Badrinath is the abode of the Nara Narayana sages and is a great place of pilgrimage. According to the Srimad Bhagavatam, even five thousand years ago this holy place was being visited, by such holy persons as Uddhava, and even at that time the place was known to be very old. It is one of the eight self-manifested holy tirthas in India (Svayam Vyakta Kshetras).

There are four dhamas which represent the planets of the spiritual sky, consisting of the brahmajyoti and the Vaikunthas. These are Badrinath, Rameswaram, Jagannath Puri, and Dwarka. Faithful pilgrims visit all these holy places for perfection of spiritual realization. Badrinath is a very important pilgrimage place and is very dear to Lord Krishna. Badri is the name of the Ilandai tree, which is a favorite of Maha-Lakshmi.

Scriptural References:

A statement from the Srimad Bhagavatam (3.4.22) – “There in Badrikashram the Personality of Godhead, in his incarnation as the sages Nara and Narayana, had been undergoing great penance since time immemorial for the welfare of all living entities.”

The Skanda Purana says: “There are several sacred shrines in heaven, on earth, and in hell; but there is no shrine like Badrinath.”

Badrinath is also called “Narada Kshetram” since Narada Muni attained liberation here in five days. Gautama Rishi, Kapila, and Kasyapa are said to have come here, and Sankaracharya established a temple here. Sankaracharya visited here some 1,225 years ago; Ramanujacharya visited 955 years ago; and Madhvacharya visited twice about 735 years ago.

During the season; about 250,000 pilgrims visit Badrinath. Pilgrims chant “Bolo Badri Vishal ki jai” and “Bolo “Badri Narayana ki jai.”

Badrinath is on a small plateau between Narayana Parvat mountain and the Alakananda River. The Nara and Narayana peaks tower over Badrinath. The fantastic Neelkantha Mountain is 6,560m. Badrinath is located 301 km north of Rishikesh. From Gaurikund (near Kedarnath) to Badrinath by road is 233 km.

a) Badrinath Temple
The temple of Badrinatha is located across the Alakananda River. We can easily see the temple from some distance away. After crossing the bridge over the Alaknanda River, we walk up the steps toward the temple. This temple is full of ancient stone carvings. The murti of Lord Badrinath is self manifested from a 213m (2 ft) high black shaligram-shila. He is also called Badri Vishal or Badrinarayana. His details are not very distinct due to weathering, since he was thrown into Narada Kund for several years. The canopy over the Deities is covered with a sheet of pure gold. When Buddhism was in its prime, the deity somehow was neglected and thrown into Narada Kund where He stayed for several years. Later it was again installed by Sankaracharya, who recovered the Deity from Narada Kund.

Darshan
Lord Badrinath is sitting meditating in the padmasana (lotus yogic posture). As you look at the Deities, standing to the right side is Uddhava. To the far right side are Nara and Narayana. Narada Muni is kneeling in front on the right side and is difficult to see. On the left side are Kubera, the god of wealth, and a silver Ganesh. Garuda is kneeling in front, to the left of Badrinarayana

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Within the temple enclosure, to the left of the main temple building, is a separate shrine dedicated to Lakshmi Devi and the Gaddi (sitting place) of Adi Sankaracharya, just outside the exit door of the temple. The Lakshmi Temple is painted red in front. The temple dedicated to Sankaracharya is said to mark his sitting place while he was in Badrinath.

Timings
Badrinath stays closed 6 months a year from Deepavali all the way until the full moon day in the month of Chittirai (late spring in the Himalayas). The temple is open six months of the year, May to October. The priests of the temple perform their worship (puja) in Joshimath, 50km south, the rest of the year. Before they close the temple in November, they perform one last puja and leave the ghee lamps in the temple lit. Six months later, in the month of May, they return to open the temple and find the ghee lamps still lit. It is said that the great sage Narada Muni along with other demigods come during the winter months to carry on the worship.

The temple priests are Nambudiri Brahmins from Kerala.

The Nirmalya darshan of Badarinarayana in the early morning is the most auspicious time to view the Deity. The present temple is about 400 years old. The temple is open from 6.30 am to 1 pm and 4pm to 9 pm. Waiting time to enter the temple in the afternoon is a half hour or more. If you come in the morning, you can expect to wait an hour to enter the temple.

It is possible for several people to view the Deities at one time.

Story
The tradition of this temple is explained as follows: Since the history of this temple is so old, the only way we can understand how it came to be is by the explanations in the Puranas. In Satya-yuga, the Lord lived at Badarikashrama (Badrinatha) in a visible form. In Treta-yuga, the sages saw the Lord through the practice of yoga. Then during the age of Dvapara-yuga, it became difficult even for the sages to see the Lord. So then the sages and even the demigods prayed to the Lord, ‘You are our only supporter, please do not leave this place and ourselves.”

Being pleased by their devotion, the Supreme said, “My dear ones and saints! After some time Kali-yuga will start. People in that age will be full of sins, wickedness, pride, and without any pious action. So I cannot stay in a visible form before them. But here under Narada Shila in the Alaknanda, there is a divine image of mine, which you may take and establish. If one sees that image, he will get the same reward of seeing me in visible form.”

After that, Brahma and the other gods took that image out of the Narada Kund and asked Visvakarma, the architect of the gods, to build a temple, after which they established the deity there. Narada Muni was made their official priest, and a rule was made that the deity would be worshiped for six months by human beings, and the other six months by the gods. And this rule is still followed to this day.

In the Skanda Purana another story is told relating how the deity of Badrivishal was established. Therein it is explained that Lord Shankar (Shiva) told his son Skanda that in Kali-yuga, he would personally come in form of a saint & take the deity out from Narada Kund and install it. And by seeing the deity, all the sins of a person will be removed in a moment, just as the herd of elephants run away by seeing a lion. Accordingly Lord Shankara took birth as Shankaracharya and established the deity of Sri Badrinathji for the general good of all people.

How this happened is further related. At the tender age of twelve, Shankaracharya went to Badarikashrama after a hard three months of travel up into the mountains with his pupils. He took bath in the hot springs of Taptakund and went into the temple, but the four-armed form of Narayana that had been established by the rishis in Satya-yuga was not there. In its place was a shalagram-shila stone, which is considered the same as the Lord. But Shankaracharya went outside the temple with a heavy heart, followed by the temple priests. He asked them, “Why is the temple without Narayana’s form? I have heard that the Lord resides here in this pious place for the last four yugas.”

The priests replied, “Because of the tyranny of Chinese robbers, our ancestors hid that form of the Lord in the nearby kund. But after that it was difficult to find. So from that time on we have allowed the shalagram-shila to reside on the altar.” So Shankaracharya asked them if the form of the Lord could be found, would they install it and worship it in the temple. The priests all agreed.

Shankaracharya then step down to the kund and meditated, and then went into the water. The priests asked him not to go since there was a current below in which many people had lost their lives. But Shankaracharya did not listen. He went deep into the kund and pulled out a deity of Lord Narayana to everyone’s astonishment. But the fingers on the right hand of the deity were broken, so he went back in and pulled out another deity, but the same fingers were broken. Then he did that a third time and became perplexed until a voice told him, “Shankara, you need not be confused. In this Kali-yuga, only this broken form will be worshiped.” So in this way, Shankaracharya came out of the water with the deity and installed it in the temple. He established one of his disciples, a Nambudri Brahmana, for doing the worship. In this way, the deity and the temple worship were reestablished by Sri Shankaracharya. Today, people of all races, creeds, religions, and communities go there with respect to see the deity of Lord Narayana called as Lord Badrivishal.

The drive takes between 2½ to 3 hours to go about 44km. Vishnuprayag, 10km past Joshimath, is where the Alakananda and Dhauli Ganga rivers join together. Ten km further is Govind Ghat, which is where the treks to the Valley of Flowers and Sri Hemkund Sahib begin.

Pandukeswar is 4km further up the road. This town is the site of the Yogadhyan Badri temple, one of the five Badri temples. The utsava-murti of Badri Vishal is brought here from Badrinath during the six winter months, from November to May. King Pandu had lived here with Kunti and Madri and the Pandavas were said to be born here. As there are five Kedars, so there are five Badris. Pandukesvar is one of the Badris (Yogadhyan Badri).

Hanuman Chatti is 9km further up the road. It is said that Bhimasena and Hanuman tested each other’s strength in the Gandhamadhana hills and realized that they were both sons of Vayu and therefore brothers. There is a story of how this town got this name. Bhima was traveling on the road here, when he came upon an old monkey lying in his way. Bhima requested the monkey to move his tail, which was blocking his path. The monkey replied that he was very old and had no strength to personally move his tail, but welcomed Bhima to try to move it. After repeated attempts to move the tail, the powerful Bhima became humbled and gave up. The monkey then revealed himself as Hanuman.

There are two Hanuman Chattis, this one and another one by Yamunotri

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This Hanuman Chatti is 27km from Badrinath and 9km from Pandukeswar. This area is also noted for being where Hanuman meditated and pleased Lord Badrinath.

Narasimhadeva Temple

In this temple is a Deity of Lord Narasimha, which is self-manifested from a shaligram-shila. He is about 25cm (10 in) high and remarkably detailed, sitting in a lotus position. To the right of Lord Narasimha are Sita, Rama, Hanuman, and Garuda. Against the left wall is a deity of Chandika, which is another name for Kali.

On the altar to the right of Lord Narasimha are deities of Kubera, Uddhava, and Badri Vishal. There is an altar for Lakshmi Devi just outside the door of the temple.

Sankaracharya is said to have installed this Narasimha Shaligram. The left wrist of Narasimha is incredibly thin and gets thinner every day. It is said that when Kali yuga overtakes the world, the wrist (arm) will break and the mountains Jaya and Vijaya (near Vishnu Prayag) will collapse and block the present road to Badrinath. The new Badrinath will be relocated at Bhavisya Badri, about 23km southeast of Joshimath.

If you want to get a good view of ,Lord Narasimhadeva's wrist you can come when he is bathed between 7.30 and 8.30 am in the morning.

This temple is said to be over 1,200 years old. It is open from 5 am to 8.30 pm. This temple and the Vasudeva Temple, just 10m away, are located in the bottom part of the town, about a three minute walk from the Kedar.