Ancient parikrama to be revived

ALLAHABAD: The parikrama of 12 ancient temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu in Prayag will be revived and these shrines will be put on the tourist map. Walking around a deity is known as parikrama in Hindi and Sanskrit.

Allahabad divisional commissioner Ashish Kumar Goel has asked the district administration to identify these ancient temples of Lord Vishnu for their development. Known as the Bhagwan Shri Dwadash Madhav Parikrama of Teerthraj Prayag, it is said to be the oldest such parikama in the world. Dwadash Madhav or the 12 temples of Lord Vishnu are situated in different directions in Allahabad. Hindus consider Vishnu to be the presiding deity of Prayag. “These ancient temples were once the identity of Prayag. They should be identified and connected to the tourist map,” said Goel.

Teerthraj Pandey, secretary of Prayagraj Sewa Samiti, started a drive to promote Shri Dwadash Madhav Parikrama among pilgrims coming to Allahabad.

He said a lot of research was done on 12 Vishnu temples in Allahabad.

“Bhagwan Shri Madhav Ji is the chief deity of Teerthraj Prayag. Twelve forms of Madhav are situated at Prayag and known as Dwadash (the Sanskrit word for 12). According to Hindu scriptures, this parikrama was started by sage Bhardwaj Muni in the last days of Satyug. Till that time, it was the centre of attraction for devotees . But it remained discontinued for over five centuries for some reason,” he added.