Kartik Parikrama: Walking Around Ayodhya

What it is

Parikrama means walking around something sacred, keeping it on one's right, as one walks around the sanctum of a temple. In the month of Kartik, soon after Diwali, pilgrims treat the whole of Ayodhya as the sanctum and walk around it. The Kartik fair is one of the largest gatherings of the year here, drawing villagers from across Awadh and eastern Uttar Pradesh in very great numbers.

The three main observances

• Chaudah Kosi Parikrama. On Akshaya Navami, the ninth day of the bright half of Kartik, devotees walk a circuit of fourteen kos, about 42 km, around the twin towns of Ayodhya and the former Faizabad. Most begin at night at an auspicious hour announced each year and finish within a day.
• Panch Kosi Parikrama. Two days later, on Devotthan Ekadashi, comes the shorter circuit of five kos, about 15 km, around the core of the temple town. It is the one most suited to first-time visitors and older pilgrims.
• Kartik Purnima. On the full moon, pilgrims bathe in the Saryu before sunrise, and the fair concludes.

A much longer Chaurasi Kosi Parikrama of eighty-four kos, taking about three weeks and touching several districts, is undertaken by sadhus and determined pilgrims at another time of year, beginning in the month of Chaitra or Vaishakh.

The meaning

The logic is that of a pilgrimage made with the feet rather than the eyes. Walking the boundary takes in every shrine, pond and grove inside it, known and unknown, so nothing is left out. It is also a great leveller: rich and poor walk the same road barefoot, eat at the same roadside kitchens run by volunteers, and call out the same name. Many families walk in fulfilment of a vow or in thanks for a prayer answered. On this same Ekadashi the sanctum of Treta ke Thakur is traditionally opened.

If you want to walk

• Check the exact date and starting time for your year; they are announced by the district administration.
• Start with the Panch Kosi unless you are used to long walks. Forty-two kilometres barefoot on a hard road is severe on the feet.
• The custom is to walk barefoot, but those with diabetes or foot problems should wear soft footwear or thick socks; no one will object.
• Walk at night and in the early morning, keep a steady pace, and rest at the camps along the route where volunteers offer water, tea, food and first aid.
• Carry very little: water, a shawl, a torch, some glucose and plasters.
• Walk on the correct side as marshalled, stay with your group, and keep a card with a phone number on every child and elder.
• If you feel faint or your feet blister badly, stop. Medical camps and ambulances are stationed on the route; in an emergency call 108.

If you only want to see it

The city is extremely crowded on these three days and traffic is diverted. If your aim is a calm darshan, choose other dates; see Best time to visit Ayodhya. If you do come, stay near the temple area so that you can move on foot, and read Safety tips for pilgrims.