Badrinath-“Adobe of Lord Vishnu”
Badrinath is one of the pious sites of Char Dham pilgrimage in India. Other Char Dham sites include Dwarka, Puri and Rameshwaram. This holy land of Vishnu is located between the two mountains Nar and Narayan. Badrinath is also an important part of Panch Badri Yatra of Uttarakhnd. This pious site is placed in the tranquil natural surroundings of high peaks, dense forests and graceful rivers.
Badrinath Temple defines the greatness of Lord Vishnu. The temple is around 50 feet tall and in form of a cone. There is a small cupola on top covered with gold gilt roof.
Badrinath Mandir has a beautiful formation. You can find the intricate carvings on the walls and pillars of the mandapa. The entrance gate of Badrinath temple is called as ‘Singhdwar’. On the gate of the temple is placed the idol of Bird Garud (Lord Badrinarayan’s vehicle) sitting in prayer directly opposite to the main idol of the Lord.
The holy shrine is divided into three sections that are given below:
All the poojas/sevas in the Badrinath temple takes place in attendance of devotees. The devotees join for puja after taking a dip in the Tapt Kund. Booking for special poojas can be done in advance at Badrinath Mandir Committee.
Badrinath temple gets open at 4:30 AM and closes in the afternoon at 1 PM. There is an afternoon recess from 1 AM to 4 PM. Once again the temple open at 4 PM and get closed by 9 PM.
Daily rituals at Badrinath temple starts early in the morning around 4:30 AM. Some of the morning poojas that take place are Abhishek Darshan, Alankar Darshan, Aarti Darshan. In the poojas the holy image of Badrinarayan is covered with sandal paste and is decorated with flowers & jewel.
In the evening pooja, recitation of Ashtothram and Sahasranamam Path light up the holy environment around the temple. The evening pooja ends with Mangal aarti also called Geet govind. After the grand aarti the temple priest removes the flowers & jewels from the image of Badrinarayan. Only the sandal paste is left which is removed next morning and distributed as Prasad among the devotees.
All the pilgrims are allowed to have darshan of Badrinath Ji at free of cost. Devotees can also offer some special Badrinath Pooja or Aarti or offer Bhog to the Lord. For such special aarti or puja they’ll have to deposit a specific amount in the treasury of temple. Once you deposit the Badrinath puja rates, a receipt will be issued to you.
Devotees can pay the puja rates for Badrinath Dham in advance. To help you we have listed the details of Badrinath Pooja Cost.
| Badrinath Morning Pooja Rates (4:30 AM to 6:30 AM) | |
|---|---|
| Maha Abhishek (1 person) | 4300.00 |
| Abhishek Puja (1 person) | 4101.00 |
| Badrinath Morning Pooja Rates (6:30 AM to 12 Noon & 3 PM) | |
| Ved Path (1 person) | 2100.00 |
| Geeta Path (1 person) | 2500.00 |
| Badrinath Special Pooja Rates | |
| Shrimad Bhagwat Saptah Path | 35101.00 |
| Entire Pujas of a day (1 person) | 11700.00 |
| Evening Aarti/Archana & Path (6 PM to 9 PM) | |
| Swarna Aarti (1 person) | 376.00 |
| Vishnusahasranam Path (1 person) | 456.00 |
| Kapoor Aarti (1 person) | 151.00 |
| Shyan Aarti (1 person) | 3100.00 |
| Daily or Periodical Pooja / Bhog and Akhand Jyoti | |
| Akhanad Jyoti Annual | 4951.00 |
| Ghrit Kambal Ghee on closing day | 4951.00 |
| Ghee for Deepak on closing day | 3511.00 |
| Akhand Jyoti One day | 1451.00 |
| Pooja on Special Occasions | |
| Bhagwan Nar-Narayan Janmotsava (in Srawan Month) | 4951.00 |
| Shrawani abhishek (in Srawan Month) | 11701.00 |
| Shri Krishan Janmastami Utsava | 10551.00 |
| Other Offerings | |
| Donation for Renovation work | 1001.00 or above |
Many mythology stories revolve around Badrinath Dham. It is one of the reasons which make Badrinath Dham an important pilgrimage. According to legends, Lord Vishnu performed penance at this place. His spouse, Goddess Lakshmi protected the Lord from the blazing heat of the sun by taking the form of a berry tree. Pleased by the Goddess Lakshmi devotion, Lord Vishnu named the spot after her as Badrikashram.
Legends say that two sons of Dharma Nar and Narayana wanted to spread their hermitage in the Himalayas. During their search of hermitage they came across four spots of Panch Badri – Dhyan Badri, Bridha Badri, Yog Badri and Bhavishya Badri. This is how they found this place and named it Badri Vishal.
The mythology stories attached to the Badrinath temple is a long one. According to another story Pandavas while on their way to heaven ascended to Swargarohini or Ascent to Heaven via Badrinath. Many great sages like Gautam, Kashyap and Kapila Muni performed atonement at this sacred place. Badrianth Dham remained a Buddhist Temple till 8th century. In 8th century Adishankara converted it into a Hindu Temple.
