Tridandi Sannyasi, ISKCON GBC, Mayapur,India
Chairman : India Tribal Care Trust (ITCT)
ISKCON MAYAPUR is organising Puri Parikrama for last 19 years under the Guidance of H.H Jayapataka Swami and leadership Of H.H Bhakti Purusottama Swami .
Throughout the year various groups of devotees from different parts of the world visit Puri dham in the name of Puri parikrama or Yatra. During their visit they go to different temples while performing Harinama sankirtan and also engage in hearing the different pastimes of the Lord. Parikrama literally means circumambulation. Puri parikrama means circumambulating puri dham.
In this sense just visiting Puri to take darshan of the different temples cannot be called Puri parikrama. Puri parikrama means circumambulating Puri dham. The shastra encourages devotees to circumambulate Puri dham, Sanka kñetra on this day as per the specific tithi. According to scriptures one should do parikrama of Puri dham on this specific tithi to get the full result of Puri parikrama.
Puri dham is also known as Sankha ksetra as its form is in the shape of a conch shell. This puri parikrama is known therefore as Sankha ksetra parikrama or Sri Ksetra parikrama. The path is approximately twenty one kilometers, about the same distance as the circumambulation of Govardhan Hill. This Sri Ksetra parikrama tithi falls on panchami tithi, four days after Kartik or rasa purnima.
Devotees gather two days before parikrama day. On First two days devotees will visit all the major places of pastimes of Lord
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. On the last day devotees will circumambulate the whole Puri ksetra.