नेपाली

Madhya Parikrama

A 15-day pilgrimage walk around Mithila1 min readIn 160 days

Also known as: मध्य परिक्रमा · Mithila Madhya Parikrama

Madhya Parikrama — A 15-day pilgrimage walk around Mithila
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Each Falgun, thousands of pilgrims walk a circuit of about 15 days around Janakpur, stopping at sacred ponds, temples and villages in Nepal and India, and return to the city in time for Holi.

Parikrama means walking around something holy. The Madhya ('middle') Parikrama circles the heart of ancient Mithila, with Janakpur at its centre, linking places associated with Rama, Sita and the saints of Mithila.

The walk

Pilgrims — many of them sadhus and elderly villagers — walk together behind the palanquin of the deities, camping each night at a different village or pond. The route crosses the open border between Nepal and India several times.

Ending with Holi

The circuit returns to Janakpur just before Falgun Purnima, and the pilgrims' arrival flows straight into the colour and music of Holi.

Festival dates follow the lunar calendar. Dates shown are approximate — confirm with a Nepali calendar (patro) before you travel.

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