Badrinath (Adi-Badri or Badarikasrama)

Badrinath (Adi-Badri or Badarikasrama)
There is the Badri-Narayana temple and Tapasa Kunda here. Tapasa Kunda always remains cold because it is surrounded by large trees. In Badrinath, the Personality of Godhead in His incarnation as the sages Nara and Narayana, have been undergoing great penance since time immemorial for the welfare of all living entities.

On the right side of the altar of the Badri-Narayana temple are Radha Krishna Deities. To their left is a Deity of Krishna lifting Govardhana Hill. Next is a deity of Uddhava sitting down. According to the Srimad Bhagavatam, Uddhava visited Badrinath in the Himalayas to worship Lord Krishna. To his left is the Deity of Badri-Narayana sitting down, which is said to be a natural formation. It is said that Krishna adopted this form when he once showed Himself to the gopis. Next is a Deity of Nara standing up, holding a conch, disc, lotus and club.

In the area around the Badri-Narayana temple there is Trikut Parvata mountain and Triveni Sangam, which is the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati. The Ganges and Yamuna are manifested here, just as they have manifested in the Himalayas. Other places in the area are Haridwar, Har Ki Pairi, Rishikesh, Laksman Jhula, and Nara Narayan Parvata. These are all places that are found in the Himalayas between Haridwar and Badrinath.

Because Braja Dhama is the original abode of Lord Krishna, all the sacred places in the universe originally exist here. Badrinath originally exists in Braja Dhama and the one in the Himalayas is considered to be an expansion of the original in Braja. This place is called Adi-Badri.

Once Nanda Maharaja and the cowherd men wanted to go on pilgrimage to the Himalayas. Krishna informed them that Badrinath and Kedarnath were manifested in Braja and that He would take them there. Krishna also told them that the benefit of going to Badrinath and Kedarnath in Braja would be thousands of time more than the benefits of going to the same places in the Himalayas. Practically the only difference between Badrinath here and the one in the Himalayas is that the one here is on a smaller scale, but the benefits of coming here is thousands of times more.

Not many people visit this place, so it is peaceful. You can also visit Kedarnath at the same time, as they are about 10km apart.

Getting Around When you reach this place you enter the temple compound. Directly in front of you, up some stairs, is the Badri-Narayana temple. To your left is Tapasa Kunda. To get to Haridwar and Har Ki Pairi, when you come out of the temple compound you make a left. You then go straight for about five minutes. The path then gets thin and then turns left. After walking for about 30 seconds you make a right. In front of you are a wall and some steps, which is what is left of an old ghata. This was pointed out to me to be Har Ki Pairi and Haridwar.

To get to the Ganges, Yamuna and Triveni Sangam you go between the two good-sized hills behind the temple. If you look around in this area you will see a riverbed. You follow this riverbed upward for about ten minutes, and you then come to where the Yamuna and Ganges meet. To your left is the Ganges and in front of you, going sharply up the mountain is the Yamuna. On the way up the hill you pass a large building on your left. If you go about 500m (1500 ft) there is a path that goes to the left that leads to the Ganges. It is a fairly tough climb to the top of the hill, where the Yamuna begins, but it is interesting. This is an interesting place to explore.

How To Get Here Badrinath is about 50km west of Vrindavana, in the middle of nowhere. This place is about two hours from Vrindavana by car. As the roads coming to this place are very bad (after Dig), it is best to come here by jeep. Until recently you could not drive here, but now you can drive right up next to the temple.

To drive here you first go the town of Govardhana. From there you go to the town of Dig. It is about 15km from Dig to Badrinath, on very bad roads. About a half hour after leaving Dig, you come to a fairly small white temple, on top of a hill on your right. At this temple you make a left and follow the road around for about ten minutes, until you reach the Badrinath temple.

Copyright ©2001 John Howley and Spiritual Guides