#Thread on badrinath

Badrinath is a small town which is located on the banks of the Alaknanda River, in the Garhwal hills of Himalayas, and at an elevation of 3133 m, It is among the 108 Divya Desams, and Badrinath temple is part of both Char Dham and Chota Char Dham.

According to skand Purana, there are many spots of pilgrimage in heaven, earth and the world, but there has been none equal to Badri. It is dedicated to lord Vishnu and considered as one of the most holiest place for hindus.

Badri refers to a berry that grew abundantly in the area, and nath refers to Vishnu. In the Sanskrit, Badri means the Indian Jujube tree, which has an edible berry. Some scriptures refer to Jujube trees as abundant in Badrinath.

According to the Srimad Bhagavatam, "There in Badrikashram the Personality of Godhead (Vishnu), in his incarnation as the sages Nara and Narayana, had been undergoing great penance since time immemorial for the welfare of all living entities."

According to Skand Puran the idol of Lord Badrinath was recovered by Adiguru Shankaracharya from Narad Kund and was re-enshrined in the 8th century A.D. in this temple.

Actually, Badrinath oftenly called as Badri Vishal, was re-established by Adi Shri Shankaracharaya to revieve the lost prestige of Hinduism and to unite nation in one bond.
According to Mahabharata, Pandav brothers, along with Draupadi, going past on their last pilgrimage by

ascending the slopes of a peak near Badrinath called Swargarohini or the ‘Ascent to Heaven’.

Badrinath is considered to be a tapo bhoomi where a year-long penance is equal to thousand years of meditation. Due to which I think, Great sages like Kapila Muni, Gautam, Kashyap

have performed penance here, Bhakta Narada attained salvation and Lord Krishna loved this region, medieval religious scholars like Adi Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya, Sri Nityananda have come here for learning and quiet contemplation and so many still continue to do even today.

Badrinath also has historical significance because the temple here was installed by Adi Shankara. He found the idol of Lord Badri in Alaknanda River and put it up in a cave near the Tapt Kund. The construction and expansion of the temple were undertaken by the kings of Garhwal

during the 17 Century. But in 1803, the Himalayan earthquake led to massive destruction of the temple. Later the king of Jaipur reconstructed it and it was completed before the First World War. After the completion of the temple, the queen of Indore, Ahilyabai

donated a golden umbrella on her visit to the temple. 15. When Garhwal was divided into two parts in the 20 Century, Badrinath Temple came under British rule. However, the management committee was led by the king of Garhwal.

The temple is divided into three sections - the garbha grih or sanctum sanctorum, darshan mandap or puja hall and sabha mandap where devotees assemble. The main entrance gate of Badarinath temple is colourful and imposing popularly known as Singhdwar.

The temple is approximately 50 feet tall with a small cupola on top, covered with a gold gilt roof.

The Badrinath temple numbers among five related shrines called Panch Badri dedicated to worship of Lord Vishnu

• Vishal Badri: Badrinath Temple in Badrinath.
• Yogadhyan Badri: located at Pandukeshwar
• Bhavishya Badri: in Subain.
• Vridh Badri: in Animath.
• Adi Badri: 17 km from Karnaprayag. A temple complex consisting of sixteen small temples, currently it is 14.

There are many mysterious tales related to the temple, like the current badrinath temple will get disappeared in the future and new one will arrive shortly after that, but, I couldn’t find any reliable source for that information.

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