Mathura Parikrama: Route, Distance and How to Do It

Mathura Parikrama at a glance

What is the Mathura Parikrama

To circle a holy place with devotion, keeping it always on one's right, is one of the oldest acts of worship in India and the Mathura Parikrama is the sacred circling of the birthplace of Krishna. A circuit of about 10 km, walked in some three hours, it encloses the old heart of Mathura, its ghats along the Yamuna, its ancient temples and kunds and the Janmabhoomi itself, so that the pilgrim honours the whole city as one great shrine. It is done above all on Ekadashi, the eleventh day of the lunar fortnight, when great numbers walk it together and on the city's festivals. For those who wish to walk it with a guide who knows every ghat and shrine, a mathura vrindavan tour package with Experience My India can arrange it.

From the ground (Gurudutt): I have walked the Mathura Parikrama since I was a boy, especially on Ekadashi, when the whole city seems to be walking with you. We start at Kansa Fort before the sun is high, go barefoot if we can and let the ghats and the old Mahadev temples pass one by one until we come back to where we began. It is not a long walk, three hours or so, but it holds the whole of Mathura's holiness. Go slowly, chant as you walk and the city will bless you. Radhe Radhe. See our Mathura Vrindavan tour Package  or message WhatsApp +91 7302265809. 

The full parikrama route

The parikrama begins and ends at the old Kansa Fort on the Yamuna and circles the city clockwise through its ghats, temples and kunds. The route, in order, passes:

Along the ghats

From Kansa Fort, the path follows the Yamuna past the sacred ghats: Swami Ghat, Vishram Ghat, Shri Pippaleshwar Mahadev, Shri Dauji Ghat, Shri Vatuk Bhairav Ji, Bengali Ghat, Dhruva Ghat, Rishi Ghat and the Shri Rangeshwar Mahadev temple.

Through the old city to the Janmabhoomi

It then turns inland past the Old Bus Stand, the Government Museum (the Archaeology Sangrahalaya), K.R. Degree College, the Shri Kankali Devi temple on Kankali mound, the Shri Jagannath Balabhadra Kund, the Shri Krishna Balaram temple, the Shri Bhuteshwar Mahadev temple, the Shri Gandeshwar Kund and Potara Kund, reaching the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi, the birthplace at the heart of the circuit.

The Devi temples and the return

From the Janmabhoomi the route passes the Shri Mahavidya Devi temple, the Shri Saraswati Devi temple and kund, the Ramlila Ground, the Shri Chamunda Devi temple, the Shri Gayatri Tapobhoomi, the Shri Gokarneshwar Mahadev temple, the Shri Neelkanth Mahadev temple, Vamandev Ghat, Chakratirth and the Chakleshwar Mahadev temple, Ambarish Ghat, Krishna Ganga Ghat, the Shri Radha Madan Gopal Ji temple, Kansa Ghat, the Chintahar Mahadev temple and the Shri Kanseshwar Mahadev temple and so returns to Kansa Fort, where the parikrama is concluded.

Along the way the parikrama passes the krishna janmabhoomi and many of the braj yamuna ghats and leela sites and comes near the great dwarkadhish temple in the heart of the old city.

The sacred sites along the way

The parikrama gathers the whole holiness of Mathura; the most revered sites it passes:

• The Krishna Janmabhoomi. The sacred birthplace of Krishna, the spiritual heart of Mathura and of the whole circuit, where the pilgrim pauses in deepest devotion.

• Vishram Ghat and the ghats of the Yamuna. Vishram Ghat, where Krishna rested after slaying Kansa, is the chief of the many ghats the parikrama follows along the river, each with its own sanctity and its evening aarti.

• The four guardian Shiva temples. Mathura is guarded, by old tradition, by four ancient Shiva temples at its four quarters: Bhuteshwar, Rangeshwar, Gokarneshwar and Pippaleshwar and the parikrama passes them all, a reminder that Mahadev himself watches over Krishna's city.

• The Devi temples. The circuit honours the Goddess too, at the Mahavidya, Kankali, Chamunda and Saraswati temples, so that the pilgrim bows to the Devi as well as to Krishna and Shiva.

• The sacred kunds. Potara Kund, held to be where the baby Krishna's clothes were washed and other kunds such as the Saraswati and Gandeshwar kunds, mark the ancient waters of the city.

How to do the parikrama

The parikrama is simple to keep and asks only devotion and a willing pair of feet:

• Start at Kansa Fort. The circuit traditionally begins and ends at the old Kansa Fort on the Yamuna and is walked clockwise, keeping the sacred city on your right.

• On foot, traditionally barefoot. The devout walk the whole 10 km barefoot as an act of devotion; wear comfortable footwear if you cannot and take it at a gentle pace.

• Allow about three hours. At a steady, unhurried pace with pauses for darshan, the circuit takes about three hours; longer if you stop at every shrine.

• Chant as you walk. Pilgrims walk chanting the names of Krishna and the parikrama is as much an inner journey as an outer one; to complete it is held to bring great merit.

For getting to the start and around the city, our how to commute in vrindavan guide covers the e-rickshaws and lanes of Braj and for the darshan hours at the temples along the way, our mathura vrindavan temple timings guide helps.

When the parikrama is done: Ekadashi and festivals

The parikrama can be walked on any day, but certain days are especially auspicious:

• Ekadashi. The eleventh day of each lunar fortnight is the great day for the Mathura Parikrama, when the largest numbers of pilgrims walk it together and it is held to bring the most merit.

• Festivals. Janmashtami, the great festivals of Braj and the holy month of Kartik draw many pilgrims to the parikrama, though the crowds are then at their largest.

• Any devotional day. On an ordinary day the circuit is quieter and gentler, a peaceful way to encircle the holy city at your own pace.

Tips for the parikrama

• Start early, before the sun is high, so you finish the walk in the cool of the morning.

• Carry water, and, if walking barefoot, take care over the rougher stretches; keep footwear in a bag if you may need it.

• Walk with company, keep your belongings close in the crowds and mind the traffic where the route crosses busy roads.

• On Ekadashi and festival days, expect very large crowds; a weekday walk is calmer if you seek a quiet parikrama.

• For elderly or unwell pilgrims, walk a part of the circuit or take the darshan of the main shrines rather than the full 10 km.

Combining with the Braj parikramas

The Mathura Parikrama is one of the great sacred circles of Braj and pilgrims often walk more than one:

• The Govardhan parikrama. The 21 km circling of govardhan hill, the hill Krishna lifted, is the most famous of the Braj parikramas, walked barefoot around Giriraj.

• The Braj 84 kos yatra. The great parikrama of the whole of Braj, of about 84 kos, encircling all the sacred sites of Krishna's land over many days, of which Mathura is the heart.

• The Vrindavan parikrama. The shorter circling of Vrindavan Dham, a gentle few kilometres among the temples of Krishna's childhood town.

We arrange guided walks of the Mathura Parikrama and the wider Braj parikramas, with a comfortable vehicle to and from the start, the darshan arranged and a Braj-born guide who knows every ghat and shrine on the way. A shared day tour starts from around ₹1,499 per person, with darshan free. Our mathura vrindavan tour covers Mathura and Vrindavan, our vrindavan tour package Vrindavan in a day and the braj 84 kos yatra the great parikrama of all Braj. To plan your visit, see our mathura vrindavan tour itinerary and add the banke bihari temple and prem mandir vrindavan in nearby Vrindavan; message me on WhatsApp at +91-7302265809.

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