Why is half circumambulation done around the Shivling during worship? Jaladhari is not crossed!

It is believed in Hinduism that by doing Parikrama, the sins of many births are destroyed. It is said in the scriptures that 'Yani Kani Cha Papaani Gyaata Gyaata Kratani Cha, Tani Sarvani Nashyanti Pradakshine Pade Pade'. That is, by walking each step of Parikrama, many known and unknown sins are destroyed and one gets freedom from the problems in life.

In Hinduism, you must have seen that people do a complete parikrama of all the gods and goddesses and temples. At the same time, they do half parikrama of Shivling. Shiva is the first god, Shiva is worshipped in both the forms of Shiv idol and Shivling. But in the scriptures, the rules of worshipping Shivling are different, in which some of its own limits are also prescribed. Half parikrama of Shivling is considered as per the scriptures. It is called Chandrakar Parikrama. Crossing the Jaladhari is prohibited during the parikrama. What is the religious reason behind this?

The half circumambulation of Shivlinga has been mentioned in many scriptures including Shiv Puran. The religious reason behind this is that Shivlinga is considered to be a symbol of the combined energy of both Shiva and Shakti. Water is continuously offered on Shivlinga. This water is considered extremely holy. The path through which this water flows is called Nirmali, Somsutra and Jaladhari.

Importance of Jaladhaari

It is believed that Shivling is so powerful that some portion of the energy of Shiva and Shakti gets mixed in the water offered on it. In such a situation, the energy in the water increases so much that if a person crosses it, this energy enters his body through his legs while crossing it. Due to this, a person may have to face physical problems related to semen or menstruation. Therefore, in the scriptures, crossing the Jaladhaari is considered a grave sin.

Lunar orbit

During the Parikrama of Shivling, devotees go up to its Jaladhari and return. In this case, the shape of a half-moon is formed and that is why this Parikrama is called Chandrakar Parikrama. There are some rules for Chandrakar Parikrama as well. Usually Parikrama is done from the right side, but Parikrama of Shivling is always done towards the left, then one has to return from Jaladhari to the right side. Apart from this, there is also a belief that at some places, the water offered on Shivling goes directly into the ground or at some places the Jaladhari is covered. In such a situation, complete Parikrama of Shivling can be done. That is, in such a case, there is no sin in crossing the Jaladhari.