Badrinath Temple

Badrinath temple (Hindi/Garhwali: बद्रीनाथ मंदिर), sometimes called Badrinarayan temple, is situated along the Alaknanda river, in the hill town of Badrinath in Uttarakhand state in India. It is widely considered to be one of the holiest Hindu temples, and is dedicated to god Vishnu. The temple and town are one of the four Char Dham and Chota Char Dham pilgrimage sites. It is also one of the 108Divya Desams, holy shrines for Vaishnavites. The temple is open only six months every year (between the end of April and the beginning of November), due to extreme weather conditions in theHimalayan region.

Several murtis are worshipped in the temple. The most important is a one meter tall statue of Vishnu as Lord Badrinarayan, made of black Saligram stone. The statue is considered by many Hindus to be one of eight swayam vyakta keshtras, or self-manifested statues of Vishnu.^[1] 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.

History

Badrinath was originally established as a pilgrimage site by Adi Shankara in the ninth century. Shankara discovered the image of Badrinarayan in the Alaknanda River and enshrined it in a cave near the Tapt Kund hot springs.^[2][5] In the sixteenth century, the king of Garhwal moved the murti to the present temple.^[2]

The temple has undergone several major renovations, due to age and damage by avalanche.^[5] In the 17th century, the temple was expanded by the kings of Garhwal. After significant damage in the great 1803 Himalayan earthquake, it was rebuilt by the King of Jaipur.^[1][6] It is one of the five Punyakshethras (Holy places)where the Hindus offer Shradddhakarmas (oblations) to their 42 line of ancestors (Both from mother's and father's side) (Other four are Kashi, Gaya, Prayaga and Rameswaram). It is believed that once the Shraddha Karma is performed here, the descendants need not perform the yearly ritual.