Preparations begin for Madhyama Parikrama

By Vijay Kumar Sah,Dhalkebar, Feb. 16: The 15-day Madhyama Parikrama (circumambulation), which starts every year on the first day of the bright fortnight of the Nepali month of Falgun, is set to begin from coming Monday. 

The management committee of the Mithila Bihari Temple in Mithila Bihari Municipality–8, Dhanusha, which is where the Parikrama starts from, has already intensified preparations for it.

According to Ajay Jha, chairman of the management committee, devotees will gather at the 500-year-old temple early Monday morning and proceed to Hanumangadhi, Janakpurdham where they will meet with the palanquin of Lord Ram and the pilgrims coming from the Janaki Temple, Ram Temple and other temples and shrines of the city. From Hanumangadhi, everyone will then move towards Kalyaneshwor, India.

The Parikrama is viewed as an important cultural event passing through 11 sacred sites of Nepal and four sites of India. 

“It symbolises the ancient connection Nepal and India shared,” he said, adding that the committee had begun work to manage food, water, electricity, sanitation and health facilities at all these 15 stops for the saints and pilgrims participating in the circumambulation. 

The Greater Janakpur Area Development Council, a body under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation which oversees the Parikrama ceremony, is also preparing to make the circumambulation a grand event this year. 

Shital Shahu Purbe, chairman of the Council, said that the Nepali Army would celebrate the start of the circumambulation by playing the Panche Baja at its starting point at the Mithila Bihari Temple. 

Similarly, the Nepal Police will offer a formal salute to the palanquin of Ram.

Purbe also informed that the Council held discussions with the officials of Dhanusha and Mahottari districts on Tuesday to ensure that the Parikrama took place without any problems. 

“We talked with the Chief District Officers, chiefs of security agencies and heads of local governments,” he informed. 

“The local governments have agreed to manage the stops that lie within their areas.”

Claiming that the Parikrama was the longest religious walk of Asia, Purbe estimated that around 500,000 people would participate in the journey. 

Meanwhile, the Janakpurdham Sub-Metropolitan City also began cleaning the Hanumangadhi area on Wednesday.