Chamoli: The doors of Badrinath Dham, one of the world-famous Chardham shrines, have been closed for the winter season. The doors were ceremonially closed at 2:56 pm today. Nearly 5,000 devotees witnessed the closing ceremony. The court of Badri Vishal was decorated with flowers for this occasion, adding to the grandeur of the shrine.
The doors of Badrinath Dham closed for the winter season at 2:56 pm today. Rawal Amarnath Namboodri closed the doors with traditional rituals in the presence of devotees. The Badrinath Dham was decorated with 12 quintals of marigold flowers for the occasion. The Dham reverberated with the tunes of the army band and chants of Lord Badri Vishal.
Lord Badri Vishal was draped with a ghee blanket.
As per tradition, the idols of Uddhava and Kubera were brought out of the sanctum sanctorum. Goddess Lakshmi was enshrined within the sanctum sanctorum. Lord Badri Vishal was draped with a ghee blanket prepared by the Mana Mahila Mangal Dal. During his winter sojourn, devotees will now be able to visit Lord Badrinath at Yogadhyan Badri in Pandukeshwar.
1.66 million devotees visited Lord Badri Vishal.
With this, the self-manifested idol of Lord Badri Vishal, Lord Uddhava, and Kubera idols have departed for their winter sojourn. This year, approximately 1.66 million devotees earned the blessings of Lord Badri Vishal by visiting him. It is believed that the gods are responsible for worshipping Lord Badri Vishal during the winter season. Therefore, Dev Rishi Narada will perform the daily pujas of Badrinath.
Now, darshan will be offered here.
It should be noted that the original Shaligram idol of Lord Badri Vishal is never taken out of Badrinath, but the festival idol (movable idol) is taken for worship. After the doors are closed, the festival idol of Lord Badri Vishal is enshrined in the Narsingh Temple at Jyotirmath (Joshimath).
During the winter season, this same festival idol is worshipped at the Narsingh Temple in Jyotirmath. The idols of Lord Uddhava and Kubera are enshrined in the Yogadhyan Badri Temple in Pandukeshwar. Now, the doors of Badrinath Dham have closed, bringing the hustle and bustle of the Dham to an end. A quiet silence has descended upon Badrinath.
Badrinath Dham is known as the Vaikuntha of the Earth.
It is worth noting that Badrinath Dham is located on the banks of the Alaknanda River in Chamoli district. It is one of the major Hindu pilgrimage sites dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Badrinath Dham, situated at an altitude of 3,133 meters above sea level, is one of the Char Dhams (four holy places) of the country. It is also one of the smaller Char Dhams (four holy places of Uttarakhand).
Badrinath Dham is also known as the Vaikuntha of the Earth. The temple complex houses 15 idols. The most prominent among these is a one-meter-high black stone Shaligram idol of Lord Vishnu, seated in a meditative posture. Next to the idol are idols of Kubera, Lakshmi, and Narayan.
Five forms of Badri Narayan are worshipped at Badrinath Dham. These five forms of Lord Vishnu are also known as the “Panch Badri.” In addition to the main Badrinath temple, temples of the other four Badris are also located in Chamoli. Badrinath is the main of the five temples, along with Yogadhyan Badri, Bhavishya Badri, Vriddha Badri, and Adi Badri.
The chief priest of the Badrinath Temple is from South India.
It is said that the Badrinath Temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu, was established by Adi Shankaracharya as one of the Char Dhams. The temple is divided into three parts: the sanctum sanctorum, the Darshan Mandap, and the Sabha Mandap. According to the Shankaracharya system, the chief priest of the Badrinath Temple comes from the southern Indian state of Kerala.
