Why do Hindus perform Parikramas and the different Parikramas for different Gods

In Hindus, a common practice when they visit temples and are around idols of Gods, is to perform a Parikrama. And a Parikrama is basically a circumambulation, where devotees walk in a circular path around the deity or the temple.
Many believe that doing a Parikrama means going through the cycle of life, death, and re-birth, and when people do it around the Gods or the temples, they further their belief in the eternal nature of the divine, in a way that the Gods are responsible and the life, death, and re-birth of a mortal is in Gods’ hands.This Parikrama is done around temples, sacred trees, rivers, hills, or even images or statues of the deities.

Parikrama is done differently for different Gods and Goddesses. And for a Parikrama to be complete, people usually look for the rules of the Parikrama, the number of times they have to do it, and also their intention behind it.
Some Parikramas are done without footwear, in others devotees carry something symbolic, and in some others, the Parikrama spans over 100 rounds.And one of the most important parts is the intention behind the act. A true Parikrama should be done with a pure heart, with devotion and with love.

The number of Parikramas we do, depends on the Gods we are doing it for. In some cases, the devotee only has to take one round around the deity, sometimes they have to take 7, and sometimes even 100. And not just Gods, if you do the Govardhan parvat Parikrama, for example, you will need to go around the mountain which is about 12 kilometers.

For Lord Shiva, devotees traditionally perform only half a Parikrama. Which means that they walk around the deity once, but only in a semicircular manner.
The reason for this is believed that as Lord Shiva is the God of destruction and transformation, walking around him one whole time could result in destruction of some sort, and so devotees only go around him in a semi circle manner.

For Lord Hanuman, it is believed that 3 Parikramas are the best. When in a Hanuman temple, you will spot the devotees going around his idol thrice, not more. Be it an idol of Lord Hanuman, or a picture kept in the temple, devotees do 3 Parikramas around him.

Lord Krishna, an avatar of Lord Vishnu, and the mischievous little boy of Vrindavan, is treated and respected like a friend, a lover, a brother, and even a son. And when visiting the temples of Lord Krisha, devotees are advised to do their Parikrama 4 times.

Lord Ganesha, the son of Lord Shiva and Maa Parvati, is the one who removes all obstacles from a devotee’s life. He is the God who is prayed to first, so that any ritual or puja is unobstructed, and he blesses people with wisdom, intellect, and strength.
And when it comes to circumambulations around Lord Ganesha, devotees are advised to go around him three times.

Another avatar of Lord Vishnu, Lord Ram is rarely seen alone in temples. He is accompanied by Maa Sita and Lakshman, his brother, and Lord Ram is the destroyer of Ravan, the demon king of Lanka.

And it is said that when in a Ram darbar, devotees should perform the Parikrama 4 times, similar to Lord Krishna’s parikrama.