City-information for Naimisaranya

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This is where the Srimad Bhagavatam was spoken. It is said that a pilgrimage to Badrinath and Kedarnath is incomplete without a visit to Naimisaranya. In the Mahabharata it is said, "Anyone who fasts, prays,and attains perfection at Namisaranya finds happiness in all the worlds." According to the Varaha Purana, by performance of yajna (sacrifice) at this place, the strength of demonic people is curtailed. Therefore Brahmins prefer Naimisaranya for such sacrificial performances.

When Lord Brahma contemplated a great wheel that would span the entire universe, the wheel's center was at Naimisaranya. Naimisaranya has a parikrama (circumambulation) path of 16 km, in which all the sacred places in India are believed to be located.

Lord Balarama, Dadhici Muni, the Pandavas, Lord Nityananda, and Ramanujacarya all came here. The Pandavas are said to have come here when they were in exile. This is the place where the demigods came to ask Dadhici for his body, to be able to create a weapon, to be able to kill the demon Vrittrasura. Lord Rama is said to have performed sacrifice here for killing Ravana.

It is said that if you bathe in Chakratirtha Kund and make an offering to the presiding deity, Lalita, on a full moon day that falls on a Monday, you will wash away all the sins committed in a lifetime. Whoever bathes in Cakra-tirtha Kund on the twelfth lunar day attains the abode of Vishnu, even if he has committed the worst sins. About 10,000 people come for this. Lalita Devi, the presiding female deity of Naimisaranya is said to grant fulfillment of desires.