Revision as of 08:37, 17 March 2019

Badrinath, Garhwal

Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts.Many units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.

Peak of the Central Himalayan axis in Garhwal District, United Provinces, reaching to a height of 23,210 feet above the sea. From the glaciers on its sides the Bishanganga, an affluent of the Alaknanda river, and several other tributaries take their rise. On one of its shoulders, at an elevation of 10,400 feet, and on the road from Srinagar to the Mana Pass, stands a shrine of Vishnu, which also bears the name of Badrinath (30 45' N. and 79 30' E.). The original temple is said to have been built by Sankaraeharya ; but several buildings have been swept away by avalanches. The present structure is modern. It is conical in shape, and is surmounted by a small cupola covered with plates of copper and crowned with a gilded ball and spire. Below the shrine a sacred tank stands on the hill-side, supplied from a hot spring by means of a spout in the shape of a dragon's head. Pilgrims of both sexes bathe in the holy pool.

The god is daily provided with dinner, and his comfort is carefully ensured in many other ways. The vessels on which he is served are of gold and silver, and a large staff of servants attend to his wants. The chief priest, known as the Rawal, is always a Brahman of the Namburi class from Southern India. In 1896 a suit was instituted in the civil court and a scheme of management was framed, by which the Raival manages the secular affairs of the temple, subject to the control of the Raja of Tehri State. A large number of villages have been assigned for the maintenance of the temple, with a revenue demand of about Rs. 7,000. The temple is annually closed about November, when the priests remove the treasure to Joshimath for the winter, returning to Badrinath in May. Immense numbers of pilgrims annually visit Badrinath and other shrines in the hills.

Political history

1971-2014: opening of temple doors and electoral success

Abhyudaya Kotnala, Closed Badri doors lead to royal suspense in hills, March 15, 2019: The Times of India

The doors of the Badrinath temple, the legend goes, hold the key to the political fortunes of the royals of Tehri.
The two occasions on which the royals lost in elections – in 1971 and 2007 – the temple doors were shut. This time around, the state goes to the polls on April 11, 2019; the temple opens on May 10, 2019.
From: Abhyudaya Kotnala, Closed Badri doors lead to royal suspense in hills, March 15, 2019: The Times of India

The doors of the Badrinath temple, the legend goes, hold the key to the political fortunes of the royals of Tehri. The two occasions on which the royals lost in elections – in 1971 and 2007 – the temple doors were shut. This time around, the state goes to the polls on April 11; the temple opens on May 10.

Mala Rajya Lakshmi Shah, the wife of maharaja Manujendra Shah, is the sitting Tehri MP from BJP. The seat includes Tehri Garhwal, Uttarkashi and parts of Dehradun.

The Badrinath temple is one of the four shrines that make up the Char Dham Yatra in the Garhwal Himalayas — alongside Gangotri, Yamunotri and Kedarnath. It remains open for around six months in a year, from end-April/early May to October/ November when the Char Dham Yatra is held.

The erstwhile royals are regarded as the custodians of the Badrinath shrine. The head of the family is called ‘Bolanda Badri’ (talking Badrinath) who announces the dates of opening of the shrine every year. Royal family members have contested elections 13 times from the seat and won 11 times. The two instances when they lost was when the temple was closed for winter. In 1971, the elections were held in March and the head of the family, Manvendra Shah, lost. In 2007, when bypolls were held for the seat (on February 21), Manujendra Shah lost.

Bhuvan Chandra Uniyal, dharmadhikari (senior officebearer) of the Badrinath temple, told TOI, “There is no doubt that the royal family has the special blessings of lord Badrinath, which reflects in their political career too.”

“The myth got stronger after the elections of 2007, 2012 and 2014. While Manujendra Shah lost the bypolls in 2007 when the temple was closed, the seat was won by Mala Rajya Lakshmi Shah, his wife, in 2012 when voting was held on October 10, and in 2014 when polls were held on May 7. In 2012 and 2014, the temple was open,” said political analyst Surat Singh Rawat.

“Voting is being held on April 11, 2019 and the portals of the temple are opening on May 10. If Mala Rajya Lakshmi Shah again contests, it will be interesting to see if the myth holds true,” he said.

The Badri Narayan statue

As in 2003

Where Vishnu’s penance never ends

Swati Mathur | TNN 2013/07/03

The Times of India

Badrinath: Legend has it that Vishnu, protector and keeper of the Universe, is still performing penance at Badrinath. His presence, embodied in a 2.75-foot ‘shalikgram’ stone statue and a Tapt kund — a sulphur spring – flowing from under his feet, are proof he’s here.

Jai Badri Vishal is the one mantra they chant here. Badri Narayan’s pull is enormous. If Dwarika, Rameshwaram and Jagannath promise devotees dharm, shanti and shuddhi, at Badrinath, one finds Moksha. Badrinath temple high priest Dharmadhikari Bhuvan Uniyal says: “Thousands of years ago, the Gods gathered here each year for an audience with Vishnu. One year, Vishnu didn’t appear. Declaring this as Vishnu’s seat of penance, creator of the Universe Brahma said Vishnu would continue to be worshipped here. Years later, towards the end of the ‘dwapar’ era, Adi Shankaracharya installed a statue of Badrinath, after he found it in the middle of the Narad Kund, a lake below the Badrinath shrine.”

Several attempts, local priests say, to destroy the Badri Narayan statue have failed. Each time, a divine power has saved it. It’s reinstated, each time, after the Gods send out divine messages to Vishnu’s disciples, instructing them where to find the statue.

In many ways, the Badrinath pilgrimage is unique. Vishnu is believed to have descended to earth in the form of saints – Nar and Narayan – to perform penance. In his human avatar, as Nar, he is worshipped between May and November. For the remaining period, Vishnnu, as Badrinath, takes on his divine form and is worshipped by Narada. A statue of Vishnu’s friend, Uddhav, is ferried to Pandukeshwar, where it stays until the next Nar puja. There’s also a tradition for appointing the Badrinath high priest. Believed to have been started by Adi Shankaracharya, the task of looking after Badri Vishal’s statue is given to Rawal Namboodri Brahmins from Kerala. These Brahmins even today work as the highest temple priests.