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Uttarakhand enshrines Panch Badri- Here, Lord Vishnu is worshipped in
different forms. Badri is a name of lord Vishnu. Every year, thousands
of pilgrims visits here for worship and meditation.
The legend behind this, that, actually Badrinath was
the abode of Lord Shiva who used to reside here. But, Lord Vishnu happened
to see this place and wished to reside there. He planned to hold the place
from Lord Shiva. So, he took the form of a wailing child. Seeing the crying
baby, Shiva's wife, Parvati, picked him up but could not calm the child.
The crying of the infant, disturbed the meditation of Lord Shiva. She
he left the place and went for higher reaches of the Himalayas and made
Kedarnath as his home. And, Lord Vishnu take his original form and remain
at Badrinath forever but the remainders of Lord Shiva's stay is here,
the tree which served Lord Shiva and Badri the kind of fruitberry which
was his the favourite.
These five temples are settled at five different places
starting from the height of 1,380 meters to 3,133 meters.
Vishal Badri (Badrinath)
Badrinath, a citadel to Lord Vishnu, situated at a height
of 3,155 m is the place where Vishnu, Ganga, Saraswathi and Alaknanda confluence.
Build in early ninth century AD, Badrinath is one of the most revered
Hindu shrines of India dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It is also one of the
four Dhams restored by Adi Shankaracharya in an effort to unify the country,
along with Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu in the south, Dwarkapuri in the
west and Jagannath Puri in the east. The priests of Badrinath are from
the southernmost part of India, i.e. Kerala. This is according to the
rules laid down by Adi Sankara.
Lakshmi,
the consort of Vishnu loved Badri trees that were found in plenty in the
area, hence the name Badrinath. It is also known as 'Tapobhumi',
the land of meditation and penance and 'Bhubaikunth' (heaven on earth).
Sri Badrinath Ji temple is located between the two mountain
ranges of Nar and Narayan, with the Neelkanth peak(6977m) in the background.
In the 8th century AD Adi Sankaracharya came to Badri and restored the
ancient Badrinath idol from the Narad Kund and established in the Ganyr
cave near Tapt kund. Tapt Kund, the hot water spring with natural curative
properties believed to be the abode of Lord Agni faces the shrine. The
pilgrims take a holy dip in the Taptakund before entering the temple.
The temple remains closed from October to April due to the winter snow,
when temperatures fall to sub-zero degrees.
The pilgrims generally pay homage to the departed souls
of their near ones in the Brahma Kapal, a flat platform on the banks of
the river Alakananda. A rock boulder Sheshnetra, with the impression of
Sheshnag, a mythological serpent and Charanpaduka, a boulder with foot
prints of Lord Vishnu are of religious significance to the devotees.
The other places of worship in Badrivishal complex are
Gupt kashi (Arddh -Narisvara and Viswanath temples), Panch Kedar (Mad
Maheswaray, Tungnath, Rudra nath, Kalpanath and Kedarnath) Vyas Gulfa
and Ganesh Gulfa (where saint Vyas dictated the Mahabharata to Ganesha
), Bhim pul (where Bhim and Hanuman met ), Hemkund Sahib are other places
where pilgrims offer prayers and oblations.
Badrinath remains out of bounds for pilgrims for 6 months
a year, from October to May.
Yogdhyan Badri
Yogdhyan Badri, at 1,920 m, is located at Pandukeshwar,
named after the Pandva's King. It is said that the Pandavas, after the
Kurukshetra War against the Kauravas, came to the Himalayas and, here
they handed over their capital, Hastinapur, to Raja Parikshit and did
penance before seeking out the highway to heaven. The importance of the
Yogdhyan Badri is that, it's sanctum has an image of the lord in a meditative
posture as that in main Badrinath temple.
Yogdhyan Badri derives its name from the meditative position
of the enshrined Badri idol. The copper plate inscriptions found at Yogdhyan
Badri have helped providing valuable information on the history of the
temple and Katyuri dynasty rule in the region.
Bhavishya Badri
The temple is enshrined here is the lion-headed image
of Narsingh, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Bhavishya Badri is known as
the the future seat of Badrinath. It is believed that the arms of the
dol are becoming thin and it is said that when the whole world will be
undertaken by Kalyug, the arms will break.
Vridha Badri
This is the first Badri, located at a height of 1,380
m at Animath. Before Badrinath was designated as one of the four Char
Dhams, Adi Shankaracharya, found the idol of Badrinath at Naradkund, and
restored. While Badrinath closes during winter, Vridha Badri remains open
throughout the year.
Adi Badri
It is believed that Adi Guru Shankaracharya had initiated
the construction of these temples. The main temple of Narayan is distinguished
by a raised platform in the pyramidal form, where the black stone idol
of lord Vishnu is enshrined.
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