Badrinath is a Holy town considered to be most Scared Chardham Pilgrimage Destination in India. The Holy town is Situated in Chamoli District in State of Uttarakhand. The Town get its name from the Badrinath Temple. The town is located at an attitude of about 3133 meters above sea level on the seashore of Alaknanda River.
The Badrinath town reside between the mountain ranges of Nar and Narayana with Peak Shadow of Nilkantha Parvat. Badrinath town is famous for Panch Badri temples including Yog Dhyan Badri, Bhavishtya Badri, Adi Badri and Vriddha Badri, along with Badrinath temple.
The Badrinath area is commonly known as Badari or Badarikaashram. The most Superior time to Visit the temple is between the month of June and September except moonsoon Season. During Winter Season the temple is closed for six month due to heavy snowfall. Large Valley , Peasent weatehr , Dense green Forests , Climbing Mountain , River , temple and lots of Small shrines fascinating tourist towards its magnificent Beauty.
Badrinath Temple is dedicated to workship an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Generation Followed Generation , Badrinath Temple became most Popular Pilgrimage Destination in India. There are many Festival namely Kedar-Badri Utsav, Janmashtami, Mata Mruti Ka Mela, etc are celebrated with full of love, overjoy and purity.
Badrinath temple in Uttarakhand Chamoli district is an abode of Lord Badrinarayan or Lord Vishnu. It is one of the Chardham in the Chota Chardham circuit and is one among the 108 Vaishnavite Divya Desams. Pilgrims from every corner of the globe make a bee line to the temple each year during the Yatra season that starts from April and continues till November.
The interiors of the temple consists of the following sections-
According to Legend said that when the Goddess Ganga was requested to locomate to earth to help suffering humanity or Cruelity. At that time Earth was unable to defend the force of her movement. Therefore , Holy Ganga river was scattered into twelve holy channels whereas Alaknanda River is one of them. According to legend and histroy , the Badrinath temple was built by the Adi Sankara first person who found a Saligram idol of Lord Badrinarayan which lay immersed in the River Alaknanda . He installed this idol in a Tapt Kund cave.
The present temple was established in the 16th century by the King of Garhwal. Badrinath town is also famous for the Panch Badri temples. According to legend, Lord Vishnu revealed to the sage Narad that the forms of Nar and Narayan were representations of his own. It is also believed that Narad, who meditated here, continues to worship the Supreme God using the Ashtakshara mantras even today.
The Badrinath temple has three sections namely Garbhagriha , the Darshan Mandap, and Sabha Mandap. There are holy tapkund inside the temple where devotees take bath before visiting the temple. The temple has small cupola covered with gold roof at an attitude of 50 ft high locate at top of the temple. The architecture Style of the temple is more resembles of Buddhist temples style of architecture .The walls and pillars of the mandapa are covered with intricate carvings. The Stone facade is built with arched windows.
Badrinath is one of the 108 Divya Desams of Lord Vishnu. Badrinath is significant for being one of the destinations in the Chota Char Dham Yatra and also one of the major Char Dhams of India. Also important is the belief that this statue appeared on its own, known as Swayam Vyakta Kshetras. Though the current temple is not ancient, the site does find mention in Puranas. Also noteworthy is that this temple was originally a Buddhist shrine until Adi Shankara transformed it into a Hindu Temple and installed the idol of Lord Vishnu that he discovered in the Alaknanda river in a cave. This temple was damaged in an earthquake in 1803 and the King of Jaipur rebuilt it in its current form.
One may find it strange but the chief priests of this temple belong to the Nambudri community from Kerala. According to history, the king called Nambudiris from Kerala in 1776 to preside over the rituals in this temple and since then the Nambudiris have been in charge. Some believe it was Adi Shankaracharya who instituted this practice. The current practice of selection of the head priest is quite involved. The candidate must be a scholar well versed in religious scriptures and must belong to the Vaishnava sect sent by the government of Kerala and his selection must be approved by the erstwhile ruler of Garhwal.
Each day Pooja at Badrinath temple opens with the ceremony of Maha Abhishek followed by other rituals like Abhishek, Geeta path and Bhagwat Pooja during the morning session. In the evening, Puja rituals include Aarti and Geeta Govinda path. During all the Pooja rituals recitals are performed from Sahasranama and Ashtotram. Post Aarti, the idol of Shri Badrinarayan is cleared of all its decorations and then coated with a fragrant paste of sandalwood. On the next day, at the time of Nirmalya Darshan devotees can receive this sandalwood paste as ‘Prasad’.
The temple rituals start as early as 4.30am and close at 9pm. The Darshan hours start somewhere between 7-8am and there’s a short recess in the afternoon starting from 1pm and continuing until 4pm.
The opening and closing ceremonies at Badrinath temple include Maha Abhishek and Geeta Govinda path respectively. Maha Abhishek is done early in the morning while Geeta Govinda path is done in the evening before temple closes for the day.
Badrinath temple is managed by the Badrinath temple committee constructed by the state government of UP under the Badrinath Mandir act. The head priest of the temple or Rawal belongs to the sect of Nambudiri Brahmins from the south Indian state of Kerala. The Rawal shoulders all responsibilities pertaining to daily rituals and ceremonies in the temple and his duties commence from 4 am in the morning.
Written By
Panch Badri - The five Badri's are five temples situated at different places where Lord Vishnu worshipped under five different forms and names in Uttarakhand. As travelers visit these Panch Badri's it is glorified in five different forms. It is believed that Lord Vishnu mediated all these places in this Alaknanda River valley. These five Badri are Vishal Badri, Adi Badri, Bhavishya Badri, Vridha B...
Nestled in the lap of the mighty Himalayas are the spiritual centers of Chardham Yatra. It is every Hindu devotee’s dream to complete the Dham Yatra at least once, in order to obtain the ultimate gift of Moksha. However, the road to attaining complete liberation ...