12 Amazing & Interesting Facts About Uttarakhand Chardham

Chardham Yatra consists in a visit to the four holy Dhams, namely Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. These four abodes of God come with very high religious significance and have led many sages, ascetics and philosophers to delve into the religious mysteries and set out for a quest of the ‘divine’. There are many unknown and lesser known facts about the holy Chardhams which baffle the spiritually inclined mind. To know more about those interesting facts, read on.

1- The Chardham Parikrama

Chardham Yatra is actual a holy Parikrama or Pradikshina that pilgrims undertake. In Hindu religion ‘Pradakshina’ is an important part of any religious ritual or ceremony and pilgrims move in an anticlockwise direction starting from left proceed towards the right in a circle. When a pilgrim undertakes the Chardham Yatra he or she is actually doing the Pradakshina of the four holy sites, starting from Yamunotri, Uttarakhand’s westernmost shrine and then moving towards Gangotri, followed by Kedarnath and finally the Badrinath shrine by visiting which pilgrims successfully complete their Pradakshina or circumambulation.

2- Lord Badri’s Original Shrine

The Badrinath Temple that you see now wasn’t the original shrine of Sri Badrinath Ji. The idol of Badrinarayan was retrieved from River Alkananda by Adi Guru Shankaracharya who then installed the idol in the auspicious Garud Caves falling in vicinity to Tapt kund hot springs. After several centuries, under the initiative of Garhwal king, the shrine of Badrinarayan moved to the place where it is situated at present.

3- Three Primary Sectarians Represented by Chardhams

Chardhams are not associated with any one particular sect of the Hindu religion. The chardhams in fact cover three major sects of Hinduism. Badrinath Dham is allied to the Vaisnava sect; Kedarnath Dham is allied to the Shaiva sect and Gangotri and Yamunotri Dham are allied to Devi Shaktis.

4- Tapt kund

Tapt kund is a thermal spring located in vicinity to Badrinath Dham. Pilgrims to Badrinath bathe in this Thermal spring before moving on to the temple. Tapt Kund is believed to be the seat of the fire god, Lord Agni. Also, the waters of the Kund are believed to come with great healing power and medicinal properties.

5- Gauri Kund

Gauri Kund is another thermal spring falling on the way to Kedarnath temple. This Kund has got its name from Devi Parvati, also known as Gauri who is believed to have performed her yogic rites at this place. Kedarnath Dham trek commences from Gauri Kund.

6- Surya Kund

Surya Kund is located in vicinity to Yamunotri glacier and is a Thermal spring with fuming hot water. Rice can easily be boiled in a couple of minutes when exposed to the hot waters of Surya Kund. Rice cooked here is offered as Prasadam to the deity of Goddess Yamuna at the Yamunotri temple. The Surya Kund has been named after Sun god who is considered as Goddess Yamuna’s father.

7- Narad Kund

Narad Kund is a thermal spring located in proximity to Badrinath temple. The waters of the Kund ensue from a region just underneath Garud Shila and collect into a pond. Narad Kund is actually a geographical recess on the stream of River Alaknanda. It is this very Kund from where Adi Shankaracharya is believed to have retrieved Lord Badrinarayan’s idol. According to mythical tales Sage Narad Muni composed the Narad Bhakti Sutra right at this spot and thus the Kund came to be known as ‘Narad Kund’.

8- Badrinath Dham Named after the Badri Trees

According to mythological tales, the region of Badrinath Dham was full of Badri trees; i.e. wild berry trees, once upon a time. Lord Vishnu meditated here under the shade of an enormous Badri tree which was actually a form assumed by his consort, Goddess Lakshmi in order to shield her husband from the scorching sun rays of the blazing. Thus, Lord Vishnu came to be known as Badrinarayan and his shrine as ‘Badrinath Dham’.

9- Badrinath Dham was previously a Buddhist monastery

Ancient scriptures and mythical tales declare that Badrinath Dham was a Buddhist temple in the years preceding 8^th century. The colorful façade and designs at the temple’s entrance and front exterior bear a testimony to this mythical declaration. In other words, the temple resembles a Buddhist monastery in its architecture. It is declared in ancient history that Adi Shankaracharya had expelled all Buddhist monks from this place by taking help of Kanak Pal, the Parmar king. After the evacuation of this place from the monks, Adi Shankaracharya consecrated it as a Hindu religious destination.

10- Conch Blowing Prohibited at the Chardhams

Conch blowing is not allowed at the Chardhams. The reason is a mythical tale which tells that when Agasthya muni was out on his mission to destroy the demons at Kedarnath, two demons ran for their life and managed to escape by hiding themselves. One of the demons, Vatapi took shelter in a conch and thereby managed to save himself. It is believed that if the conch is blown, demon Vatapi would emerge from the conch. Thus conch blowing is strictly prohibited in the Chardham region.

11- Founder of the Original Temple of Kedarnath

The mythological tales declare the ‘Pandavas’ as the founder of the original, ancient temple of Kedarnath. They had constructed the temple in order to please Lord Shiva who had been evading them by taking the disguise of a bull. They wished to be blessed by the lord and thus wished to get rid of the sins of killing their own kinsmen in the battlefield of Mahabharata.

12- Prophecy on Kedarnath and Badrinath temple

According to common mythological belief, the route to Badrinath and Kedarnath will turn inaccessible in the coming future and during that time Bhavishya Badri will rise to importance as Lord Badrinarayan will be enshrined and worshipped at Bhavishya Badri then. The prophecy further declares that when the mountains, Vijay and Jay in vicinity to Vishnu Prayag joins to each other and when the arm drops off from Lord Narasimha’s idol enshrined at Joshimath, the paths to Badrinath and Kedarnath will get blocked forever.