Badrinath

Badrinath Temple is one of the famous temples of the vedic land India. It is the most important of the four sites in India’s char dham piligramage and also has its place in Chota char dham. Temple is located in chamoli district of Uttarkhand, India. The shrine of Badrinath is nestled on the banks of the gurgling Alakananda river in the valley of the Nar and Narayan mountains which lies in  shadow of the Nilkantha peak.

                                Mount Nilakantha

 It is seated on the slopes of the Narayan mountain. The beginning of Guru-Shisya parampara is supposed to have blossomed from here. This is symbolised by the Nar-Narayan mountains – Nar range being the individual soul - Jeevatma and Narayan range being  the supreme reality - Paramatma. Lord Narayana is supposed to have given the Ashtakshara mantra to Nar at this place. The belief is that even today, Narada is chanting this Ashtakshara mantra here. 

The significance of the temple lies in this land where Lord Vishnu meditated under a Badri tree for thousand incessant years and taught us the ultimate way of welfare of mankind is incomparable in the world.Today, it is considered as one of the holiest Hindu temples and is also one of the 108 Divya Desams, holy shrines for Vaishnavites.

          Badrinath is also famous among one of the Panch Badris. The other four Badris are Yogadhyan Badri, Bhavishya Badri, Bridha Badri or Old Badri and Adi Badri. Badri refers to a berry that was said to grow abundantly in this area and nath means “lord of”. Badri is also the Sanskrit name for the Indian Jujube tree, which has an edible berry.It is said that Goddess Lakshmi took form of berries to protect Lord Vishnu from harsh climate during his penance.It has been eulogised as Bhu Vaikunta or earthly abode of Lord Vishnu. Many religious scholars such as Ramanujacharya, Madhawacharya and Vedanta Desika visted this place and wrote sacred texts like commentaries on Brahmasutras and other Upanishads here.

              In the 8th century "Jagath Guru Shri Adi Shankaracharya" founded the idol of Badrinarayan  and restored this ancient Badrinath idol from the Narad Kund and consecrated it in a cave near Tapt Kund(It is the hot water spring with natural curative properties believed to be abode of Lord Agni faces the shrine). The pilgrims take a holy dip in the Tapt Kund before entering into the main temple. The present temple was built by Garhwal rulers in the 16th century and they moved the main deity to the present temple.

                                   TAPT KUND

       The Badrinath Temple has a small cupola on the top, covered with a gold gilt roof and the frontal is composed of stone with arched windows. The temple is adorned with several murtis (idols) but the most important one is a one meter tall statue of Vishnu as Lord Badrinarayan made of black Saligram stone sitting under a gold canopy in meditative pose. He is armed with Conch (Shankh) and Chakra in two arms in a lifted posture and two more arms rested on the lap in Yogamudra.

The sanctum here houses Lord Badrinarayan. He is flanked on his left by Kuber  (God of wealth), and to His right by the Utsava murthy who is called Udhavar. This is in honour of Sri Krishna's dearest friend by the same name who came here to Badrikashram after Krishna went back to Vaikuntam. Further right are the combined figures of Nar & Narayan. Narayan is sitting in a posture of delivering advice to his sishya, Nar; Nar is standing ready for action bowing slightly to listen to his Guru's advice. Under Narayan's statue is Urvashi. She is supposed to have been brought out by Narayan from his thighs when Indra tired to disturb the Lord's penance. Just below Udhavar's statue is a small one of Narada Rishi. He is supposed to have  asked the Lord to come down on earth and show the way to meditate and pray. Between Kubera and the Lord, is a tall, thin, finely engraved silver statue of Garuda standing with folded hands.

The temple was built on "SUDHARSHAN CHAKRAM" and therefore the temple always glows with spiritual power. Holy Deepam is enlighten in the Garbha Griha through out the year. In the temple the daily puja's, naivedyam and rituals are being offered to the lord by the priests belong to the caste of Nambrudri of Kerala State.The Goddess Mahalaxmi called Arvindavalli has a separate sanctum sanctorum outside the temple.  However, you can also see her inside the sanctum sanctorum, as the badari tree standing over the Lord, providing him shade and shelter. Hence the  Lord is named Badrinarayana. The  temple also houses idols of Anjaneya, Adi Sankara, Swami Desikan and Shri Ramanujar.

Miracle At the Temple:-

         The Badrinath temple opens every year in the month of April-May & closes for winters in the third week of November. Thus the temple is shut down for 6 months every year during which prayers to the Badri Vishal continue at the Narsimha temple in Joshimath.
Note: The kapat of Shri Badrinath Temple will be opened 16 May 2013 at 4:00 am.

         Generally, The Temple doors are closed down around October (dates are fixed on Vijayadashmi) at the advent of winters and are opened again for worship at around Mid April (dates are decided on Basant Panchami ).

On the closing day, the Namboodri pujari, does abhishekam for the Lord and then dresses him up for the onset of the cold biting winter. He puts a thin cotton muslin dress first and then covers up the lord with Ghee to keep him warm. Then the Lord is given a woollen vest to wear on top of which another cotton muslin dress is put. Now He is bedecked in the finest silks and jewellery and orange flowers.  A huge lamp is lit with  ghee and a wick with the thickness of a finger.  Goddess Mahalakshmi is taken into the Lord's chambers and Udhavar is moved out to the lower reaches of the Himalayas to the hamlet of Pandukeshwar,  a good 24 kms from Badrinath. 

                                  ALAKNANDA 
Now the main door of the Sanctum Sanctorum are closed. Then the 3 doors to the main hall are closed and finally the doors to the temple. The whole town vacates and goes away except for the Indian Army which takes solace in inhuman cold weather from the boiling hot waters of the Tupt Kund. In the ensuing months, the temple gets completely covered by heavy snowfall with no possible room for air to get into the temple.On the opening day, Ravalji along with all the dharma karthas of the temple bring Udhavar from his winter sojourn to the Mata Murthi Mandir, a temple dedicated to the mother of Shri Badrinath. Udhavar proceeds to the main temple only after taking the blessings of his mother. The long retinue of the Ravalji, dharma karthas, villagers from nearby villages, other devotees, trek the entire route from Pandukeshwar to Matamurti mandir and then onwards to the Badrinath temple on foot carrying the Udhavar idol. 

                                  VASUDHARA

                                              

                       JUJUBEE TREE & BADRI Fruits 

                     The Badrinath temple is opened at the auspicious moment and the miracle is visible for all to see!! ...The lamp is burning still with same size of wick and same amount of ghee as if we had just lit it! The lord has shed all the orange flower decorations that was put for him!! Instead he is adorned with rare delicate flowers which are available only in the inaccessible higher reaches of the Himalayas!! What beats all logic is this - How did the lamp stay lit for 6 months when there is no source of oxygen inside; The temple is completely snowed out and doors are all locked. Also where did the new flowers come from? Who threw the old ones away? The answers to these questions lie only in our faith. The belief here is that Narada rishi does puja for the lord for the 6 months when we humans are unable to. This is the miracle that thousands of believers come to see on the opening day. Narada's decorations for the Lord are kept for all to see till about 1.30 pm on the opening day. 

                        BHIMPUL IN MANA VILLAGE

                       Though Badrinath is the sacred place on earth. It is a heavenly beautiful location, might be the reason for even god to choose it. 

       *** OM NAMO BHAGAVATHE VAASUDEVAYA***

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నీకు నేను నాకు నువ్వు ఒకరికికొకరం నువ్వు నేను 

చరితలోన  నిలిచిపోయే ప్రేమికులమే నువ్వు నేను 

నింగి నేల నీరు సాక్షిగా.... ఆ... ఆ... 

కొండ కోన వాగు సాక్షిగా.... అ ..... 

నీకు నేను నాకు నువ్వు ఒకరికికొకరం నువ్వు నేను 

లోకమంతా ఏకమైన  వేరు కాము నువ్వు నేను 

ఆలయాన ధైవం సాక్షిగా...  ఆ... ఆ... అ 

గుండెలోన ప్రేమ సాక్షిగా.....       

ప్రేమా ............. ...... హ ... హ ... అ       హ ... హ ... అ 

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National Anthem

            Every Indian knows what is our National Anthem …! And also knows who has written it..!! Today in the remembrance of a person who wrote it we shall know some more interesting things about our National Anthem. The original meaning of the poem/song is translated to English as below:

“Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people,
Dispenser of India's destiny.
Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sindh province/Sindh,
Gujarat and Maratha,
Of the Dravida and Odisha and Bengal;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
mingles in the music of Yamuna and  Ganga and is
chanted by the waves of the Indian Ocean.
They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise.
The saving of all people waits in thy hand,
Thou dispenser of India's destiny.
Victory, victory, victory to thee.”

                   National Anthem of India is “Jana Gana Mana” written, composed and scored by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. It is written in highly sanskritised (Tatsama Bengali). It was first sung in Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress on 27^th Dec, 1911. Our National Anthem has a history of 101 years. Poem written by Rabindranath Tagore is translated by Abid Ali into Hindi. It was translated from Bengali to English and also set it to music in Madanapalle of Andhra Pradesh.There were minor differences between the two versions (poem and song) of the National Anthem.

                   Rabindranath Tagore is born on 7^th May 1861 in Calcutta, India and died on 7^th August 1941. He was the youngest son of Debendranath Tagore, a leader of the Brahmo Samaj, which was a new religious sect in nineteenth-century Bengal and which attempted a revival of the ultimate monistic basis of Hinduism as laid down in the Upanishads. He was educated at home and although at seventeen he was sent to England for formal schooling, he did not finish his studies there. In his mature years, in addition to his many-sided literary activities, he managed the family estates, a project which brought him into close touch with common humanity and increased his interest in social reforms. He also started an experimental school at Shantiniketan where he tried his Upanishad ideals of education. From time to time he participated in the Indian nationalist movement, though in his own non-sentimental and visionary way; and Gandhi, the political father of modern India, was his devoted friend. Tagore was knighted by the ruling British Government in 1915, but within a few years he resigned the honor as a protest against British policies in India.

Controversies:-

The controversy raised against our national anthem is when it is firstly sung at the Calcutta congress session. King George V was scheduled to arrive in the city and a section of Anglo Indian English press in the city thought that the anthem is a homage to emperor. People of India were unable to accept it at that moment and this was well answered by the poet Rabindranath Tagore in a letter written in 1939: "I should only insult myself if I cared to answer those who consider me capable of such unbounded stupidity." In another letter to Pulin Behari Sen, Tagore later wrote, "A certain high official in His Majesty's service, who was also my friend, had requested that I write a song of felicitation towards the Emperor. The request simply amazed me. It caused a great stir in my heart. In response to that great mental turmoil, I pronounced the victory in Jana Gana Mana of that Bhagya Vidhata [ed. God of Destiny] of India who has from age after age held steadfast the reins of India's chariot through rise and fall, through the straight path and the curved. That Lord of Destiny, that Reader of the Collective Mind of India, that Perennial Guide, could never be George V, George VI, or any other George. Even my official friend understood this about the song. After all, even if his admiration for the crown was excessive, he was not lacking in simple common sense."

National Anthem Lyrics in different Languages:-

Bengali

জনগণমন-অধিনায়ক জয় হে.
ভারতভাগ্যবিধাতা
পঞ্জাব সিন্ধু গুজরাট মরাঠা
দ্রাবিড় উত্কল বঙ্গ
বিন্ধ্য হিমাচল যমুনা গঙ্গা
উচ্ছলজলধিতরঙ্গ
তব শুভ নামে জাগে
তব শুভ আশিস মাগে,
গাহে তব জয়গাথা |
জনগণমঙ্গলদায়ক জয় হে
ভারতভাগ্যবিধাতা
জয় হে, জয় হে, জয় হে,
জয় জয় জয়, জয় হে ॥

Telugu

జన గణ మన అధినాయక జయహే
భారత భాగ్య విధాత
పంజాబ, సింధు, గుజరాత, మరాఠ
ద్రావిడ, ఉత్కళ, వంగ,
వింధ్య, హిమాచల, యమునా, గంగ,
ఉచ్ఛల జలధి తరంగ
తవ శుభ నామే జాగే,
తవశుభ ఆశిష మాగే;
గాహే తవజయ గాథ..
జన గణ మంగళ దాయక జయహే,
భారత భాగ్య విధాత,
జయహే, జయహే, జయహే,
జయ జయ జయ జయహే.

Devanagari

जन-गण-मन अधिनायक जय हे
भारत-भाग्य-विधाता ।
पंजाब सिंध गुजरात मराठा
द्राविड़ उत्कल बंग ।
विंध्य हिमाचल यमुना गंगा,
उच्छल जलधि तरंग ।
तव शुभ नामे जागे,
तव शुभ आशिष माँगे;
गाहे तव जय गाथा ।
जन-गण मंगलदायक जय हे,
भारत-भाग्य-विधाता ।
जय हे, जय हे, जय हे,
जय जय जय, जय हे ।।

Urdu

جن گن من ادھینایک جے ہے
بھارت بھاگیہ ودھاتا
پنجاب سندھ گجرات مراٹھا
دراوڑ اتکل بنگہ
وندھیہ ہماچل جمنا گنگا
اچھل جلدھی ترنگا
تو شبھ نامے جاگے
تو شبھ آشس ماگے
گاہے تو جے گاتھا
جن گن منگل دایک جے ہے
بھارت بھاگیہ ودھاتا
جے ہے جے ہے جے ہے
جے جے جے جے ہے

Tamil

ஜன-கண-மன அதிநாயக ஜயகே
பாரத் பாக்ய விதாதா
பஞ்சாப சிந்து குஜராத மராத்தா
திராவிட உத்கல பங்க
விந்திய ஹிமாச்சல யமுனா கங்கா
உச்சல சலதி தரங்க
தவ சுபா நாமே சாகே
தவ சுபா ஆசிச மாகே
காகே தவ செயா காதா
சன கன மங்கள தாயக செயகே
பாரத் பாக்ய விதாதா
செயகே, செயகே, செயகே,
செய செய செய , செயகே

Odiya

ଜନ ଗଣ ମନ ଅଧୀନାୟକ ଜୟ ହେ,
ଭାରତ ଭାଗ୍ୟ ବିଧାତା ।
ପଞ୍ଜାଵ ସିନ୍ଧୁ ଗୁଜରାଟ ମରାଠା,
ଦ୍ରାଵିଡ଼ ଉତ୍କଳ ବଙ୍ଗ ।
ବିନ୍ଧ୍ୟ ହିମାଚଳ ଯମୁନା ଗଙ୍ଗା,
ଉଚ୍ଛଳ ଜଳଧି ତରଙ୍ଗ ।
ତବ ଶୁଭ ନାମେ ଜାଗେ,
ତବ ଶୁଭ ଆଶିଷ ମାଗେ;
ଗାଏ ତଵ ଜୟ ଗାଥା ।
ଜନ ଗଣ ମଙ୍ଗଳଦାୟକ ଜୟ ହେ,
ଭାରତ ଭାଗ୍ୟ ବିଧାତା ।
ଜୟ ହେ ଜୟ ହେ ଜୟ ହେ ।
ଜୟ ଜୟ ଜୟ ଜୟ ହେ ॥

Kannada

ಜನ ಗಣ ಮನ ಅಧಿನಾಯಕ ಜಯ ಹೇ
ಭಾರತ ಭಾಗ್ಯ ವಿಧಾತಾ
ಪಂಜಾಬ ಸಿಂಧು ಗುಜರಾತ ಮರಾಥಾ
ದ್ರಾವಿಡ ಉತ್ಕಲ ಭಂಗ
ವಿಂಧ್ಯ ಹಿಮಾಚಲ ಯಮುನಾ ಗಂಗಾ
ಉಚ್ಛಲ ಜಲಧಿ ತರಂಗ
ತವ ಸುಭ ನಾಮೇ ಜಾಗೆ
ತವ ಸುಭ ಅಶಿಸ ಮಾಗೇ
ಗಾಹೇ ತವ ಜಯ ಗಾಥಾ
ಜನ ಗಣ ಮಂಗಳ ಧಾಯಕ ಜಯ ಹೇ
ಭಾರತ ಭಾಗ್ಯ ವಿಧಾತಾ
ಜಯ ಹೇ, ಜಯ ಹೇ, ಜಯ ಹೇ
ಜಯ ಜಯ ಜಯ, ಜಯ ಹೇ.

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