Badrinath, Garhwal, Uttarakhand

 

Introduction

Indians have an unshakable belief that the Himalayan mountains have been the abode of gods and goddesses for ages. Himalayas are divine and Garhwal-Kumaon is the God's land in itself. 

On the border of Garhwal and Kumaon, in the Himalayan premises , under the shade of deodar trees, on the banks of the roaring blue-white, swift flowing Alaknanda river, is the supreme abode of Lord Vishnu i.e. Badrinath.

The river Ganga blesses the devotees with sacred waters at the highly spiritual Hrishikesh. From there, the first stop on the journey into the interior of the Himalayas is Devprayag, where the deep green flow of the Bhagirathi river meets the foaming Alaknanda. One can traverse the banks of this Bhagirathi in the north direction to reach the source of Ganga, the  Gangotri- Gomukh. After passing through Devprayag, you reach Rudraprayag, where the Alaknanda absorbs the flow of graceful Mandakini which brings the blessing of Kedarnath, the supreme place of Shri Mahadev. And then along the banks of the Alaknanda, we go north and reach Badrinath, the abode of Narayana in the forest of berries i.e. Badrinath.  

Badrinath is one of the 108 Divya Desams,  pilgrimages to Vishnu temples. Similarly, it is also an integral part of the Char Dham Yatra of Yamunotri-Gangotri-Kedarnath-Badrinath in the Himalayas. Tapta Kund, Vyas Cave , Saraswati River are some of the important places near Badrinath Temple.  

This Vishnu place, which is at an altitude of about ten thousand feet, is fully covered by snow in winter. That is why these four Dhams of the Himalayas pull their doors for the devotees after Diwali and reopen on Akshaya Tritiya at the advent of spring. In the meantime, it is believed that the deity is present in the dedicated temples at lower altitudes in the Himalayas. Accordingly, Lord Vishnu of Badrinath resides in Pandukeshwar.  

Badrinath Dham, which was inhabited by only a few houses till the very past, has now become a busy pilgrimage center due to the convenience of travel.

History

Badrinath is a pilgrimage site in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.  Similar to the village, the name of the nearby 23000 feet high snow-clad mountain peak is also Badrinath.  

As per legend, Shri Shankaracharya found an idol of Seated Vishnu, made of black stone in the Alaknanda river at Narad Kund which he installed at Badrinath. Of course, there are many references in the Mahabharata and Puranas to describe the antiquity and greatness of Badrinath Dham. 

According to mythology, Nara and Narayana meditated here.  According to the following verse in the Skanda Purana, the name of this city is different in every era and in the Kali Yuga, it is Badrikashram i.e. the present village of Badrinath.

कृते मुक्ति प्रदा प्रोक्ता नेतायां योगसिद्धिदा ।विशालाद्वापरे प्रोक्ता कलौ बदरिकाश्रमः ।  

The temple of Badrinath was built many times over the centuries due to earthquakes and avalanches. The present beautiful structure in bright colors was built by the Garhwal Naresha  in the 14th-15th century. 

4 copper plates have been found in the temple of Pandukeshwar i.e. Yogdhyan Badri, which describes the donations made by the then kings. Interestingly, Pravardhan Vijay Samvat is used here for chronology.

Architecture

Badrinath is one of the 108 Divya Desams of the Vaishnava sect, that is, one of the holy Vaishnava pilgrimage sites! About 8.5 million devotees visit this temple, which remains covered with snow for six months, in six months. Vishnu is seated here in the yoga posture. Although he holds a conch shell in his back two hands, the front two hands are in the yoga posture. This is a very ancient pilgrimage site in the Garhwal ranges of the Himalayas on the banks of the Alaknanda river. Information about the Badrinath temple is found in the Vishnu Purana, Skanda Purana and Tamil Alwar saint literature. Adi Shankaracharya lived here for the construction of this temple.

Around the eighth century CE, the Parmar king Kanakapal donated the surrounding villages for the maintenance of this temple. Mentions of Badrinath and the temple are found in the inscriptions of the Parmar kings.

The main parts of the temple are the hall, the rectangular darshan pavilion in the place of the antar and the assembly pavilion in front. One has to climb steps to reach the temple, which is built on a somewhat high foundation called Adhishthana. There is a spacious courtyard surrounding the temple.

 

There is a Nagar style shikhara on the gabhara, similar to the Parmar temple style. The fifty feet high square shikhara has a central rahapag on all four sides. Due to this, the shikhara has three vertical parts. There is an amalak on top. However, according to the Garhwal style, a square wooden umbrella is built around it. The part between the shikhara and the amalak is called Skandha. This square wooden umbrella is firmly installed on it. It has a gold Kalasha on it.

There is a smaller vestibule in the main temple when going to the gabhara, it is called Darshan Mandap. Here are the idols of Kubera, Narada, Uddhav, Nara Narayana. The Sabha Mandap has beautifully carved pillars.

After coming down from the main temple's foundation, there is a wide open courtyard where one can circumambulate the entire temple. Beyond this open space, there are fifteen temples, big and small. In them are the idols of Lakshmi Narasimha, Adi Shankaracharya, Lakshmi, Garuda, Navadurga, Ramanujacharya. All these temples are made of black stone. The main Badrinath temple is also made of black stone. A strong wall is built around this entire area. This wall has an entrance which is built in the typical Garhwali style. When you climb the steps and enter through this entrance, you can see the Vishnu Vahan Garuda. In the Dravidian temple architecture of South India, the entrance is decorated with magnificent and beautiful carvings called Gopuram. The temples of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Maharashtra have rooms decorated with arches at the entrance. There is a Nagarkhana in them. The same structure is seen at the entrance of Badrinath temple. This entrance, decorated with beautiful arches, attractively painted paintings and windows, is made of wood. On its floating arms are sculptures of animals and birds considered auspicious like elephants, peacocks and swans.

Stone and wood have been used thoughtfully for the construction of Badrinath temple.

 

The original temple, built in the 8th century, suffered from natural disasters from time to time, and had to be rebuilt later. In the 16th century, the ruler of the Garhwal dynasty, Ajaypal, did a lot of work on the premises. Again, in the year 1803, a terrible earthquake caused major damage to the temple. At that time, the Maharaja of Jaipur repaired and reconstructed it. Even today, the responsibility of maintaining the Badrinath temple lies with a committee comprising the Parmars of Garhwal and the royal families of Travancore.

 

 

Rituals and Festivals 

When nature is also included in the relationship between devotees and God, and a festive touch is added to the regular processes of nature, then we can easily experience the mutual relationship between the seasons, which are the laws of nature, and the truth, which is God, as described in Vedic literature. The Badrinarayan temple gives this feeling!

The snow-capped peaks of the distant Himalayas, the lush surroundings with tall trees and the Narayan, or Badri Vishal, seated in the temple! The worship of this deity is not only a matter of devotion, but nature also gives us the opportunity to be introspective here. This area is bustling with saints, ascetics, householders, devotees. As I am, so is my God!

The area is covered with snow at such a high altitude that it becomes practically difficult, in fact impossible, for a person to live in this area. Usually, we see that the idol of a deity enshrined in a temple is not moved from there. But in this temple, we will see the practical connection given to faith! God can remain immovable in the land of gods, but humans have limitations, so the deities of both the temples of Badrinath and Kedarnath are brought to the lower villages during the winter and they are worshipped in this temple until the winter ends and the summer begins.

 

 

The area is covered with snow at such a high altitude that it becomes practically difficult, in fact impossible, for a person to live in this area. Usually, we see that the idol of a deity enshrined in a temple is not moved from there. But in this temple, we will see the practical connection given to faith! God can remain immovable in the land of gods, but humans have limitations, so the deities of both the temples of Badrinath and Kedarnath are brought to the lower villages during the winter and they are worshipped in this temple until the winter ends and the summer begins.

When the snow gradually melts due to summer, the temple is cleaned and then the worship of the deity begins. But we will see that this is not just a matter of practical approach , but also the tradition of combining worship and worship  has been preserved here for many centuries.

Diwali is a special festival here because the temple here is closed after Diwali. It also has a special tradition.

First of all, the temple of Shri Ganesh in this temple area is closed after performing the ritualistic puja. After that, the Adi Kedareshwar temple is closed. In this festival that continues for four days, before closing the temple, the recitation of Vedic mantras that is going on here regularly  is stopped for some time and before that, Granthpujan is performed. The goddess is invited to reside in solitude with Narayana for a long time and a special offering is shown to her. On the last day, a special puja is performed by the priests of the Rawal tribe, who are the worshipers of this place, which is called 'Sakhi-Bhav Puja'.

These priests, dressed as women, bring the idol of the goddess with a bang and place it next to Badrinarayana. Then a warm woolen blanket soaked in ghee is wrapped around the deity and only then the doors of the temple, decorated with flowers, are closed for a long time. The idols of Uddhav and Kubera here are brought to Pandukeshwar with a bang. The Pandukeshwar area is also rich in temples.

The temple is opened on the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya and its preparations start from Vasant Panchami. Sesame oil is prepared to warm the Lord. We see that this tradition has been followed for centuries in the royal family of Narendranagar.

After the temple opening ceremony,  first the blankets are removed from the deity and he is anointed with sesame oil which provides warmth. After that, the usual puja rituals are performed. Narayana is dressed in clothes and ornaments and the temple is opened for all devotees to see. The deities brought out of the original temple are ritually taken back to their respective temples and installed.

 

Along with this, the festival of Krishna Janmashtami is also celebrated here with enthusiasm.

Legends and Anecdotes

·         Badri Vishal i.e. Badrinath, Yogdhyan Badri (Badrinath Dham in winter), Bhavishya Badri, Vriddhabadri and Adibadri are part of the Panchbadri Vishnu Sthan Badri Parikrama in the Himalayas. Panchbadri and Panchkedar are important Shiva and Vishnu circumambulations in the Himalayas.

·         The priests of Badrinath temple are Nambudri Brahmins from Kerala

 

Epilogue

Badrinath is in many ways epitome of the spiritual journey of Indians. In fact, the abode of Lakshmi and Narayana, the perpetual proximity of the Ganga in the form of Alaknanda river and the strong protection of the divine Himalayas greatly contribute to the spiritual significance of Badrinath Dham.