The portals of Badrinath shrine will be reopened to the public on April 30 at 4:30 AM. The date of reopening of the shrine was arrived at ceremoniously in the palace of the erstwhile royal family of Tehri in Narendranagar on the occasion of Vasant Panchami on Wednesday.
The priests checked the horoscope of the erstwhile king of Tehri, Manujendra Shah to arrive at the date of reopening of the Badrinath shrine.
The chairman of Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee Mohan Prasad Thapliyal, Badrinath Rawal (chief priest) Ishwari Prasad Namboodri, BKTC chief executive officer BD Singh and a number of devotees were also present on the occasion. Astrologically speaking, the Adhik Maas being observed this year is one of the reasons why the Badrinath shrine is being reopened earlier this year than in the past. According to the traditional Hindu calendar–Panchang, there will be 13 months in this year- a feature referred to as Adhik Maas.
While the Hindu calendar uses the lunar cycle as its basis, the Gregorian calendar uses the solar cycle as its basis. While the year based on the lunar cycle comprises 354 days, the one based on the solar cycle comprises 365 days which amounts to a difference of 11 days in both the systems. To resolve this gap, there is an Adhik Maas every third year. The Adhik Maas will start from September 18 and last till October 16.
Due to this, various festivals falling from January to August will be observed about 10 days earlier while those falling between September and December will be observed 10 to 20 days late.
Due to this reason, Akshay Tritiya will fall on April 26 this year. The portals of the Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines are reopened to the public on this occasion.