The portals of the fabled Badrinath temple, one of the four celebrated shrines in Uttarakhand, would be closed to the public, ceremoniously at 7.28 pm on November 19 for the six winter months. As part of the long-continuing tradition, the date for the closure of the shrine’s portals was formally declared on the auspicious occasion of Vijaya Dashmi on Saturday.
It is learnt that the date and the timing of the closure have been fixed according to the Hindu almanac. lord Badrinath would be ceremoniously worshipped at the Narsinh temple in Joshimath during the next six months. Notably, the closing days of the four shrines — Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri — are different.
In the presence of the acting Rawal (chief priest) Easwara Prasad Namboothiri, dharmadhikaris and Bandrinath Temple Committee functionaries assembled at the Badrinath Temple campus between 11 am and 12.30 pm on the occasion of Vijaya Dashami for the ceremonial announcement of the date of the shrine’s closure to the public. Others present on the occasion were Badri-Kedar Temple Committee’s chief executing officer BD Singh, temple officer Bhupendra Maithani, Dharmadikari Bhawan Chandra Uniyal, Avar Dharmadikari Satyaprakash Chamola and Avar Dharmadikari Sriniwas Poshathi.
Notably, the idol of the Kedarnath shrine would be moved to Ukhimath, the lord’s winter abode, while that of Yamunotri would be taken to Kharsali and of Gangotri to Mukhba.
However, the char dham pilgrimage would continue during the winter months as the pilgrims would visit the places where the idols are kept during this period. The State Government hopes that the footfalls during the winter char dham yatra would be substantial in tune with the large turnout during the past six months to the summer abodes of the lord. “We are sure that the momentum of the pilgrimage would not drop during the coming six months. The footfalls during this time were according to our expectations last year. This time too, the same would repeat as things are now in better shape. We are trying our best to keep the winter pilgrimage as smooth as possible,” said a senior administrative officer.
Official said the number of pilgrims who visited Badrinath is 7, 96, 685 while the figure is 3, 91, 837 for Gangotri and 4, 38, 323 for Kedarnath by September 30, 2017.