Chamoli. The famous Chardham Yatra of Uttarakhand will conclude tonight for this year. Tonight at 9.07 pm the doors of Badrinath temple will be closed for winter. The doors of the remaining three Dhams Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri have already been closed. After the closure of the doors of the temple of Lord Badrinath, he will now be worshiped in Joshimath. At the same time, worship of Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri is also taking place at other designated places. The doors of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri temples will now be opened for devotees during the summer season in 2025. Every year lakhs of devotees visit these temples.
According to the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee, today before the closing of the doors of the temple of Lord Badrivishal, Rawal i.e. the chief priest of the temple Amarnath Namboodiri will dress up as a woman and install the idol of Goddess Lakshmi in the sanctum sanctorum. He does this as a friend of Goddess Lakshmi and that is why he disguises himself as a woman. After this, the idols of Lord Badrivishal and other Gods and Goddesses will be coated with ghee made by the women of nearby Mana village and covered with blankets and then the door will be closed till the next summer season. It is believed that after the doors are closed, Narada Muni serves Lord Badrinath on behalf of the gods.
Many religious rituals are performed before the doors of Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri temples are closed. Similar special rituals also take place before the doors of Badrinath temple are closed. The tradition of performing Panchpuja before closing the doors has been in practice since ancient times. Lord Badrinath is considered to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. There is also a cave named after his mother near the Badrinath temple situated between Nar and Narayan mountains. According to the rules made by Adi Shankaracharya, the chief priest of Badrinath temple is from South India only. He did this to unite North and South India.
