Badrinath: Ek Dham Yatra

You have heard about the high religious values of Chardham Yatra. How the yatra can bring peace of mind and help you attain utmost serenity! Similarly, Ek dham Yatra has same high religious values and it is said that journey to Badrinath is tour to salvation, tour to devotion. This article is must for you if you are not very aware about Badrinath and why it has an elite place on the map. 

Badrinath was established by Adi Shankara in ninth century as a major shrine. Shankaracharya is considered as the guru who brought renaissance for Hinduism in that era, which was then dominated by Buddhism. His arrival at Badrinath brought a revolution and restores people's trust in Hinduism. With the passage of time, Badrinath has seen significant surge in its popularity with an estimated 600,000 pilgrims visiting in the year of 2006. This is way more than 90,676 in 1961. The most of the tourists and devotees come here to visit Badrinath temple. The temple is a sacred pilgrimage site for Vaishnavites.

The Badrinath temple can also be described as the main attraction of the town. As per legends Adi guru Shankara found a black stone image of Lord Badrinarayan in Alaknanda River. The stone was made of Saligram stone. Initially he enshrined the stone image in a cave that was located in proximity of the Tapt Kund (hot springs). Later in 16 century, the King of Garhwal changed the murti to the present place.

Since then the temple has seen various renovations. Wear and tear forced several modifications and altercations in designs. Kings of Garhwal expanded the temple area by 17 century. In the great 1803 Himalayan earthquake, the temple suffered a lot of damage. But king of Jaipur then rebuilt it.

Badrinath temple is about 50feet tall with a small cupola on top. The roof is covered with gold gilt. The facade is made up of stone and has arched windows. There is a broad stairway, which guides you to a tall arched gateway. This gateway is the main entry gate. The interior design resembles Buddhist vihara. With intricate carvings on the walls and pillars, the ambiance in the temple is very great.

Badrinath yatra or Badrinath tour is the nest of tempting destinations such as ar-ki-Pauri, Ganga Aarti, Deoprayag, Rudraprayag, Karnprayag and various Kunds such as Tapt Kund, Narad Kund and etc. Badrinath tour will provide you utmost satisfaction and a great peace of mind. To go on Badrinath yatra or tour, you simply need to hire a good travel and tour operator. Badrinath tour begins from Delhi and then moves towards Haridwar,  Joshimath, Badrinath, Rudraprayag and finally a return to Delhi.