History of Badrinath Dham - Chamoli, Uttrakhand
The temple is situated in Garhwal hill tracks (around 10,000 ft above sea level) on the bank of the Alaknanda River in Uttarakhand. The temple is divided into 3 parts: the Garbhagriha (sanctum), the Darshan Mandap (worship hall), and Sabha Mandap (convention hall). The dome on top of the Garbhagriha is roofed with gold-plating. Inside the Garbhagriha, there is the Shaligram (black stone) image of Badrinarayan, which is 1 m tall, located in a golden shade under a Badri Tree.
The statue of Badrinarayan with Shankha (conch) and Chakra (wheel) in two of its arms in a raised position and two arms are kept on its lap in a Yoga mudra pose. There are some other idols as well inside the temple that are also deified like Mata Lakshmi, Garuda, Navadurga, Lakshmi Narasimhar, Kubera, Narada, Uddhava, Nar and Narayan and for saints like AdiShankara, Vedanta Desika and Ramanujacharya. All the idols of the temple are made of black stone. It is one of the most visited pilgrimage centers of India. Although Badrinath is situated in North India, the head priest of the temple is always chosen from Kerala, one South Indian state of India.
The temple’s name has been coined in several ancient books like Purana and Mahabharata. In Badrinath, there are a group of hot sulphur springs just below the temple, are called as ‘Tapt Kund’. The water of Kund has some medicinal value. Taking bathe in the springs before visiting the temple, is a part of worshiping. According to Hindu religion, Lord Vishnu sat in meditation at this place. The place was too cold. Mata Lakshmi protected her husband in the form of the Badri tree (Indian date) at that time. Vishnu was delighted by the devoutness of Lakshmi and named the place Badri ka Ashram. Thus, the place is now famous in name of ‘Badrinath’ and the statue of Lord Vishnu here is in meditation posture with a covering of ‘Badri Tree’.
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