Few People Know about these Lesser Known Facts about Badrinath Dham; Badrinath Dham is also popularly known as Badrinarayan Mandir which, as the name suggests, is dedicated to an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Badrinath. This holy temple is situated in Devbhoomi, Uttarakhand along the holy river Alaknanda and a distance of 294 kms north of the holy town of Rishikesh.

This particular Dham is a part of the other Char Dhams of Uttarakhand which include – Yamunotri, Gangotri and Kedarnath. Along with that, it is also a crucial part of the Panch Badri Yatra, Panch Kedar and Panch Prayag Yatra which are considered to be extremely important in terms of Hindu mythology and religion.

About Badrinath Dham

Badrinath Dham is one of the four centres of pilgrimage for the all India Char Dham Yatra as well as the Chota Char Dham Yatra of Uttarakhand.

The popular chanting among pilgrims roughly translates into saying that anyone who has visited Badrinath Dham will not have to come back in their mother’s womb. This Dham has also found its mention in various Hindu scriptures where it is said that human beings should go for a Darshan of Badrinath at least once during their lifetime.

Alaknanda

Badrinath Dham is graced by the presence of the holy river Alaknanda. Until Satyuga, every person and human being residing there used to personally meet Lord Shiva. During Treta Yuga only the sages and saints used to have access and meet Lord Vishnu. During Dwapar Yug when Lord Vishnu came to the earthly realm in the form of Lord Krishna then he made a rule for humans that they will only be graced with his presence in the form of his incarnation.

Badrinath is the 2^nd Vaikunth out of the 8 and has found its mention in ancient Hindu mythologies and scriptures. One of the Vaikunth is situated in Kshir Sagar which is the abode of Lord Vishnu in heaven and his 2^nd Vaikuntha on earth is located in Badrinath. It is also believed that previously Badrinath used to belong to Lord Shiva and later on Lord Vishnu asked him for this place.

Gaumukh

The Char Dham Yatra of Uttarakhand starts off firstly from a visit to Gangotri Dham which is the seat of Goddess Ganga and also the source of the holy river Ganga. During the Yatra the last Dham to be visited is Badrinath Dham which is located between the twin peaks of Nar and Narayan and this is also considered to be the place where an incarnation of Lord Vishnu in the form of Nar and Narayan had performed penance there. During rebirth Nar took the male form of Arjun while Narayan was reborn as lord Krishna.

Yamunotri Dham

The second stop during your yatra to Badrinath Dham (atlastravel[dot]in/badrinath-tour-packages) is at Yamunotri which is the seat for goddess Yamuna and the next stop will be Kedarnath Dham. Kedarnath and Badrinath Dham are the only two Dhams where upon opening the Kapat of the temple there is an eternal flame which remains constantly burning throughout the 6 months when the doors were closed.

Narsingh Temple at Joshimath

The Narsingh temple at Joshimath is believed to be related to Badrinath. The residing idol of Nar Singh is of great importance since one of its arm is extremely thin and it keeps on thinning with time. It is believed that the day when this hand completely wears out then the mountains of nar and Narayan will converge with each other hence duly shutting down the accessibility to Badrinath Dham.

Saraswati Mandir

This temple is situated right at the point of emergence of Saraswati River which is situated at the last village of India – Mana. River Saraswati after its emergence converges with river Alaknanda just after a few miles. It is also believed that by the end of Kali Yuga, Badrinath will emerge at this point of confluence and this place will be visited by pilgrims as new Badri.

Badrinath Dham

There is an extremely interesting story involving Badrinath Dham, since it is believed to be the very place where Lord Shiva was liberated from his sins of Brahmahatya (killing a Brahman). This place is also kind of similar to the place which is also known as Brahma Kapal, which is a high rock where people perform their Shraddha puja rituals for their bygone ancestors. This is done so since it is believed that people who have passed away attain their liberation after death.

All the priests of Badrinath Dham are all descendants of Adi Shankaracharya who are referred to as Raval. They have to observe lifelong Brahmacharya and even the touch of a woman is considered to be a sin.

Also read- Dwadasa Jyotirlinga

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