Uttarakhand: Badhrinath shrine doors to reopen from May 10 after winter break

Dehradun, Feb 10: Sacred portals of Badrinath will be reopened in after their annual winter closure. Badrinath is the most visited of the four Char Dham shrines in Uttarakhand.

The traditional ceremony for ascertaining the date of reopening of Badrinath temple was held in the palace of the erstwhile royal family of Tehri in Narendranagar.

As per the tradition, the ceremony started in the palace of the erstwhile royal family of Tehri at 10:30 an on the occasion of Vasant Panchami.

Along with the erstwhile king of Tehri, the office bearers of Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee, priests and members of the Dimri Panchayat among others were present at the ceremony.

On the same day, representatives of Dimri Panchayat will also arrive with Gadu Ghada- the pot containing sesame oil. The date of the Gadu Ghada yatra will also be declared on the occasion.

Badrinath is the last of the four shrines of the Char Dham Yatra circuit, besides Gangotri, Yamunotri and Kedarnath in the hill state.

The gates of the shrine were closed on Nov 20, 2018 at 3.21 pm after special pujas were performed by chief priest Ishwari Prasad Namboodiri to the presiding deity Lord Vishnu in the presence of a host of temple committee officials. Soon after the temple gates were closed, an idol of Lord Vishnu, kept in a flower-laden palanquin, was taken to Narsingh Mandir, Joshimath, where the deity will be worshiped during winter. A total of over 10 lakh pilgrims visited the Himalayan temple this year with 5,237 paying obeisance on the last day

The four Himalayan temples are closed every year with the onset of the winter when they remain snowbound.