Badrinath — Badrinarayana

Badrinath Temple — The Lord of Badri

The Northern Gateway of the Char Dham

Badrinath Temple, perched at 3,133 metres in the Garhwal Himalayas on the banks of the Alaknanda river, is the northern anchor of the Char Dham. It is also one of the 108 Divya Desams of the Srivaishnava tradition — the holiest Vishnu shrines in south Asian pilgrimage.

The deity is Badrinarayana — Vishnu seated in padmasana (lotus posture) under the Badri tree, flanked by Nara and Narayana (the two sages who meditate beside him for all of eternity, according to the Mahābhārata). The image is a sālagrāma (self-manifested black stone) — not sculpted by human hands.

The Temple

The present structure, with its colourful gopuram and gold-plated roof, was rebuilt by the Garhwal kings in the 17th–19th centuries after repeated avalanche damage. The Rawal (chief priest) is traditionally a Nambudiri Brahmin from Kerala — a 2,400-km south-to-north priestly appointment that is one of the most remarkable administrative arrangements in Indian temple history.

The temple is open only from May to November. Each winter, the deity is moved to Joshimath (Vishnu's winter abode), and the valley becomes impassable under metres of snow.

Mana — The Last Indian Village

4 km beyond Badrinath lies Mana, the last Indian village before the Tibet border. Mana Pass (5,458 m) was historically a major trade route for salt, borax, and wool between India and Tibet. The Vyas Gufa (cave of Vyāsa) and Ganesh Gufa (cave of Gaṇeśa) in Mana are traditioned as the sites where the Mahābhārata was dictated and transcribed.

The Kashi–Badrinath Axis

Badrinath is paired with Kashi (Varanasi) in the Char Dham: the northern and southeastern anchors. The Alaknanda river at Badrinath is one of the two parent streams of the Ganga — making this the point where the Gangā first becomes a river.