“Where there you can touch yourself”

One of the key destinations in our Char Dham tour. The most revered and oldest Hindu shrines of India, the Badrinath temple, at an altitude of 3411 above sea level. On the right bank of the river Alaknanda, guarded on either side by the two mountain peaks Nar and Narayan. It is said that,

 “There are many sacred spots/places of pilgrimage in the heaven earth and the other world but neither is there any equal to Badrinath nor shall there be one.”

MYTHOLOGICAL HISTORY AND BACK GROUND OF BADRINATH JI
Badrinath is devoted to the worship of lord Vishnu, who, according to an amusing tale, usurped this place from Shiva. For Vishnu had come here as the gods once did, to offer penance. He loved the place so much that he plotted to unseat Shiva from his meditation here. He took on the form of a beautiful child and began to wail. Shiva's wife, Parvati, picked him up but could not calm the child. Since his wailing continued to disturb Shiva, he shifted to Kedarnath in exasperation, leaving the spot free for Vishnu to occupy. But reminders of Shiva's stay continue to linger, most visible in the name, Badri, a kind of berry that Shiva was most fond of and the gigantic tree, invisible to the mortal eye, that served Shiva. Legend also has it, when the Ganga was requested to descend to earth to help the suffering humanity, the earth was unable to withstand the force of its descend. Therefore the mighty Ganga was split into twelve holy channels, Alaknanda was one of them that later became the abode of Lord Vishnu or Badrinath.

When the sage Narad disapproved of Lord Vishnu's way of living in worldly comforts, he was hurt and sent his spouse to nagkanyas. He himself decided to disappear in the Himalayan valley-whose peaks make for some of the most enticing manifestations of God's creations. The spot was carpeted with Badris or wild berries and hence was famous as Badri Van. The Lord Vishnu assumed a yogdhyani posture and for several years meditated at the same spot and fed himself with wild berries. Laxmi on return found the sesha shayya empty, she went to the Himalayas in search of the Lord and ultimately found him amidst the badri in deep meditation. He addressed the Lord as Badrinath and requested him to give up the yogdhyani posture to return to his original sringaric form.


ARCHITECTURE STYLE OF BADRINATH JI
The Temple of BADRINATH prior to the vedic age and the original temple is believed to be built by King Pururava and the icon of the lord carved by Vishwakarma, the creator of gods, The idol is made of black stone similar to granite. It is built in the form of a cone with a small cupola of a gilt bull & spire.

Adi Shankaracharya, A Hindu reformist and the saint of 8th century reshrined the temple. It was renovated several times due to the damages by avalanches and restored in the 19th century by the royal houses of Scindia & Holkar. A flight of steps takes pilgrims to the main gate & then into the temple. The temple is divided into three parts - the 'Garbha Griha' or the sanctum sanctorum, the 'Darshan Mandap' where the rituals are conducted and the 'Sabha Mandap' where devotees assemble. The Garbha Griha portion has its canopy covered with a sheet of gold offered by Queen Ahilyabai Holkar. The complex has 15 idols. especially attractive is the one-metre high image of Badrinath, finely sculpted in black stone. It represents Lord Vishnu seated in a meditative pose-padmasan.

Laxmi temple :-
The Hindu tradition demands that the place of the spouse(Wife) is on the left but sitting of the Goddess Laxmi on the right is meaningful to convey that they should not be worshipped as a divine couple but as two individual deities with no marital relation. It is for the reason that the Rawal (main priest) of Badrinath must not be married. The pilgrims to the temple worship the Lord in his sringaric form during the summer and in the winter, he is worshipped in his yogdhyani form by the devtas & sages.

Visiting Duration of Badrinath.
The temple opens every year in the month of April-May & closes for winters in the third week of November. Badrinath's four subsidiary Badris include Bhavishya Badri, Yogdhyan Badri, Bridha Badri and Adi badri. But according to the mythology during winter when the temple remains close for Six months, the deity Badrinath is being worshiped by Naradmuni, References to Sri Badrinath have been made in the Vedas & perhaps it was a popular shrine during the Vedic age also.

Puja and Rituals
In the temple of Badrinath, Special pujas are also performed on behalf of individuals. Every puja must be preceded by a holy dip in the Tapta Kund. Some of the special morning pujas are Abhishek, Mahaabhishek, Geeta Path. Some special evening pujas are Aarti & Geet Govind. Such pujas are to be booked in advance. The temple opens at 0430 hrs & closes at 1300 hrs. Once again it opens at 1600 hrs & closes at 2100 hrs after the divine song Geet Govind. Rawal is the administrator-Pujari of the temple well versed in puja ceremonials & Sanskrit language and is expected to be celibate.

SIGHT SEEING & EXCURSION :
Panch Dharas : (a) Prahalad Dhara (b) Kurma Dhara (c) Urvashi Dhara (d) Bhrigu Dhara (e) Indra Dhara

Panch Shilas : (a) Narad Shila (b) varaha Shila (c) Garurh Shila (d) Markandeya Shila (e) Narshingh Shila.

Tapt Kund : Natural thermal springs on the bank of the river Alaknanda, where it is customary to bathe before entering the Badrinath temple.

Narad Kund : A recess in the river, near Tapt Kund, forming a pool from where the Badrinath idol was recovered.

Brahama Kapal : A flat platform on the bank of river Alaknanda. Hindus perform proppitiating rites for their deceased ancestors. Legends has it that when Shiva chopped of the fifth head of Brahma, it got stuck to his trident. Lastly with the blessing of Lord Vishnu at Badrivan, the head of Brahma fell down from the trident at this place & hence the name Brahma-Kapal (head).

Sheshnetra : 1.5kms. away is a boulder having an impression of the legendary serpent, better known as the Sheshnag's eye.

Charanpaduka : 3kms. away is a beautiful meadow where the footprint of Lord Vishnu is seen on a boulder.

Neelkanth : A pyramidal shaped snowy peak ( 6,600mts.) towering above Badrinath presents a dramatic sight. It is popularly known as the ' Garhwal Queen'.

Mata Murty Temple : Devoted to the mother of Sri Badrinathji. Other important temples include Sesh Netra Temple, Urvashi Temple and Charanpaduka.

Mana Village : Inhabited by an Indo-Mongolian tribe, it is the last Indian village before Tibet.

Vasundhara : As the name suggests, vasundhara is a magnificent water fall. This place is 5 kms. from Badrinath out of which 2 kms. is motorable upto Mana.

Bhim Pul : On the other side of Mana village, a massive rock forming a natural bridge, lies over the roaring Saraswati river. It presents a spectacular view of water thundering down through the narrow passage under the rock and is believed to have been placed there by Bhim, the second eldest among the five Pandava brothers.

Vyas Gufa (cave) : Near Mana Village, this is a rock-cave where Ved Vyas is believed to have composed the Mahabharata and the pauranic commentaries.

Alka Puri : 15 kms. from Badrinath and located via Mana village, lies the source of Alaknanda river from the glacier snouts of Bhagirath-Kharak and Sato Panth glaciers. The spot is supposed to be the adobe of Kuber, Yakshas and Gandharvas.

Sato Panth : 25 kms. from Badrinath and located at an elevation of 4,402 mts. is a three cornered lake of serene water with a circumference of about 1 km. The lake is named after the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and mahesh, who are believed to occupy one corner each of this lake. The trek is hazardous and full of dramatic views. An experienced guide is advisable. There is no place to rest except in the caves. Cooked food, stove etc. must be carried from Badrinath itself.

Arwatal : For the more enterprising, a trek to Arwatal (3,980 mts.) via-Mana, Ghastoli and Arwatal is immensely rewarding. The trek passes through a hazardous icy and snowy terrain and a number of streams have to be crossed. badrinath to Ghastoli is 17 kms. and Arwatal is approximately another 18 kms. Photography is prohibited in this area and a guide is essential.

General Information :
Area : 4.5 Sq.kms.
Altitude : 3411 mts.
Rainfall : 1460 m
Temperature : Summer - Max 17.9° C, Min 5.9° C, Winter- Generally snowbound from December to March with minimum subzero temperature.
Best Season : From opening to closing, generally from April to November.
Clothing : Heavy woolen garments required throughout.

Accessibility :
Air : Nearest airport is a Jollygrant, 314kms.

Rail : Nearest railhead is Rishikesh, 297kms. which is connected to major cities like Howrah, Mumbai, Delhi & Lucknow by rail.

Road : Badrinath is connected by a motorable road with Rishikesh, Kotdwar, Dehradun, Hardwar and other hill stations of Garhwal. Some important road distances are Delhi (518Kms), Joshimath (42Kms), Hardwar (321 Kms), Gopeshwar 9106 Kms).