The Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand has come to an end with the closure of Badrinath temple to the public for the winters on Sunday. On the day of the shrine’s closure, a total of 9,135 pilgrims were present. This year, a total of 12,40,929 people visited the Badrinath shrine.
The rituals for closure of the shrine had begun a couple of days ago. On Sunday, the doors of the shrine were closed at 5:13 in the evening. Earlier, the Abhishek and worship began at the shrine at 3:30 am. After the Bal Bhog at 7:30 am, the Darshan and morning Artis began.
Later, the Raj Bhog was offered and instead of being closed for some time, the shrine was kept open for Darshan after that throughout the day. Special worships and Prasad were offered by the temple committee to the lord Badrinath’s guard Ghantakarn Maharaj and lord Hanuman. The final rituals for closure of the shrine were started by the Rawal (chief priest) Ishwari Prasad Namboodri at 3:30 am. Uddhav was brought out of the temple’s sanctum sanctorum. After that the Rawal, dressed in a woman’s attire seated goddess Lakshmi along with her lord in the sanctum sanctorum.
After that, Kuber was brought out of the temple into the compound. The Rawal then wrapped lord Badrinath’s idol in a woollen blanket dipped in ghee. At precisely 5:13 am, the chief priest closed the portals of the shrine in the presence of officials of the administration and devotees.
The temple was decked in garlands of marigolds for the occasion as thousands of devotees converged to become part of the occasion. Donors, the army, ITBP and temple committee also organised public feasts on the occasion.
On Monday, the deities- Uddhav and Kuber will depart for Pandukeshwar while the seat of Adi Shankaracharya will leave along with the Rawal for the Narsinh temple in Joshimath.
After spending the night at the Yog Dhyan Badri temple in Pandukeshwar, the Rawal along with Adi Shankaracharya’s seat arrive in the Narsinh temple at Joshimath on Tuesday morning.
For the successful completion of the Badrinath pilgrimage, the Badrinath Kedarnath temple committee chairman Mohan Prasad Thapliyal and vice chairman Ashok Khatri have thanked the police, administration, various Government departments and the devotees. With the closure of the Badrinath shrine, the regular Char Dham Yatra has ended.
However, devotees can still visit the presiding deities of these shrines in their winter abodes.
