NITAAI-Veda.nyf > All Scriptures By Acharyas > Bhaktivinoda Thakura > Navadvipa Dhaam Mahatmya > Parikrama Khanda > Chapter-III |
Chapter Three
The Procedure for
Parikrama of the Dhama
All glories to Lord
Chaitanya, the moon of Navadvipa and son of mother Shaci! All glories to
Nityananda Raya, the avadhuta! All glories to Shri Advaita Prabhu! All glories
to Gadadhara and Shrivasa Pandita! All glories to Navadvipa-dhama, the essence
of all dhamas, which advented along with Gaurachandra.
Now hear, brothers, of
the places that I will describe within the sixteen kroshas of Navadvipa-dhama.
There eternally exists
sixteen rivers within the sixteen krosha area of Navadvipa. On the eastern bank
of the main Ganges are four islands and on the western bank there are five. 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 Kritamala, 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 nine 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 shastras as Antardvipa.
Within Antardvipa lies the holy sanctuary of Mayapur, where Lord Chaitanya
appeared. Know, devotees, that Mahavana, in the center of Goloka, is none other
than Mayapur of Navadvipa.
Shvetadvipa, Vaikuntha,
Goloka, and Vrindavana reside in Navadvipa at all times. By the order of
Gaurachandra, the seven holy cities: Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya (Haridvara), Kashi,
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 particular 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 shastra have explained the rules of parikrama. After
having darshana 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 four islands on the east bank, one should
reverently cross the Ganges. Having walked around Koladvipa at leisure, then
take darshana of átudvipa. 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 Mishra and
Shacidevi and take darshana 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 upto the
full moon, or purnima, of Phalguna. After finishing parikrama, fortunate
persons take darshana at Mayapur on the birthday of Lord Chaitanya. Nitai and
Chaitanya bestow Their mercy and the shade of Their lotus feet on those
persons, who thus attain the qualification to execute devotional service.
Briefly I have described
the rules for parikrama, and now I will describe everything in detail.
Therefore, please listen. Whoever walks around the one hundred sixty-eight
miles of Gausha-mandala will quickly obtain the treasure of gaura-prema.
Desiring to obtain the
shade of the lotus feet of Jahnava and Nitai, Bhaktivinoda reveals these
truths.