Introduction

Badrinarayan temple or also known as Badrinath Temple is located by the side of River Alakananda in Badrinath town of Uttarkhand in india. This temple is one among the holiest temples in hindu culture and is having Lord Vishnu as its main deity. It is also included along with the town of badrinath in the four Dhams of India and is also considered as one site in the Chota Char Dham pilgrimages. Also, it is among the 108 divya desams, which are holy shrines in Vaishnavite sect. it is open to public darshan for about 6 months in a year, usually from April end to November beginning, because there is an extreme weather in the region of the Himalayas.

Inside this temple, there is worship of many idols. Among these, the most important one is the 1 metre high statue of Vishnu, who is revered by the name of Lord Badrinarayan, which can be built with stone of Saligram in black color. It is considered as one of the statues of Lord Vishnu which has been self manifested or Swayam Vyakta Kshetras. The idol shows Lord Vishnu sitting in a posture of meditation, which is different from the usually reclining position of Vishnu. Every year in November, the idol is shifted to Jyotirmath nearby as the town of Badrinath is closed

History

Adi Shankara first established the town of Badrinath in 9th century as a pilgrimage region and it was he who discovered the idol of Badrinarayan from river Alakananda and set it up inside a cave close to the Tapt Kund hot springs. It was in 16th century that the murti was shifted to its present location by King of Garhwal.

Since then, plenty of renovations have taken place in the temple which has been damaged due to avalanches and long days. Various kings of Garhwal made expansions in 17th century in this temple. In 1803, due to the great earthquake in Himalayan region, a lot of damages were seen, which was corrected by King of Jaipur. This place is one among the 5 Punyakshethras or Holy places, where hindus pray and offer oblations or Shraddhakarmas to ancestors across 42 descendants. The other four places where this is done are Gaya, Kashi o Varanasi, Allahabad or Prayaga and Rameswaram. It is considered that if the Shraddhakarma is done in this place, then there will be no requirement to do it on a yearly basis

Architecture

The height of the temple is near about 50 ft with the top having a small cupola, which is having a roof with gold gilt. In the façade, there are arrangements of stones along with windows which are arched. There is a big and wide stairway that goes up to the gateway in an arched shape, giving the main entry point to the temple. The manner in which the architecture is done looks like Buddhist Vihara, with façade which is painted brightly, found in many temples of Buddhism. Inside the mandapa is a large hall with lots of pillars that goes into the Garbha Griha or primary shrine area and beautifully made carvings are present on the pillars and walls of the mandapa.

The areas of shrine which is main has many images made of black colored stone, depicting Lord Badrinarayan, who is sitting down on a canopy of gold, below Badri Tree. Such murtis are in total number of 15, which are also worshipped and they belong to narasimha which is an incarnation of Vishnu, nara & Narayana, Navadurga, Garuda, Kubera, uddhava, Narada, Lakshmi and Ganesh. Prasad offerings at the temple consist of dry fruits, tulsi leaves and hardsugar candy.

Just at the lower part of the temple location are the hot sulphur or Tapt Kund springs, which are considered to have medicinal properties, where prilgrims considered it to take a plunge before going into the temples. Temperature in the springs always is around 45 deg C

How to Reach

By Air

Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun is the closest airport at a distance of about 317 kms, when going through road. Helicopter services are available from Dehradun, by which the distance becomes 100 kms.

By Rail

Rishikesh is the railway station nearest to Badrinath at 297 kms and at 327 kms is Kotdwara. Rishikesh and Kotdwara stations are small and many trains do not travel to these places, but the haridwar station at a distance of 24 kms from rishikesh is having plenty of trains travelling from various states of the country, thereby making this as the railhead for Badrinath.

By Road

Along the national highway 58, Badrinath town can be reached, as this NH 58 connects Delhi with the region of Mana pass in Uttarakhand near the border of Indo Tibet. Pilgrims carried in buses travelling from new Delhi till Badrinath along haridwar and Rishikesh are seen mostly during months of summer. For road journey reaching Badrinath, Rishikesh is the beginning point.

Buses from Rishikesh starts regularly from the bus stand going into Bardrinath and most of these, travel from very early period. At around dawn, there is the last bus from Rishikesh to Badrinath. After the point of Joshimath, the road becomes narrow and travel is not allowed at this point after sunset. If someone missed his bus from Rishikesh stand, then they can go to Chamoli or Joshimath or Rudraprayag  to spend the overnight time there and then catch thebus to Badrinath.

Road from Rishikesh to Badrinath is about 293 kms going through Rudraprayag and then from Chamoli to Joshimath, before reaching Badrinath.

Important Shrines

Lord Badrinath in the temple of Badrinath in Uttarakhand is holding a Sankh in one arm and a chakra in the other arm, both of which are raised, while two other arms are on lap in the pose of yogamudra. This idol is made from stone of black color and is showing Lord Vishnu in a meditative mood. There are also idols of Garuda, who was the vehicle serving Lord Narayan and also the idol of Mahalaxmi

Significance of the Temple

Many religious texts have mention of Badrinath, which date back to period of the Vedas. According to a legend, the reason shown for the meditative posture of Lord Vishnu is related to a story. According to this, Vishnu was scolded by a sage, who happened to see lakshmi, Lord Vishnu’s wife giving massage to his feet. Due to this, Lord Vishnu arrived at Badrinath to do is meditation to seek austerity due to which he is seen in padmasana position. This is the reason that yogis come from various regions to perform meditation. Another legend explanation is that the place in earlier days was having a number of Badri bushes and Vishnu was seen in mediation for about 200 hundred years. All this time, his wife Lakshmi stood providing shelter from sunlight and in all these years, she turned into a badri tree herself and Lord Vishnu was known as Badri nath.

As per one more legend, in Badrinath, both Lord Shiva and Parvati were during tapas. Then Vishnu arrived in disguised form as a boy who was small and cried, causing disturbance to their meditation. On being asked, the boy replied that he was crying because he wanted this place of Badrinath for this meditation. When Lord Shiva and Parvati found this out, they immediately moved out to Kedarnath.

Bhagavata Purana says that there is personality of Vishnu or Godhead in various incarnations and as nara and Narayana, had been undergoing lots of penance for long in order to give welfare to the people. According to skanda purana, a number of shrines are there in earth, hell and heaven but like badrinath, there is no other. In padma purana, there is mention of Badrinath area having plenty of spiritual nature treasures

Timings and Other Important Information

Temple Timings: 4 am - 12 noon, 3 pm - 9 pm.

Prayer meetings start from 6.30 am in the morning to about dusk in the evening time, during which, the Nirmalya Darshan is considered as the most auspicious, which is the first Puja ceremony.

Inside the temple, taking photographs is completely prohibited.

Festivals

On Bhavan Dwadashi, in Sept-Oct months, the Mata Murti Ka Mela is celebrated, during which occasion, Uddhavji Statue is carried along to temple of Mata Murti, which is about 3 kms away and then returned on the same day. Other noteworthy occasions are janmashtami and Badri-Kedar utsav which fall in the month around June to August

Weather and time to Visit

The temperature in Badrinath is usually chilly and cool throughout the year, and hence the time ideally suited for visiting the site is from May to June and then from September to October.

Winter season extends from October to April and there are days which are chilly, with temperatures sometimes reaching near 5 deg C. Sub zero level temperatures have also been seen with commonly seen snowfall. It is not very suitable for traveling or taking pilgrimage.

Summer months are from may to June, where the climate can be found to be moderate, with average temperature being around 18 deg C. For sightseeing and for taking pilgrimage to Badrinath, the summer season is ideal.

Monsoon or rainy season is from July till September, when intermittent rains are seen but temperature drops drastically, with occasional episodes of landslides causing problems with pilgrimages.

Accomodation

In badrinath, accommodation facilities are many ranging from PWD guesthouses and GMVN to the smaller guest houses and hotels which are privately owned to some cheaper options of dharamshalas. Luxurious setting hotels and accommodations are not usually found and so people should carry blankets and beddings if possible, along with other resources required for cold season

Tips for Devotees

Prayers in Badrinaryan temple start as early as 6.30 am going on by evening till time of dusk. During this period, the most auspicious time is considered to be the Nirmalya Darshan.
For special category pujas, there are coupons available inside the premises of the temples, and photography is completely prohibited.

Due to the bad weather and extreme cold, the temple is accessible to pilgrims only for about 6 months every year, starting from April end to November beginning. Temple of Badrinarayan is closed for the rest of the months and in November every year, the idol is shifted to Jyotirmath.

Photo Gallery

Video