Badrinath
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Image:Badrinath.JPG Badrinath, the seat of the god Vishnu in his aspect of Badrinarayan, is the most important of the four sites in India's Char Dham pilgrimage. Located in Uttaranchal only a few kilometers from China, Badrinath is generally a two-day's journey from either Kedarnath, the site that precedes it in the Char Dham circuit, or one of the main disembarkation points on the plains. Also a member of the all-India Char Dham, Badrinath is one of the most important Vaisnava temples in India. As the route to Badrinath is for much of the way also the route to Hemkund Sahib, an important Sikh pilgrimage site, the road to Badrinath is especially crowded. The temple and its substantial surrounding village are accessible by road. The actual temple is a striking building whose bright colors evoke the painted Buddhist ghompas of the region; rumor has it that the temple was originally controlled by Buddhists.
The northern matha established by Adi Sankara is nearby at Jyotirmath.
Hinduism
Hinduism is known to be the oldest religion followed by a large number of Indian people. According to their beliefs, the universe was created by Brahma a few million years ago. According to their calender, a kalp is merely one day in the life of Brahma and is equivalent to 4320 million years on the earth. ref: veronica ions - Indian mythology (hamlyn, 1967).
With the rise of Buddhism about 25 centuries ago, and following internal conflicts across the country, there was a fall of influence of hinduism as many kings and nobles became followers of buddhism. Adi shankar, born in present Kerala in southern India, revitalised Hinduism weeding all aspects of downfall in practice as compared to vedic scriptures and rendering lucid interpretations of basic vedic writings and popularised through out india in his short life of 30 years. He establised four Asrams [Hindu abodes of vedic teachers and institutions for propagation of religious things] and restored temples that had been ruined during the rise of buddhism at four corners of Bharat, since known as char dham, or four places of high spiritual activity. He advised all pious Hindus to go on a pilgrimage to this dham at least once in their lifetime in order for all Indians to know one another. The char dham were located at:
1) Badrinath in the Himalayas in north
2) Jagannath Puri on the sea side in east
3) Rameshwaram on the sea side in south
4) Dwarka again on the sea side in the west
Rameshwaram is a temple to Shiva establised by Rama during his journey to locate Sita, who had been kidnapped. The others are Vishnu temples of ancient history.
Badrinath is situated at an altitude of 11,000 ft, at the foot of two mountains named Nara and Narayan in the Himalayas, on the bank of Alokanand, a tributary of the Ganges River. The last inhabitated village before reaching Tibet is named Mana and is just 4 km away from the border. There is currently an Indian military garrison housed there all round the year. Due to its strategic location, a good mountain road from Rishikesh to Badrinath has been made. There is a hot spring near the temple, and many saints live in the surrounding mountains all year round despite the harsh winter at such high elevations. Template:Hindu Holy Cities in Indiasv:Badrinath