The Tale of The Lord at Badrinath Temple!

The Tale of The Lord at Badrinath Temple!

After traveling many temples in India, we will now head towards the northern part of our country, were Lord Vishnu resides as Bhadrinath. The Bhadrinath temple is located in Uttarakhand and is one of the char Dham sites. It also one of the 108 Divya Dhams. The Bhadrinath Temple has a specialty. Keeping in mind the extreme weather conditions, the temple is open only for six months every year. This means we can take darshan of the Lord as Bhadrinath only from the end of April to the beginning of November.

Lord Vishnu as Bhadrinath, resides on the Garhwal hill on the banks of the Alaknanda river. Every year 1,060,000 people make a pilgrimage to this holy shrine. Within the temple Lord Bhadrinath, stands as a statue made of black stone. People here believe that the Lord Bhadrinath is one of the eight Swayam Vyakta or self manifested statues of Lord Vishnu. The most important celebration at the Bhadrinath Temple is, the Mata Murti ka Mela. This festival marks the descent of river Ganga on the Earth. Now let us understand the structure of the Bhadrinath Temple. The temple is divided into three parts. the Garbhagriha (sanctum), the Darshan Mandap (worship hall), and Sabha Mandap (convention hall). Among many specialties of the Bhadrinath Temple, one is its conical shaped roof. Did you know? Although the Bhadrinath Temple is located in the Northern region of India, the main priest of this temple is chosen from the Nambudari Brahmin caste of Kerala.

The story behind the unique Bhadrinath Temple is a very interesting one. It is said that Lord Vishnu sat in meditation at this place, in order to keep away from Thuling, where a group of meat eating and unchaste monks lived. To protect the meditating Lord from the harsh weather, Goddess Lakshmi [Lord Vishnu’s consort], to the form of the bhadri or the jujube tree. Pleased by her devotion, Lord Vishnu named it as Badrika Ashram and manifested himself as Bhadrinath. So pack your bags and reach out to Bhadrinath for his blessings.

- Kruti Beesam