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THE GLORY OF BADARIKASHRAMA – 1 By: Sanjay Bharatha

The mention of this sacred spiritual centre of

Badarinath is there in all the Puranas and also in

the Epic Mahabharatha, which is considered the

5th Veda by the followers of Sanatana Dharma.

This series of articles will deal in detail with all

such information about Badarinath available in

various sacred texts of Sanatana Dharma and the

life histories of various spiritual giants like Sri Adi

Shankaracharya, The Navanatha Siddhas - the

mighty immortals and spiritual giants who

belonged to the lineage of Lord Dattatreya, and

such other Saints.

Though there are many stories in the native

tradition about Badarinath, I wish to only mention

those which seem to have clear authenticity of

scriptures and which are based on such aspects of

tradition which are still in practice in the form of

various rituals or celebrations.

These articles will also cover the historical facts

about the connection which many of the founders

of spirituals paths in India have had with this

sacred Badarinath. This connection might usually

go unnoticed by many but not to us the Suddhas,

who are aware of the fact that this sacred place is

the Headquarters of the Cosmic World Spiritual

Government called Suddha Dharma Mandalam. To

us the knowledge of such connection makes a lot

of sense and is a source of joy.

Now, I shall introduce in detail the various sacred

places in and around Badarinath as known to the

outside world because, as we all know, the Shrine

of Lord Badarinath is said to be an entry point or

This is the first in the series of articles about the

glory and the importance of Badarikashrama

which is also known as Badari Vana and Vishala

Badari.

This series of articles are intended for further

enlightening all those who are interested in

knowing more about this mysterious yet, one of

the most discussed spiritual centres in the sacred

texts of Sanatana Dharma.

The I humbly submit that this work is a collection

of information and facts about Badari Kshetram or

the sacred place called Badarinath, from various

sources of Sanatana Dharma and is compiled in

the light of the teachings of Suddha Dharma

Mandalam, as available in various books published

by the Suddha Dharma Mandalam Association and

such other Organisations in India and Abroad

apart from my personal knowledge of it.

I hope that these articles would prove to be

helpful to the readers in furthering their

knowledge about this all-auspicious & sacred

spiritual centre called Badarinath.

The Suddhas i.e., the followers of Suddha Sanatana

Dharma around the world know that Badarinath is

the headquarters of Suddha Dharma Mandalam,

the Divine Hierarchy also known as The Great

White Hierarchy or The Great White Brotherhood

of Himalayas, which is in-charge of the evolution

of the entire cosmos, including our planet.

The Divine Hierarchy Known as Suddha Dharma

Mandalam is based at Vishala Badari Region of

Himalayas towards north of present day Badarinath

The Holy Badarinath Shrine in Himalayas.

In the background is the Narayana Mountain

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classical dancer, upon its various twists and turns

as it flows in all its heavenly glory midst the

valleys of Himalayas.

It is said that Lord Narayana wanted to teach the

human beings by example and hence he took the

form of the Maha Guru and also took the form of

Naradeva, an ideal Disciple, in order to teach us

about ideal discipleship.

As per the tradition Lord Narayana initiated

Naradeva into the Asthaakshari Mantra, the eight

syllabled mantra of the Lord at Badarinath and in

order to continuously bestow power to that

mantra He and Naradeva are ever since engaged

in performing tapas or penance by taking the form

of two mountains here at Badari Vana region of

Himalayas. Hence these two mountains are one

among the many forms of the mighty lord

Narayana and his brother and disciple Naradeva.

Lord Naradeva is usually represented as standing

with joined palms beside lord Narayana and hence

even their respective mountain forms appear as if

one is sitting and the other standing, that’s why

Nara Mountain is taller than the Narayana

Mountain.

In between these two holy mountains flows the

very sacred, crystal clear and beautiful river

Alakananda, which is one of the three major

sources of river Ganga or Ganges, the most sacred,

ancient, longest and perennial river of India.

a toll gate to the much larger area known as

Vishala Badari. And unless permitted by the Elders

of the Suddha Dharma Mandalam, no one can even

know where the hidden sacred centres and Siddha

Ashrams actually are. So until such time we will

have to be satisfied with the bits and pieces of

information that is available in various sources

mentioned above.

So let's begin the tour of the most holy and sacred

Tirtha (Pilgrimage Centre) of the world, the

Badarinath. In order to cover all the important

spots and to know the sacredness and importance

of each of those, we shall begin our tour in the

manner of circumambulation (going around a

temple or a place in clockwise direction) of the

holy Badarinath region to the extent known to us.

THE TEMPLE:

The holy shrine of Badarinath is situated in

between two very huge mountains. The one on

our left, as we approach from south to north, is

known as Narayana Parvatha or Narayana

Mountain and the one on our right is known as

Nara Parvatha or Nara Mountain. In between

these mountains flows the most beautiful river,

Alakananda.

Whole of this place is of a great scenic beauty that

is bound to make a lasting impression on our

humbled soul, especially when we behold it for the

very first time. The series of lofty snow covered

peaks in the background of clear blue sky instantly

reminds us of the way in which the great poet

Kalidasa describes these Himalayas as seeming

like the laughter of Lord Shiva. The now serene

now agitated and now seemingly ferocious

Alakananda River seems like a beautiful heavenly

damsel displaying all the nine emotions of a

This is a confluence of two sacred rivers

Saraswati and Alakananda. On the right is

the Narayana Mountain and on the left is

Nara Mountain

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From the times immemorial this most sacred spot

of Badarinath has been considered the final

destination for a pilgrim of Sanatana Dharma

owing not only to its sacredness but also due to

the very tough accessibility, its inclement weather

conditions of extreme cold and the very tough

terrain in these Himalayan mountain ranges

situated at about 10,300 feet above the sea level.

In the olden days the pilgrimage to Badarinath

was considered a very very bold step owing to the

extreme difficulty in reaching this spot. It was

considered impossible to return alive from this

pilgrimage. Hence people used to make out their

Will-Deed before embarking upon this journey

and that too after fulfilling all their personal,

family and social responsibilities in this world.

Anyone who decided to embark on this pilgrimage

was treated with respect and a big send-off party

was hosted in his honour by the entire village,

each person of the village contributing something

to make his journey a bit comfortable. They used

to consider this send-off as a last chance of seeing

that pilgrim and hence the family and the entire

village used to give the pilgrim a very emotional

farewell.

If it was so tough then, now-a-days due to the

availability of various transport facilities many

more people are getting the opportunity to visit

this most sacred spot on this planet.

In Skandha Purana it is mentioned that because

this place is the residence of the Holy Tirthas, the

Gods and the Rishis it is called Vishala.

It is also mentioned that in each Yuga this place

was known by a different name. In Krita or Satya

Yuga it was called Muktiprada, in Treta Yuga it

was known as Yogasiddhida, in Dwapara Yuga it

was known as Vishala and in Kali Yuga it is known

as Badarikashrama.

In Varaha Purana there is a story about how this

spot came to be known as Vishala Badari. Once

upon a time a king of the Solar Dynasty known as

Vishal lost his kingdom to his enemies and he did

a great penance at Badrinath in order to regain his

kingdom. Being pleased with his tough penance,

the divine twins Lords Nara-Narayana appeared to

him and asked him to spell out his wish. He said he

was actually doing this penance to please Lord

Vishnu and enquired as to who they were.

The present day town called Badarinath is

situated on both the banks of this beautiful and

very picturesque river surrounded by the snow

clad mountain ranges known as the sacred

Gandhamaadana mountain ranges of Himalayas.

These mountain ranges are said to be the home of

innumerable and very effective herbs and also

some divine herbs that are invisible to naked eye.

Whole of these mountain ranges possess

breathtaking beauty, unique in every season.

The Badarinath Temple is situated on the bank of

Alakananda River on the Narayana Mountain and

seems as if it's in the lap of the Lord. The temple is

actually a temple complex containing few other

temples.

The main Temple contains the idol of Lord

Narayana sitting in meditation pose and is said to

be very auspicious and powerful. This idol is the

Archa-Murthi of the Lord and is the Mula-Virat

(the Principle Deity of the place). It is made of

sacred Saligrama-Sila (the Auspicious Black stone

that naturally contains gold inside it and is

considered one of the forms of Lord Vishnu or

Narayana)

There are various stories about the origin of this

idol in various Purana texts and all of those may

be considered correct if we take into account the

nature of Puranas, each of which tells about a

similar incident that took place in different Kalpas

or Manvantaras, which might differ in some

details.

The main Deity Lord Sriman Narayana, here known

as Sri Badarinath, along with other deities who have

temples inside the Main Temple Complex.

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requested the Lord to be present also at

Badarivana so that they can worship him. Then

Lord Narayana asked the Gods and Rishis to install

his idol, which he said was lying in Naradakunda

in holy river Alakananda at Badarinath and offer

their worship. Subsequently Lord Brahma along

with others Gods and Rishis installed that very

idol indicated by the Lord and Viswakarma build a

temple for it. Bhagwan Narada Maharshi was

appointed the chief priest. Humans were to

worship the Lord for six months in a year and

gods and Rishis would worship in the remaining

six months.

There is a story in Skanda Purana where Lord

Shiva tells his son Skanda that at the beginning of

Dwapara Yuga Lord Narayana stopped being

visible to the naked eye due to the misdeeds of

humans and that he, Shiva, in the form of a

Sanyasi, would subsequently install the idol of the

Lord Narayana by taking it out from Narada

Kunda.

In Bhavishya Purana it is clearly mentioned that

Lord Shiva will be born as Adi Shankaracharya

and install the Idol of Lord Narayana at Badari, the

same idol that was installed by Lord Brahma but

which was subsequently thrown away in Narada

Kunda of river Alakananda by Buddhists who

were fleeing to Tibet after being defeated in

debate by Sri Adi Shankaracharya. Bhavishyottra

Purana too mentions this.

Even to this day a temple dedicated to Sri Adi

Shankaracharya can be found at Badarinath just

below the main Temple.

To which Nara and Narayana replied that they

were the same for whom he was doing penance

and that they were Lord Vishnu’s Avataras meant

for glorifying Tapas or Penance. The king felt

blessed and asked for a boon that he get back his

kingdom. But the Lord said that this is not a place

for worldly wishes and asked him to continue his

penance instead. But the king reiterated his wish

of gaining back his kingdom. The two Lords Nara

and Narayana granted him his boon and also said

that apart from that, even the place will be known

by his name of Vishal and whoever takes his name

along with Badari would be bestowed with a lot of

merit. From then onwards this place is called

Vishala Badari.

Bhagwan Narada Maharshi is considered the chief

priest of Badarikashrama and hence this place is

also known as Naradeeya Kshetra.

About the sacred Idol in the temple:

It is said that in Satya Yuga Lord used to be visible

at Badarivana but during subsequent ages he was

not visible to the naked eye at all the times. When

Lord Nara and Narayana were about to take birth

as Sri Krishna and Arjuna, Gods and Rishis

Bhagawan Narada Maharshi

Chief Divine Priest of Badarinath

An artist’s impression of the Idol of

Lord Badarinath, painted about 100 years ago

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Sri Garuda's wooden statue is located exactly

opposite to the main door of the temple.

Taking a clockwise path from there we see a 4-5

feet high statue of Lord Hanuman also known as

Bajaranga Bali or Sri Aanjaneya Swami. Near this

is a small statue of Sri Ganapathy in a meditative

pose and another small statue of Hanuman.

Here it may be of interest to note that Lord

Hanuman is said to be an immortal who stays, to

this very day, at these Gandhamaadana Mountain

ranges doing his penance and serving the Lord.

Turning clockwise we come to a room known as

Ma Maha Lakshmi's Kitchen, where the Prasada is

prepared to be offered as Naivaidya to Lord

Badrinath. Every day at around 12:30 pm the

offered Prasada is distributed among the devotees

here.

Beside this kitchen is a small temple of Maha

Lakshmi Devi. After the Lord descended at this

place, Lakshmi Devi too followed Him and She

took the form of a berry (badri) tree to offer him

shade. Hence, the Lord’s name, Badarinath came

into being. It is said that Sri Maha Lakshmi

decided to stay on at Badari Vana and do service

to lord Badarinath and also to supervise all the

activities of this temple as the Lord is engaged in

doing Tapas.

Beside this temple of Lakshmi Devi is a statue of

Utsava Moorthy (Idol used for procession) of Lord

Badarinath.

On the other side of the temple there are two more

important statues of Lord Hanuman as

Sankatmochan and Ghanta Karna, an ardent

devotee of Lord Badarinath

Sri Adi Shankaracharya appointed a Namboodri

Brahmin as a priest at Badrinath and even to this

day, after almost 2000 years, the priest of this

temple is from the lineage of the same Namboodri

Brahmin. This person was one of the only two

Brahmins present at the time of the funeral rights

of Sri Adi Shankaracharya's mother, at Kerala state

of India, when all the other Brahmins had

boycotted Sri Adi Shankaracharya because he,

being a Sanyasi, was performing the last rights of

his mother, which was prohibited by tradition.

This historical fact and the continuing tradition

prove that Sri Adi Shankaracharya had indeed

reinstalled this Idol at Badarinath.

This temple of Badarinath was renovated a few

times. Emperor Pururava also renovated it. This

temple was also renovated by the king of Gadwal

(the province of India in which Badarinath is

situated) in 15th century.

The main temple also houses the 5 idols known as

Badari Panchayat i.e., 5 member committee of

Badari. Those 5 idols are of Nara, Narayana,

Narada Maharshi, Kubera and Uddhava.

The Pancharatra form of ritual worship is

performed in this temple. This Pancharatra form

of worship, according to a number of Puranas, was

learnt by Maharshi Narada by the grace of Lord

Badarinath, at the divine abode of Lord Vishnu

known as Swetha Dweepa.

Now coming out of this main temple complex let's

take a trip of the other smaller shrines inside this

temple complex.

The deities Nara-Narayana, Narada,

Garuda, Kubera and Lakshmi Devi being

depicted at an Ashram at Badarinath

Ghanta Karna is

said to be the

Kshetrapala, i.e.,

the chief officer of

Badarinath town

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A Hymn in the praise of Lord Badarinath

Pawan Mand Sugandh Sheetal

Hem Mandir Shobhitam

Neekat Ganga Bahat Nirmal

Shri Badri Nath Vishwambharam

O'Lord Badrinath, Lord of the worlds! Thou art glowing in

the temple of snow and the Holy Ganges, which is

impeccable, flows near thee, and the cool fragrant breeze

blows by leisurely

Shesh Sumiran Karat Nishidin

Dhart Dhyan Maheshwaram

Shri Ved Brahma Karat stuti

Shri Badri Nath Vishawambharam

O'Lord Badrinath, Lord of the worlds! The primordial Snake,

Sheshnag upon whom thus rests, ever chants thy name and

Lord Shiva is immersed in your meditation, while the God of

Creation - Brahma chants hymns from Vedas in thy praise.

Indra Chandra Kuber

Dhoop Deep Prakashitam

Siddha Munijan Karat Jai Jai

Shri Badri Nath Vishwambharam

O'Lord Badrinath, Lord of the worlds! The king of gods -

Indra, god of wealth - Kubera and Moon god - Chandra

worship thee by lighting the lamp and incense in thy

presence and the Saints and Sages proclaim victory to thee.

Yaksha Kinnar Karat Kautuk

Gyan Gandharva Prakashitam

Shri Laksmi Kamla chanwar Dolen

Shri Badrinath Vishwambharam

O'Lord Badrinath, Lord of the worlds! The Celestial dancers

& singers, the Yakshas & Kinnars, who frequently please

Gods by singing and dancing entertain thee their talent so

also the Gandharvas display their knowledge of Song &

Dance. Mother Goddess, Lakshmi Devi, who sits on a lotus,

waves the fans in your service

Sah Gauri Ganesh Sharada

Narada Muni Uchcharanam,

Yog Dhyan Apar Leela

Shri Badri Nath Vishwambharam

O'Lord Badrinath, Lord of the worlds! Gauri, Ganesh,

Sharada (goddess of learning) and Narada Muni, the divine

Rishi, sing the praises of thy Yoga, thy Penance and the

glorious divine Play of thine.

Shri Badrinath Ki Karat Stuti

Hout Pap Vinashanam

Koti Tirath Bhayo Punya

Prapt Yeh Phal dayakam

One who thus sings the praise of the Lord of the

Worlds, Sri Badarinath, gets the benefit of offering the

worship in a billion Holy Places and all ones sins are

destroyed.

There is an interesting story about Sri Ghanta

Karna. He was initially of an evil nature and was

an eater of human-flesh and he vehemently hated

Lord Narayana but was subsequently transformed

by Lord Shiva and did penance for Lord

Badarinath and was blessed by Lord Badarinath to

be the Chief Officer in-charge of this place, known

as Kshetra Palaka. And it is said that if one wants

to get an access to the secret places or meet

advanced Saints or Siddhas, of Badarinath, it is

mandatory that one pleases and wins the favour of

this Kshetrapala or Officer-in-chief. Once he is

pleased with your worship and supplication he

will open the hidden secrets of Badrinath for you.

The five-day winter closing ceremony of the

Temple Complex of Badarinath is an annual ritual.

On Day 1, after a special puja, the gates of the

Ganesh Temple are closed. On Day 2, after a

special puja, the gates of the Adi Kedareshwar

Temple are closed. On Day 3 there is a special

worship of books, after which the Ved path

(studying the Vedas) and mantrochar (the reciting

of mantras) are stopped. On Day 4, there is a

special puja of Goddess Lakshmi but the gates of

her shrine are not closed. On the 5th and final day,

there is a special shringar puja of Badrinath before

the main temple is also closed. The statue of

Lakshmi is brought into the main temple on this

day.

This completes the detail about the main temple.

In the next issue I shall describe in details the

other immensely interesting places around this

Badarinath Temple and town. We shall try to

correlate these places with those given in our

Suddha dharma Literature.

I end this article with a translation of the song

sung at Badrinath Temple in the praise of Lord

Badari Narayana in this holy town of Badarinath.

( to be continued in the next Issue )