Badrinath is in Chamoli district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the most important of the four sites in India's Char Dham pilgrimage. Badrinath is a magical blend of divinity and natural beauty. The most auspicious pilgrim spot of Hindus offer the thrill of conquering nature in freezing cold days and serves as the holy bridge which takes the visitors to heaven. Soak your sense in the inescapable spiritual aura and the breathtaking beauty of Neelkanth in its full glory under a full moon in Badrinath.
The relevancy of name and sitting posture as this place was full of Badri (Bael Fruit,'Ber' in Hindi) bushes and Vishnu meditating for couple of hundred years,beloved Lakshmi stood next to him sheltering him from scorching sunlight turned into a Badri herself called 'BADRI VISHAL' and her lord(Nath) became the BadriNath. The principal image of Badrinath is regarded as the first tirthankar, Rishabhanath by Jains.
One legend has it that when the goddess Ganga was requested to descend to earth to help suffering humanity, the earth was unable to withstand the force of her descent. Therefore the mighty Ganga (Ganges) was split into twelve holy channels, with Alaknanda one of them.
Another fact says that, it is at this temple that the Pandavas encountered Rishi Balkhily at Bhrigu Parvat when they were on the lookout for Shiva after the Kurukshetra battle. The Rishi directed them to the site of the confluence to meet an old man meditating there. But when the Pandava got there, the old man vanished and instead, a shivling appeared there. Rishi Balkhily instructed the Pandavas to embrace the Shivling in order to free themselves from their sins. Their impressions are stamped on this Shivling – the biggest Shivling in northen India.
The Badrinath temple is the main attraction in the town. According to legend Shankara discovered a black stone image of Vishnu as Lord Badrinarayan made of Saligram stone in the Alaknanda River. He originally enshrined it in a cave near the Tapt Kund hot springs. In the sixteenth century, the King of Garhwal moved the murti to the present temple. The statue is considered by many Hindus to be one of eight swayam vyakta kshetras, or self-manifested statues of Vishnu. The murti depicts Vishnu sitting in meditative posture, rather than His far more typical reclining pose. In November each year, when the town of Badrinath is closed, the image is moved to nearby Jyotirmath.
Neelkanth, which is also known as the 'Garhwal Queen', is named after Lord Shiva. It is a snowy peak in the shape of a pyramid that forms the background of the Badrinath. The peak is situated at an average elevation of around 6,597 m above sea level.
Neelkanth is the site where the sun casts its first ray. Tourists can also come across various Brahmakal at the foot of the Neelkanth Peak. Moreover, travellers can also cover 6 km of trekking route on this peak.
Tapt Kund is the abode of Lord Agni and is famous for its medicinal properties. Before entering the Badrinath Temple, one has to take a holy dip in the Tapt Kund. The dip into the hot water of this kund is believed to be spiritually rejuvenating and relieves the sins.
The temperature of the water of Kund is 45° Celsius and there are number of hot water springs on the banks of Alaknanda River.
Surya Kund is situated beside Tapt Kund. A holy dip is taken in the hot water springs of this kund. Narada Kund which is situated close to the Surya Kund is also visited, as it is the place where the idol of Vishnu was discovered.
Charanpaduka is a popular rock as it has the foot prints of Lord Vishnu. It is believe that the darshan of these footprints will retrieve them from aliments and other problems. In the Bhagwat Purana, it is said that Lord Krishna suggested his minister Uddhav to visit Badrinath with his Charanpaduka. There are various caves and boulders on the path which lead to Charanpaduka. Charanpaduka is situated at a height of 3,380 ft and is located 3 km from the Badrinath Temple.
Located at a distance of 3 kms from Badri, it is the last Indian Village situated on the Indo-China Border. It has managed to capture the public imagination on account of being home to the Vyas Caves; it is believed that Maharishi Vyas (a sage), author of the Mahabharata, lived in these caves. The village, which sits on the banks of the River Saraswati, is named after this great sage who, in fact, completed the epic in these caves itself. Vyas was actually obeying the orders of his mentor Kalpatru Maharishi, who advised him to start working on the epic. The Mahabharata depicts the history of the Pandavs, the Kauravs, as well the famous Kurukshetra War. Importantly, the Bhagawad Gita, which literally means the song of the Bhagavan or Krishna, is also a part of the epic.
Ganesha, one of the best known and most-worshipped Hindu deities and the son of Shiv & Parvati, rendered his help to the sage in completing the mammoth task. Besides the Mahabharata, Maharishi Vyas was also responsible for composing 18 puranas, Brahma Sutras apart from classifying the Hindu Vedas into 4 parts - Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva. People believe that it is in these caves where Adi Shankara met Vyas Maharishi and discussed with him his Bhashyam (explanatory notes) for Brahma Sutras.
The rock formations inside the Vyas Gufa bear close resemble to the orderly stacking of palm leave manuscripts - oldest writing material – and are worshipped as Vyas Pusthak. Many in fact consider Maharishi Vyas to be a reincarnation of Vishnu.
Vishal Badri: It refers to the main Shri Badri Narayan Temple which is considered to be very sacred by the Hindus.
Yogathyan Badri: Located at a distance of 24 kms from Badri Nath and 20 kms from Joshimath, Yogathyan Badri is believed to be the place where Maharaj Pandu (the father of the Pandavas) prayed to Pandukeshwar.
Bhavishya Badri: It is a small village located some 17 kms away from Joshimath.
Preetha Badri: It is located at a place called Animath, which is 17 kms from Joshimath. Adi Shankar is believed to have worshipped Lord Badrinath here for some time.
Adi Badri: It is located at a distance of 16 kms from Karnaprayag. Here one can find many temples from the Gupt Dynasty; among these temples, the Mana Narayanan temple is the most popular.
Mata Murti Temple is situated at a distance of 3 km from Badrinath on the banks of River Alaknanda. This temple is dedicated to Mata Murti, the mother of two sons Narayana and Nara.
There is a popular belief that the goddess has power of granting Vairagya to those who meditate sincerely in her presence. The temple is visited for worshipping Mata Murti on Ashtami, Shukla Tritiya and Chaturdashi. Moreover, during the time of Mata Murti Ka Mela, the mother of Shri Badrinath is worshipped.
Bheem Pul is situated opposite to the Vyas Gufa in Mana Village. It is a huge rock which acts as a natural bridge across the Saraswati River. The Saraswati River flows with force in between the two mountains and joins the Alaknanda River. It is believed that Bheem, one of the five Pandavas, threw a huge rock in order to make a path to join the two mountains so that Draupadi could easily walk over it.
Altitude: - 3133 mts
Temperature: -
Summer: - Max: - 10.C. / Min- 0 deg.C.
Winter: - Sub-Zero
Clothing: -
April to August: - Light woolen
Sept to March: - Heavy woolens
Languages/Dialects: - Garhwali, Hindi &English
Best Season: - Mid April to June and September to October.
Pincode: - 246422
STD code: - 01381
Airport: - Nearest airport is the Jolly Grant Airport, Dehradun, which is 315 km away.
Railhead: - The nearest railhead is at Haridwar, which is at a distance of 320 km.
The ideal time for visiting the shrine is between May and November. One should carry sweaters, woolen clothing, umbrella and first aids during the trip. Travelling light is a wise idea. Non-vegetarian food and alcoholic drinks are strictly prohibited in this place.
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