Do You Know Why Pradakshina or Circumambulation is done in the Temples?

• Pradakshina means circling the inner sanctum of the temple and is a very common ritual in Hindu temples. The devotees walk around the innermost chamber of the shrine housing the temple deity.
• This is done to acknowledge the presence of God as the “Central Point” in our lives. The earth 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 center around which the planets rotate, Our Pradakshina should be done with God at the center. God remains constantly present as the main core of our existence while we go around Him doing our worldly chores.
• Pradakshina or circumambulation, in literal terms it means, to the right. Therefore Pradakshina is always done clockwise and one goes around the Sanctum Sanctorum to the left-hand direction keeping Deity on one’s right side. This is because we assume that Lord is always on our right side. This reminds that we must always lead a righteous life, in the right path called Dharma.
• There is a popular legend about the significance of Pradakshina. Once Lord Shiva wanted his two sons, Ganesha and Subramanya, to get “worldly experience” and asked them to take a “tour of the universe”. While Lord Subramanya spent decades traveling the world on his peacock, Lord Ganesha just walked a full circle around his mother and father and He explained: “since the world is contained within you, I have already encircled the world”!
• With the regular chanting of divine Veda mantras in the temple, it is believed that there will always be accumulation and roaming of positive vibrations/energy around the idol/temple. So while making Pradakshina the mind will get purified, the devotee absorbs the positive energy and gets the divine aura that surrounds the Deity.
• The Pradakshina should always be done slowly and not in a hurry. Our thoughts and action must dwell in God. Pradakshina is considered as a form of Prayaschitta (expiation). It should be performed with utmost humility and devotion in a meditative mood with the focus on the concerned deity (visualizing the Deity in his mind all the time) and not just as a routine. Pradakshina should be performed as a mark of respect, obeisance and total surrender to the deity.
• The first Circumambulation is to shed and unwind yourself from the worldly possessions and materialism. The second circumambulation is to disconnect ourselves from the relationship, which means no attachments towards anyone. The third and the final circumambulation is to unwind and disconnect from our own ego and sense of self.
• Once we have successfully disconnected from all these three barriers in our thoughts, then we could really connect with God by sitting quietly for a while in front of the deity and make your visit to the temple a fulfilling one.