃ vrajet

In the Nṛsiṃha Purāṇa it is said:

“O prince, please hear the glorious result attained by a person who once circumambulates the temple of Lord Viṣṇu, the Lord of lords. Such a person attains the result of circumambulating the earth. He goes to Lord Hari.”

anyatra ca

evaṃ kṛtvā tu kṛṣṇasya yaḥ kuryād dviḥ pradakṣiṇam sapta-dvīpavatī-puṇyaṃ labhate tu pade pade

paṭhan nāma-sahasraṃ tu nāmāny evātha kevalam

It is further stated:

“A person who circumambulates the temple of Śrī Hari as he chants the holy names of Lord Kṛṣṇa or the thousand names of Kṛṣṇa attains the result of circumambulating the earth, which consists of seven islands, or giving the earth in charity.”

hari-bhakti-sudhodaye

viṣṇuṃ pradakṣiṇī-kurvan yas tatrāvartate punaḥtad

evāvartanaṃ tasya punar nāvartate bhave

In the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya it is said:

“A person who after circumambulating the temple of Śrī Hari one time again circumambulates the temple is not subjected to return to this world of repeated birth and death.”

bṛhan-nāradīye yama-bhagīratha-samvāde

pradakṣiṇa-trayaṃ kuryād yo viṣṇor manujeśvara sarva-pāpa-vinirmukto devendratvaṃ samaśnute

In the Bṛhan-nāradīya Purāṇa, Yamarāja tells King Bhagīratha:

“O King, a person who circumambulates the temple of Śrī Hari three times becomes free of all sins and he enjoys the post of King Indra.”

tatraiva pradakṣiṇa-māhātmye sudharmopākhyānārambhe bhaktyā kurvanti ye viṣṇoḥ pradakṣiṇa-catuṣṭayam

te ‘pi yānti paraṃ sthānaṃ sarva-lokottamottamam. iti.

tat khyātaṃ yat su-dharmasya pūrvasmin gṛdhra-janmani kṛṣṇa-pradakṣiṇābhyāsān mahā-siddhir abhūd iti

In the Nārada Purāṇa, Pradakṣiṇa-māhātmya, in the beginning of Sudharma’s story, it is said:

“Those who devotedly circumambulate the temple of Lord Viṣṇu four times go to the supreme abode, which is situated beyond all other planets. In his previous life as a vulture, Sudharma circumambulated the temple of Lord Kṛṣṇa and thereby attained the highest perfection.”

atha pradakṣiṇāyāṃ niṣiddhaṃ viṣṇu-smṛtau eka-hasta-praṇāmaś ca eka caiva pradakṣiṇā akāle darśanaṃ viṣṇor hanti puṇyaṃ purā-kṛtam

Prohibitions in the performance of circumambulation are described in the

Viṣṇu-smṛti as follows:

“Offering obeisances to Śrī Viṣṇu with only one hand, circumambulating

the temple of Śrī Kṛṣṇa only once, and seeing the Deity of Śrī Kṛṣṇa at an improper time destroy one’s previous pious merits.”

kiṃ ca

kṛṣṇasya purato naiva sūryasyaiva pradakṣiṇām kuryād bhramarikā-rūpaṃ vaimukhyāpadanīṃ prabhoḥ

It is also said:

“One should not circumambulate the sun-god in a circle like a bumblebee before the temple of Śrī Hari, for then one must turn one’s back to the Deity.”

It is also said:

tathā coktaṃ pradakṣiṇaṃ na kartavyaṃ

vimukhatvāc ca karaṇāt

“Circumambulating the temple of Śrī Hari in these ways is prohibited, for such activities will make one averse to the Lord.”