Bhavishya Badri (Swayambhu Murti) Next day (Day 16) early morning from Joshimath,
we headed towards Bhavishya Badri, which is nestled in the lap of Himalayas. This route is part of an ancient pilgrim route to Mount Kailash and Manasarovar. To reach Bhavishya Badri, one must take a climbing path off the road starting at Saldhar (on the route to Tapovan), and proceed about 7 km to Subhain village (which is at an altitude of 2744 meters above sea level). A Badarinath temple is situated at Subhain (some say that this is the Ardha Badri temple). One must then climb a further 2.4 km or so to reach Bhavishya Badri. There is another route to Subhain from Saldhar (in fact, the main route). This route with
stairs was broken. We therefore had to make our trek through the 7 km forest route, which was kachcha for the most part. With the help of Vedapathis, we had spoken to priest at Bhavishya
Badri temple, and arranged for Abhishek and also horses for mom, my dad and me.
My son Keshava who was 2 yrs old was very excited to sit on the horse (with me). My husband decided to
hike all the way up. Its trekker’s paradise and one can enjoy the unspoilt
beauty of Himalayas. This is one of the toughest routes in our trip but
rewarded with unbeatable pleasure. It took about two hours for us to reach Subhain.
View of valley from Saldhar
Tapta Kund
Tapta Kund holy dip place
At Tapovan right on the road there is a Taptakund (hot sulfurous spring). We waited near Taptakund for our horses to start our hike. The temperature of water at this place is piping hot (much hotter than the Taptakund at Vishal Badri).
The mud around it is melted, and is considered by locals to be special for facial skin. So, it
is disappearing fast. There is a separate hot water bathing place just as in
Badri Vishal temple.
The route is very picturesque and abounds with flora and fauna. As we
climb up one can find floral grass as high as us. One will enjoy the tranquil
beauty of this place where colorful butterflies flutter and one can enjoy the
music of exotic birds and bees humming. One is advised to cover oneself completely with
clothes, as there are some insects and plants, which might cause itching. The
air is very pure and refreshing. One had to go very carefully as the path was very slippery due to rains and very kachcha. The weather was pleasant and a little bit cloudy. We could not get a view of Nanda Devi since it was cloudy. The green-topped mountains, and the meandering river provides
beautiful scenery; one can find Buckwheat and Mustard fields on this
mountain.This place can also be called
as the “Small Valley of Flowers”. Gentle breeze, lofty mountains and pleasant ambience
gave us a feeling of having stepped into a paradise.
This place is not easy to reach even with a horse. Whenever we met a big pothole, we felt as though we might go flying into the air. Many times we had to mind our heads from barks of trees. When we came close to the Subhain temple,
we had to get down from our horses, as they could not go further. The grasses grown
there were taller than us. The soil was very soft from rains. My mom had a big
fall. She fell quite a distance down, and luckily a rock stopped her, else
she would have fallen into the valley.
We reached the Badrinath temple in
the village, where the priest was waiting for us. The bell at entrance attracts
everyone, The fragrance of the tulsi was ubiquitous. He had finished abhishek already,
as we did not reach in time. He was very kind, did Aarti, we all chanted Vishnu
Sahasranamam and exchanged very good talks about Lord BadriNarayan. Black idol
of Lord BadriNarayan is in meditative posture and was decked with flowers and peacock
feathers. There were a few Saligrama shilas near Lord. The Narada, Kuber and
Lakshmi Narayana can be found inside the inner sanctorum. Priest also explained us
about the Sthala purana, and the prophecy of Bhavishya Badri. We circumbulated the
temple. The prakaram contains Lakshmi Narayana temple and a Nara-Narayana temple. The priest also offered us very good and tasty tea. We were very thankful
for him for having helped us to visit this temple and his nice hospitality. Beautiful
floral plants surround the temple.
According to the legend, there was an akaash
vani when Adiguru Shankaracharya took Badri Vishal from Tapta kund, that
when the evil transcends the world in KaliYuga, and when the hand of Narasimha
shila at Joshimath falls, the Mountains Jaya and Vijaya would block up the
route to Badrinath and the sacred shrine would become inaccessible. Then,
Badrinath will appear at the Bhavishya Badri temple and be worshipped here,
instead of the Badrinath Shrine. After Vishnu, in his incarnation as Kalki,
destroys the world bringing Kaliyug to an end satyug will begin again and
Badrinath Dham will be reestablished at Bhavishya Badri. Notably, the right arm of the idol
of Narasingha is now as thin as a hair, which probably means there is still time
for Bhavishya Badri to emerge as the new Badrinath.
The trek to main Bhavishya Badri,
where Lord is emerging from a rock as a Swayambhu is further 1 hr trek above.
The sky was completely dark and started to drizzle when we started our hike up.
The priest had warned us that it is going to rain very heavily by the time we
reach close to the temple, which was very true. One can find a few ashrams as we near the destination. It is a very steep and strenuous trek. One even gets to see cedar and pine
trees on the way. The nature around is very beautiful with beds of flowers. The
place is very serene and very suitable for meditation. The view of the valley down
is breathtaking. The vibration of this place cannot but be
felt.
Bhavishya Badri Temple
Garhwal is definitely Devbhoomi,
and one would be spellbound looking at the way Lord BadriNarayan is emerging
out of rock in the Swayambhu form. Legs are already lifted off the ground and
there is a hollow space below now. One can now easily see the markings of
Kuber, Garuda, Nara Narayana, Goddess Lakshmi and others. One thing, which is
really unforgetful about Lord BadriNarayan here, is his smile and beautiful eyes. The priest here
is a Sanyasi. He with lot of enthusiasm explained all the avayams of idol and
how the Lord is forming here at a fast rate with regular protrusions. He did
Karpoora Aarti to Lord. There is a very basic temple with four walls and roof at
this place. The building of temple was under way when we went. We felt blessed
to have visited this place. We returned from Bhavishya Badri to Subhain, and proceeded to Saldhar after a short break. Our car was waiting at Saldhar to head back to Joshimath. Though it was tiring, it was an exhilarating, unforgettable experience. One full day is required for this trip.
We left Badarinath reluctantly. On our way back, we visited Vishnu Prayag. Here, the Alakananda River confluences with the DauliGanga
River originating from Niti Pass in Chamoli District. Dauli Ganga is also called
as Devadarshini Ganga. Vishnu Prayag is situated 10 km from Joshimath, on the
Joshimath->Badrinath road. It is located at an elevation of 1372 meters above
sea level. The scenery and the confluence at Vishnu Prayag are breathtaking and
one can notice very strong water currents. Just by bathing in this Tirth, one is
praised in the realms of Lord Vishnu. Brahma and various divinities got great
siddhis here.
Vishnu Prayag
As one enters the archway at Vishnu Prayag,
there is a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu is in the black marble form in sitting
posture. The diety is very beautiful. The maharani of Indore, Ahalyabai Holkar,
built this temple. After having our darshan at Vishnu Prayag, we got down the
stairway, which leads to Vishnu kund. At the sangam, there is a temple dedicated to
Narada Maharshi, as he worshipped lord Vishnu at this Prayag. Narada worshipped
Lord Vishnu after incurring the wrath of Brahma, which led to his birth in
human form. Narada got the siddhi of knowing everything in the world from Lord
Vishnu at Vishnu Kund. There are Shivakund, Ganesha Tirth closely located to
Vishnu kund.
"Alakananda flows from the
southern side of Brahmapuri. Passing over the tops of mountains in various
lands, it falls down with fierce force upon the peaks of the mountains Hemakuṭa
and Himakuṭa. After inundating the tops of those mountains, the Ganges falls
down onto the tract of land known as Bharata, which she also inundates. Then
the Ganges flows into the ocean of salt water in the south. Persons who come to
bathe in this river are fortunate." (Bhagavata-purana 5.17.9)
Close to
VishnuPrayag, there is Kagbhusandi Lake, which is famous and of religious
importance with emerald green waters. The lake can be approached from Vishnu Prayag
in addition from Bhundar village near Ghangaria.
In the
Sanath Samhita, it is mentioned that when the arm of the Narasimha idol at
Joshimath falls off then the Jaya and Vijaya mountains at Patmila near
VishnuPrayag merge, making the present shrine of Badrinath inaccessible. After this,
worship of Lord Badrinarayan will begin at Bhavishya Badri near Tapovan.
Dhyana Badri
We then
left for Dhyan Badri located at Urgam valley, close to Kalpeshwar. We got
details about Dhyan Badri and Bhavishya Badri from Vedapati’s at Badri Vishal
Mandir. With their help we got arranged for special pooja as well as horses to
go upto Bhavishya Badri. Our sincere regards to them having helped us have
darshan at these places.
Dhyan
Badri is located at 2135 meters above sea level in the beautiful Urgam valley.
As one reaches the mountain lap we were surprised to see the height of
parthenium encroaching our Himalayas. Government should take good care of not
letting these spread at the rate they are spreading. Moreover, the jeepable road
to village was really in pathetic condition. The potholes were so huge, that our
car could not go up at all after a point how much ever pressure was applied. Indica
or Indigo cars are not suitable to get to this place.
Dhyan
Badri can be reached from Helang chatti by a 12 kilometers trek en-route to
Joshimath from Badrinath. People are very good and have a helping nature. We had
to first make a very steep climb to reach the road, as it was broken. Then we
started to walk. We asked our parents and my son to wait for us down in the car, as it
would have been hard for them to climb. To our surprise after having walked for
1hr 15 minutes, we found them also coming by bike. Then they said the locals, really
insisted that they come and helped to a very large extent to climb the steep climb and then
they brought them by motorbike. It was bit of a hiking adventure for them. They
even took our parents and kid till the temple. Such was their interest for any
devotee to come and have darshan of Lord BadriNarayan. We are really grateful
to them for helping us out. It took nearly more than two hours to walk to the temple. But
every second we were immersed in the natural beauty of the surrounding place. The
mountain is filled with flora and fauna.
Dhyana Badri temple
View from temple
Mukhota inside inner sancotorum used for dance
It was
not too hot or cold; by afternoon time, the weather was as though it was a pleasant evening. The sun peeping through the clouds gave
a special look to the mountain, which is indescribable by words. The Urgam valley
is a dense forest area. The valley has apple orchards and terraced fields where
potato is grown extensively. Grains are also grown to a large extent. While
we were walking we started collecting some nice flowers to offer to the Lord.
Saina is
the first valley one reaches, next is Lyari where one finds Panch Dhara (five
small stream), representing Pancha Pandavas. There are many small ancient temples
in Urgam Valley mostly founded by Adi Guru Shankaracharya. Urgam is lush green
valley with fascinating scenery. One will have to cross a beautiful
suspension bridge, before getting to the temple. The locals also mentioned there
are two other very beautiful temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu here. One is
Phoolya Narayan, where the rock idol of Lord Vishnu is believed to be as light
as a flower and a small temple of Nanda Devi. It is a very serene place for meditation. Bansi Narayan is a thrilling trek route, which
is 10kms from Devgram village. Bansi Narayan is a temple dedicated to Lord
Krishna where he is seen playing Raas Leela with his friends. One who trusts in
Krishna can unconditionally hear the voice of Bansi (flute). We hope to cover this
place during our next trip to Uttarakhand.
Finally,
we reached Dhyana Badri temple by afternoon. The pujari's son at temple were waiting
for us to come as we had informed them earlier. The legend of Dhyana Badri
(meditating Badri) is linked to the Urvarishi, son of king Puranjaya of the
Pandavas lineage who meditated in the Urgam region and established the temple
for Vishnu. The image of Vishnu is four armed, made of white stone and in a
meditative posture. He is holding Shanka and Chakra in His hands. One can
similarly find Nara Narayana, Kubera, Garuda and other deities similar to
Vishala Badri temple. Serenity of the place is very beautiful even for
meditation. One specialty of this temple is there are stone human faced masks
of Pandavas, which are used to dance and perform during the (mukhota dance) mela
on the walls in the inner sanctorum. There are several shaligrama shilas placed
near Lord Badri Narayana as well. Around the temple, there is Kashi Vishwanath
linga to west side, Gantakarna temple in the north, Chandika temple in the
south and Kuber Dhara to the east.
There is
also a temple to Lord Shiva built by Adi Shankara. Kalpeshwar, one of the panch
Kedar sacred temple of Shiva is situated 2 kms away from Dhyana Badri. One will have to carry
pooja samagris collected before itself as there is no provision for getting them
near the temple. On the bridle path from
Helang to Kalpeshwar, the enchanting confluence of the Alaknanda and Kalpganga
rivers is seen. Kalp Ganga river flows through the Urgam valley.
We stayed
at Joshimath at a very good hotel Himalayan Abode.
Copyright 2017 by Jayashree Badarinath
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Badri Kshetra is one of the most outstanding and ancient pilgrimage tirthas on the Himalayas. Bhagavan Narayana Himself resides here. The next day, after MahaAbhishek at
Badrinath, we headed towards Mana village. Mana is known as ManibhadraPuri in ancient
literature. It is dedicated to Yaksha Chief Manibhadra. Mana is a heritage village in the
district of Chamoli. It is about 3 km from Badrinath temple at an altitude of 3200 meters. On
one side of the route, the flawless Alakananda River enchants every viewer. Gorgeous mountains rise up on the other side of the route. Mana is the last village on NH 58,
before the Mana pass and is 24 kms from the border of India and Tibet/China. Mana
pass is located within the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve. It is the source of
the Saraswati River, and one of the longest Ganges tributaries, the Alakananda
River. Alakananda trickles through several scenic small ponds between the Mana
pass and Lake Deo Tal three km southwest of the pass.
Gantakarna temple: Mana
The people at Mana are very calm,
hard-working and quiet Indo-Mongolian tribes. Each wooden house with some
stones has a backyard kitchen garden where they grow vegetables, fruits and
nice flowers. People are seen making their own masalas for cooking. We walked through the entire village and even visited their
adhistatri devata, the Gantakarna temple. Women are not allowed to enter this
temple. The walk was very refreshing in midst of heavenly Himalayan surroundings.
Kuwari villagers of Mana offer a woolen shawl/coat to Lord BadriNarayan on the
closing day of the temple, which is put for the winter.
Seshnetra
Before we reached Mana we visited Sheshnetra: This is on the route to Mana. Situated in the lap of Nar Parvat, it is a boulder
having an impression of the legendary snake, Sheshnag (Adhiseshan). The formation of an eye on
the boulder is natural. It is situated at a distance of 1.5km from Badrinath.
Anantha Sesha guards the sacred temple of Lord Badrinath.
Keshava Prayag
Keshava prayag, is the place, where
River Saraswati emerging from the glacier confluences with river Alakananda. On
banks of Saraswati at Keshava prayag there exists Śamyāprāsa Tirth.
Keshava Prayag
Nara Narayan Parvat
On the way, we got a beautiful view
of Nara and Narayana parvat. In-between Nara and Narayana mountains, beautiful Alakananda flows. Badri
Vishal temple is located on Narayana parvat. When Bhagiratha brought Ganga with
force on to the earth to pass through Himalaya, Himalaya stopped it. Then Airavata (Indra’s elephant),
pierced the Himalaya through his ivory, which created split in the mountain as Nara and Narayana
parvata, and let the Ganga flow in between. South of Saraswati coming from the mountains is Indrapad Tirtha, where Lord Indra conducted Tapasya. Indra dhara is about 1.5
kilometers north of the town Badripuri. Devotees do Sukla paksha trayodashi snan and vrat here.
People in
India may visit the temple of Nara-Nārāyaṇa at Badarikāśrama just to learn how
the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His incarnation as Nara-Nārāyaṇa engages
in austerities to teach the people of the world how to achieve
self-realization. It is impossible to realize oneself simply by absorbing
oneself in speculation and material activities. One must be very serious about
self-realization and the practice of austerity. (Srimad
Bhagavatam--5:19:9).
Ganesha Gufa
In Mana, we visited Ganesha Gufa where Lord
Ganesha wrote the Mahabharata while Veda Vyasa narrated it. There is also a
very interesting story related to the place that explains the broken tusk of Lord Ganesh. When Vyas was composing the
Mahabharata, he needed someone to take down his dictation and asked the learned
Ganesha for the same. Ganesh agreed but he had a condition – That Vyas would
not stop even for a moment or else he would stop writing and leave. What
ensued further was a mini competition between the two. Vyas dictating as fast
as he could, and Ganesh bent down over the script pages. His pen was racing
furiously in the wind. Finally, His reed pen broke. To which, He broke off a
part of his tusk to be used as a pen thereon.
Vyasa Gufa
From here, we went to Veda Vyasa
Gufa, where Veda Vyasa maharshi resided and composed four vedas. The gufa is
also called Vyas Pothi on the accounts of river Saraswathi. There is life size
marble idol of Vyasa Maharshi here writing a granth. Next to him, there is white idol of Vallabhacharya. In addition to Mahabharat,
Vyas Maharishi composed 18 puranas (legendary stories), Brahma Sutras and
classified the Vedas into 4 parts – Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva. This is the great place where MahaBharatha and Srimad Bhagavatham were written. It is
only in this cave that Adi Shankara is believed to have met Maharishi Vyas and
discussed his Sankara Bhashyam (explanatory notes) for Brahma Sutras.
Rock formation inside the Vyas Gufa
appears to resemble the orderly stacking of palm leave manuscripts – oldest
writing material and is worshipped as Vyas Pusthak. Maharishi Vyas is also
considered, as reincarnation of Vishnu. While Vyasa was narrating Mahabharata,
river Saraswati was flowing with great noise. Since that was disturbing him,
Vyasa requested Saraswati to flow calmly. On refusal, Vyasa maharshi diverted
Saraswatl’s course and flow as a hidden river. We can see Saraswati river upto a
point and then she confluences with Alakananda at Keshava Prayag. Another stream of hers flows as AntarVahini (hidden river) and merges with Ganga and
Yamuna at Prayag in Allahabad Sangam.
Once upon a
time he (Vyāsadeva), as the sun rose, took his morning ablution in the waters
of the Sarasvatī and sat alone to concentrate. The River Sarasvatī is flowing
in the Badarikāśrama area of the Himalayas. So the place indicated here is Śamyāprāsa
in Badarikāśrama, where Śrī Vyāsadeva is residing. (Srimad
Bhagavatam--1:4:15).
We sighted some saints here Vyasa Gufa and took their blessings. They also gave us some Badri berries which were edible and tasty.Near the Vyasa Gufa is “India’s last tea shop” at Mana. Each tourist does stop at this tea stall to have tea for sure.
Bhim Pul
From here we went to Bhim Pul, a
huge rock formed as a bridge across river Saraswati. Panch Pandavas went to
Satopanth through this route. When Pandavas were crossing this river on their
Swargarohini, Draupadi could not cross. Then Bhim lifted a huge rock and placed
it over the river to form a natural bridge, thereby making it easier for her to
cross the river. The view from the bridge is truly spectacular.
Saraswati River and temple
Saraswati River gushing out in between rocks is a very spectacular site. Saraswati is Goddess of
knowledge. River Saraswati flows to the north of Brahma Kund. Lord Vishnu established the Vagdevi River as Deva Rupi Vedas, Jnaana Rupi Vedas, Pitru loka and Bhuloka all of which is concentrated in Badrikashrama which is the confluence of Three Lokas. Bathing at Saraswati river, its worship, Stuti would indeed enhance a devotee's vocal and mental power and ensure that the ensuing generation's abilities would never ever fail. There is a small Saraswati temple facing the river. Inside, there is
a small idol of Devi Saraswati. The sight of huge mountain and the steep
valley, and the gushing Saraswati River, makes one speechless. We could spot beautiful rainbows as well. The bridge connects one
mountain to another. This is the path towards Vasudhara falls. The fierce and
gushing holy River Saraswati with her tremendous force and sound makes one
tremble. She falls down in a deep gorge. There is Manasodbhed-Tirth here. There
are many people who risk their life to touch Saraswati River flowing into gorge
as waterfall. We got bottle of Saraswati River collected from the falls. There is a
small flow of Kailasa Manasa Sarovara water flowing in here. We drank water from here and did prokshanam.
Water from Manasa Sarovar
Vasudhara falls
Vasudhara falls is a very important
piligrimage place in Badarikashram. One can go-to Vasudhara and return back to
Badrinath on the same day. 5 km from Mana village, the Vasudhara falls, 125 meters
high, against the backdrop of snow covered mountains and glaciers is a
captivating sight. At most of the places there is a well laid stone pebbled path. It takes around 2 hrs to reach this place from Mana. On an average, the path to Vasudhara falls is not very steep. The views are awesome as one walks towards Vasudhara
falls. One can sight Badri bushes
on the way. The torrents of water come gushing down and are diffused in fine
showers and soft mist by wind blowing from different directions. Close to the
falls are prominent peaks of Satopanth, Chaukhamba and Balkum. One is also able
to see the glacial snouts from where the river Alaknanda emerges. One will feel as though Vasudhara is loudly and ceaselessly singing the glory of God. This place is truly filled with divine joy.
The Mahabharata says ``virtuous one, one should next proceed to Vasudhara adored by all. The
moment one arrives at that tirtha, one acquires the fruit of the
horse-sacrifice. And, O you best of the Kurus, by bathing there with subdued
soul and rapt attention, and giving oblations of water unto the gods and the Pitris
one ascends unto the region of Vishnu and is adored there. In that tirtha,
O bull of the Bharata race, there is a sacred lake of the Vasus. By bathing there
and drinking of its water, one becomes regarded of the Vasus. " Astavasus did tapas for 1000 years here.
At Vasudhara the stream is sometimes cut off by the fierce winds that blow through the gorge. It appears that the water fall ceased for a minute or two. Locals regards this as a sign that someone of evil temperament or one who has committed tremendous sins has come to absolve himself by touching the source. The water from this falls
is very fierce. One will be completely immersed in the immense beauty of nature at this spot. We were completely wet. We chanted our astakshari mantra
japa at this place. This place is perfect for meditation. We had taken pitthus for my mother and son to get to this place. On our way back, clouds were engulfing and chilly winds started blowing.
According to Tibetan Buddhist culture, Vasudhara means "Stream of Gems" and she is the consort of the Wealth deity She is depicted as being with three faces and six arms and carrying all her wealth bringing implements. Vasudhara not only brings abundant material wealth, but spiritual wealth as well which is of most importance. She helps one to develop an attitude of generosity. One can get a view of Lakshmi Van,
where Goddess Lakshmi meditated and Draupadi breathed her last. Lakshmi Van is
at an altitude of 12600 feet and bhuj patra trees grow here. It is 4 km from
Mata Murti temple. There is a small Lakshmi-Dhara here. In ancient times, the
leaves of Bhuj patra trees were used for manuscripts. There is a path leading
directly from the village to its base, where it crosses a bridge and then continues west along the side valley towards the Satopanth mountain. 9kms from
Lakshmivan, the Nara and Narayana mountains merge at Chakratirth.
Muchukunda Gufa
Next day we went to Muchukunda Gufa
and Mata Murti temple. To get to this Muchukunda Gufa, one would need a special permit and the help of a guide. The route follows a road under construction for a very short distance. One then has to make an almost vertical climb away from this road near a bridge over a gorge. Since the approach to a point above the road that was away from the gorge was broken, we had to approach this point from a route such that one wrong step would mean falling into the gorge. We would not recommend that elderly people take this risk (even with pitthus).
Muchukunda of the Ikshvaku dynasty was favored by Sri Krishna after he reduced Kalayavana to ashes. On
coming out of his cave (the place where he received Sri Krishna's grace is far away from Uttarakhand), Muchukunda saw that the human species had been reduced to dwarf-like stature. He realized that it was the end of Dvaapara Yuga. Therefore, he began to
travel north. Eventually came to the Gandhamādana mountain, which was full of sandalwood trees as well as other flowering trees. The fragrance of these trees made anyone who reached this region joyful. He decided to remain in the Gandhamādana Mountain region to undertake tapas for the rest of his life. In Badarikāśrama (at Muchukunda Gufa) he remained immersed in devotion to Lord Narayana as long as he lived.
Krishna Paduka
One can see the Krishna Paduka at the entrance
of this gufa where Muchukunda got divine darshan of Lord Narayana. We did our
meditation at this place. There is a mela, which is held annually, in which
people trek to this place and enter the gufa and get out of the gufa at other
end where there is big open ground. Some people also call it as Kalaapagrama. We
could not enter into the gufa as it was completely dark and we had not come
equipped to get inside.
Mata Murti Temple
While coming back, we visited Mata
Murti Temple: On the right bank of Alaknanda opposite the Mana village is a
small temple of Mata Murti dedicated to the mother of Shri Badarinathji (Nara
and Narayana) and wife of Dharma. This is called Dharma-Kshetra. Belief is that
Mata Murti has the power of granting Vairagya to those who sincerely meditate
here. This temple is on other side of Alakananda. It started to lightly drizzle
when we headed to this place. During the month of Avani, Shukla paksha Dwadashi,
Sri Badrinath arrives here to pay respect to his mother. It is celebrated as
Sri Mata Murti Mela annually. One will have to cross Alakananda to get to this
place. The Maninag Parbat is located
near this temple. Near this mountain, Yudhistira supposedly answered all
questions put by Yama and brought back all his brothers who had lost their
lives because they could not answer Yama’s question during Yakshaprashna. It is also believed that couples with no
children will be blessed with progeny if they meditate at Mata Murti temple.
Pancha Shilas
Located close to Badrinath temple are the Pancha Shilas: Naradi, Narasimhi, Varahi, Garudi and Markandeyi. They grant bliss and contentment.
Narada Shila: Sage Narada once performed severe Tapasya on this rock in order to get darshana of Lord Vishnu. When Sriman Narayana along
with Devi Lakshmi gave darshan, Narada asked for ever lasting
devotion to Him and creating a
Tirtha nearby which would cleanse the sins of those who bathe in it and
worship Narayana. This shila is located near Tapta Kund. Narada performs puja to Badri Narayan during the six months (in winter) when the temple is closed.
Markandeya, the great devotee, performed penance at Badarikashrama by reciting the astakshara mantra (as advised by Narada at Mathura). Bhagavan Vishnu appeared before him in full
glory with Shankh, Chakra, Gada and Padma. After
extolling Sriman Narayana to his heart’s content, Markandeya desired freedom from the cycle of birth and death as well as devotion to Narayana that would become stronger as time passes. Markandeya also desired that He should be always be present at the rock where he was
having the darshan of Bhagavan and that He should bless devotees when they
visited that rock. That rock came to be known as Markandeya Shila.
Garuda was the son of Sage Kashyap and Devi
Vinata. His ambition was to emulate the example of his brother Aruna who was
Surya Deva’s charioteer. As a result, he had the intense desire of becoming the Carrier of
Bhagavan Sriman Narayana. He chose Badari Kshetra on the top of the adjacent ‘Gandhamadan
Parvat’ performed intense tapas with unmatched grit and devotion. When Lord Narayana finally gave darshan, Garud extolled Him as
Trividha Murti integrating the Forms of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara as also of
‘Ashta Shaktis’(Eight Powers) and the Supreme Might of the Universe. Vishnu was
pleased and materialised ‘Panchamukha Ganga’ or the five-faced Ganges with the
waters of which gave the unique opportunity to Garuda to wash His feet. In addition, He made him His personal ‘Vahan’ (Carrier), made him invincible by any force in the Three Worlds, and made him a never-failing
personal devotee of Bhagavan. He also blessed Garuda that He would fulfill the desires of those who visit
the Garuda Shila and worship Bhagavan Narayana. This is near Adi Kedareshwara sannidhi in Badrinath.
Narasimha Deva in one of Lord Vishnu’s
avatars annihilated the Demon Hiranyakasipu and saved the great devotee Prahlada; He looked like Fire while killing the Demon with His sharp
nails. In addition, He was in an infuriated mood. The frightenedDevas prayed to Him to
calm down. After somewhat calming down, He declared that He would settle
at Vishalapuri (Badarikashram); all the Sages were extremely delighted that
Narasimha would be present at Badarikshetra. He resides in the Narasimha Shila in order to bless Bhaktas visiting the Shila.
Bhagavan Varaha pulled up Bhu Devi from the
underworld of Rasatala and destroyed Demon Hiranyaksha thereby saving the Vedas and Holy
Scriptures. The Varaha incarnation of Lord Vishnu appeared at Vishalapuri as
Varaha Shila and continues to bless the devotees at the Shila.
We were blessed to have stayed at Badri Kshetra for five days. It was indeed His grace. Prasad at Badrinath temple is of great importance. It gets rid of PanchaMaha Patakas. Lord's Badrinath's darshan is one of the best and most heart fulfilling experiences in my whole life. Nothing remains to be achieved after His Divine Darshan. From here we proceeded to Vishnu Prayag with prayers to Lord Badri Narayan with "Punar Darshanam Prapthirastu". We also prayed we could get Paramapada (Moksha) and render our services with devotion at His feet all the time.
Copyright 2017 by Jayashree Badarinath
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