Badrinath Temple: History, Timings & Visitor Guide

Badrinath Temple is open every day, usually from early morning to late evening with a break in the afternoon. Darshan and aarti timings change with the season and on festival days.

• MorningOpens early morning (around 5 to 6 AM)
• AfternoonShort break around midday at many temples
• EveningEvening aarti around sunset, closes by about 8 to 9 PM

Ask the temple office on arrival for the day's aarti schedule.

Dress Code & Temple Rules

• DressModest, traditional clothes covering shoulders and knees
• FootwearRemove before entering; use the shoe stand
• PhotographyNot allowed inside the sanctum
• Not AllowedLeather items, tobacco, alcohol, non-veg food
• QueueFollow queue lines and staff instructions on festival days

According to local tradition, the image of Badrinarayan was first served by Narada; later when the region became Buddhist, the Buddhists had Badrinarayan removed from the temple and thrown into the Tapt Kund. Later, Adi Shankara expelled all the Buddhists in the region, recovered Badrinarayan from the Tapt Kund, and reestablished the temple with the help of the Parmar ruler king Kanak Pal. The hereditary successors of the king governed the temple and endowed villages to meet its expenses. The income from a set of villages on the route to the temple was used to feed and accommodate pilgrims. The Parmar rulers held the title "Bolanda Badrinath", meaning speaking Badrinath. They had other titles, including Shri 108 Basdrishcharyaparayan Garharaj Mahimahendra, Dharmabibhab, and Dharamarakshak Sigamani.

According to another traditional story, Badrinarayan was removed from the temple and put into the Tapt Kund by the pujari (priest) who was forced to close the temple due to lack of pilgrims and revenue. When Ramanuja was in the Pandukeshwar temple, the Garhwali god Ghanta Karna possessed a person and told Ramanuja, who promptly went to Badrinath and reinstalled the deity.

The throne of Badrinath was named after the presiding deity; the king enjoyed ritual obeisance by the devotees before proceeding to the shrine. The practice was continued until the late 19th century. During the 16th century, the King of Garhwal moved the murti to the present temple. When the state of Garhwal was divided, the Badrinath temple came under British rule but the king of Garhwal continued as the chairman of the management committee. The selection of priest is done after consultation between Garhwal and Travancore royal families.

Legend & Significance

According to Hindu legend, Vishnu sat in meditation at this place. During his meditation, Vishnu was unaware of cold weather. Lakshmi, his consort, protected him in the form of the Badri tree (jujube or Indian date, called 'ber' in Hindi). Pleased by the devotion of Lakshmi, Vishnu named the place Badrika Ashrama. According to Atkinson (1979), the place used to be a jujube forest, which is not found there today. Vishnu in the form of Badrinath is depicted in the temple sitting in the padmasana posture. According to Brahma Vaivarta purana, Vishnu was chastised by sage Narada, who saw Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi, massaging his feet. Vishnu went to Badrinath to perform austerity, meditating for a long time in padmasana.

The Vishnu Purana narrates another version of the origins of Badrinath. According to the tradition, Yama had two sons, Nara, and Narayana—both of which are modern names of Himalayan mountains. They chose the place to spread their religion and each of them wed the spacious valleys in the Himalayas. Searching for an ideal place to set up a hermitage, they came across the other four Badris of the Pancha Badri, namely Adibadri, Bridha Badri, Yoga-Dhyana Badri and Bhavisha Badri. They finally found the hot and cold spring behind the Alaknanda River and named it "Badri Vishala."

Architecture of Badrinath Temple

The temple is situated in the Garhwal Himalayas, along the banks of the Alaknanda River in Chamoli district in Uttarakhand. It lies at an elevation of 3133 m(10,279 ft) above mean sea level. Nar Parbat stands opposite to the temple, while Narayana Parbat is located behind the Neelkanth peak.

Adi Shankara established Badrinath as a pilgrimage site in the ninth century. The temple comprises three structures: the Garbhagriha (sanctum), the Darshan Mandapa (worship hall), and Sabha Mandapa (assembly hall). The sanctum's conical roof is approximately 15 m (49 ft) tall and features a small cupola topped with a gilt gold covering. The stone façade features arched windows, and a stairway to the main entrance, an arched gateway. Just inside lies a mandapa, a pillared hall that leads to the sanctum, or main shrine. The walls and pillars of the hall are adorned with intricate carvings.

Festivals & Rituals at Badrinath Temple

The most prominent festival held at Badrinath Temple is Mata Murti Ka Mela, which commemorates the descent of the river Ganges on mother earth. The mother of Badrinath, who is believed to have divided the river into twelve channels for the welfare of earthly beings, is worshiped during the festival. The place where the river flowed became the holy land of Badrinath.

The Badri Kedar festival is celebrated during the month of June in both the temple and the Kedarnath temple. The festival lasts for eight days; artists from all over the country perform during the function.

The major religious activities (or pujas) performed every morning are mahabhishek (ablution), abhishek, gitapath and bhagavat puja, while in the evening the pujas include geet govinda and aarti. Recital in vedic scripts like Ashtotram and Sahasranama is practised during all the rituals. After aarti, the decorations are removed from the image of Badrinath and sandalwood paste is applied to it. The paste from the image is given to the devotees the next day as prasad during the nirmalaya darshan. All the rituals are performed in front of the devotees, unlike those in some Hindu temples, where some practices are hidden from them. Sugar balls and dry leaves are the common prasad provided to the devotees. From May 2006, the practise of offering Panchamrit Prasad, prepared locally and packed in local bamboo baskets, was started.