Badrinath temple is situated on the banks of the Alaknandariver in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. Badrinath is one of the most ancient religious places of Hinduism. Badrinath Temple is a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu.
Geographically, the place around the Badrinath Temple, located in the Garhwal region in the middle of the Himalayas, is also known as Badrinath.
Located in the Himalayan region, this temple remains open only for 6 months in a year (from the beginning of April to the end of November), considering the weather conditions.
Badrinath is one of the major pilgrimage sites in India and is visited by most travelers every year.
The Badrinath temple is the worship place of Badrinath, an incarnation of the Hindu deity Vishnu. AdiShankaracharya removed the idol from the nearby NaradaKund and installed it there in the 8th century.
The temple is located in North India, but the priests here are Brahmins of the Namboodiri sect of the state of Kerala, South India.
This temple has also been discussed in Vishnu Purana, Mahabharata, and SkandaPurana. Situated on the top of the Himalayas, the Badrinath temple has been known by different names in different times.
In SkandaPurana, Badrinath has been called Muktiprada. In the same Treta Yuga, the area of this temple has been called Yoga Siddha.
Many mythological stories are famous about Badrinath dham, out of which one story goes in this way. Once Narada Muni came to Kshirsagar to see Lord Vishnu, and there he saw Mata Lakshmi coming after Lord Vishnu. Seeing this, he asked Lord Vishnu a question. Due to guilt, Lord Vishnu went to the top of the Himalayas and started doing penance. Due to heavy snowfall, Lord Vishnu was badly covered in snow.
Lakshmi Mata could not stay away, and she did not want to break his penance either. So for his protection, she stood as Badri’s daughter near Lord Vishnu. When Lord Vishnu completed his penance, he saw Lakshmi in the form of a tree. Seeing her covered in snow, Lord Vishnu was filled with awe and declared that from then onwards, she would be worshiped there with him, and he would be known here by the name of Badrinath.
The most important festival held in Badrinath is Mata MurtikaMela. The reason behind organizing this fair is due to the incarnation of Mother Ganga on Earth.
Badri festival is a very important festival celebrated here in the month of June in both Badrinath Kedarnath temples.