Kashi Pancha Kroshi Yatra

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  WHAT IT IS: The primordial sacred circumambulation, or Parikrama, of about 50 miles (80 km) that traces the outer cosmic boundary of Avimukta Kshetra, the sacred field of Kashi. Described in the Skanda Purana, walking this circuit is held to be equivalent to circumambulating the entire manifested universe upheld on the trident of Lord Shiva.
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  WHY VISIT / CHANT: The scriptural fruit-declarations, known as Phalashruti, affirm that completing the Pancha Kroshi Yatra burns away the accumulated karma of countless lifetimes, grants liberation from the cycle of rebirth, and secures a place in the abode of Shiva, Shivaloka.
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  WHEN TO VISIT: The most meritorious period is during the sacred leap month of Adhika Masa, also called Mala Masa or Purushottama Masa. Other highly auspicious periods include the lunar month of Kartika in October and November, Maha Shivaratri in February or March, and the Vaishakha Shukla Ekadashi window.
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  WHERE: Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Bordered by the holy Ganga and Varuna rivers, the circuit begins and concludes at the supreme cremation ground and bathing spot, the sacred Manikarnika Ghat.
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  HOW (VIDHI & RULES):
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  The Sankalpa: Commence on Day 1 by taking a holy dip at Manikarnika Ghat, taking the sacred vow, the Sankalpa, at Kashi Vishwanath, Dhundhiraj Ganesha, and Mata Annapurna.
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  Barefoot Pilgrimage: Traditionally walked barefoot as a Padayatra, without vehicular assistance, strictly observing Brahmacharya and either silence or constant chanting of 'Om Namah Shivaya'.
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  Five Sacred Night Halts, known as Padavs, with resthouses called Dharamsalas:

1. 1.Kardameshwar, about 15 km: the ancient tapobhumi of Kardama Rishi.
2. 2.Bhimchandi, about 18 km: the seat of the protective Shakti Bhimchandi Devi.
3. 3.Rameshwar, about 22 km: on the banks of the River Varuna, where tradition says Sri Rama installed a Shivalinga.
4. 4.Shivpur, about 17 km: the five Pandava Lingams.
5. 5.Kapildhara, about 10 km: the tirtha of Sage Kapila, a place for ancestral tarpana.

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  The Purnahuti (final, completing fire offering): On Day 5/6, return to Manikarnika Ghat, offer cloves and sacred sweets or barley seeds, take a final dip, and seek the blessing of Lord Vishwanath and of Sakshi Vinayaka, the Divine Witness Ganesha.

According to the Kashi Khanda of the Skanda Purana, whose chapter 100, verses 76 to 95, extols this yatra, Kashi is a circular mandala of five kroshas radius around the Vishwanath temple. When the cosmos dissolves into the waters of Mahapralaya, the transcendental city is held aloft on the three prongs of Lord Shiva’s Trishula, or trident. Within this holy sphere, the outer cosmic radius measuring five kroshas, roughly ten miles from the central core, forms the divine mandala known as the Pancha Krosha Kshetra, and the circuit around it spans about twenty-five kroshas, or fifty miles. Lord Shiva himself proclaimed that within this consecrated circle not a single particle of dust is devoid of divine consciousness. Every stone is a Shivalinga, every pool is the nectar of immortality, and every step taken in reverent surrender equals the merit of performing an Ashvamedha Yajna.

The antiquity of the Pancha Kroshi Yatra is traced by tradition across the yugas. It is recounted that Bhagavan Sri Ramachandra, accompanied by Lakshmana and Mother Sita, undertook this circumambulation to be freed from the affliction of Brahma-hatya dosha incurred in the war in Lanka. He consecrated the Rameshwar Shivalinga on the banks of the sacred Varuna River. Similarly, during their exile, the five Pandava brothers, guided by Maharishi Vyasa, are remembered to have walked this circuit. They consecrated five Shivalingas at Shivpur and sought Shiva's grace and the strength to stay righteous.

The yatra is more than a geographical journey. By circumambulating this boundary, the pilgrim walks along the protective perimeter of Avimukta, the sacred field that Lord Shiva is said never to forsake, and returns to the starting point with the vow fulfilled.

The sacred dust of the Pancha Kroshi Marg has been sanctified by the footprints of India's greatest rishis, acharyas, and sovereign devotees:

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  Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya (8th Century CE): Tradition associates the great teacher with Kashi, where he taught the non-dual essence of the Self, the Atman.
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  Goswami Tulsidas (16th Century CE): The saint-poet lived and composed in Kashi, and devotional tradition remembers him in meditation along the banks of its sacred waters.
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  Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (16th Century CE): Visited Kashi in an ecstasy of divine love, filling its streets with Hari-Nama Sankirtana.
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  Rani Bhabani of Natore (18th Century CE): A devoted patron of Kashi, remembered for building temples, kunds and resthouses that sheltered pilgrims.

From the Skanda Purana, Kashi Khanda, pilgrims recite this traditional dhyana shloka while entering the sacred cosmic perimeter: