Overview
Badrinath is a town and nagar panchayat in Chamoli district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. A Hindu holy place, it is one of the four sites in India’s Char Dham pilgrimage and is also part of India’s Chota Char Dham pilgrimage circuit. It gets its name from the Badrinath Temple.
Badrinath is one of the most popular and religious holy towns of the Hindus located at Chamoli district of Uttarakhand in India.
The Badrinath temple is the main attraction in the town. According to legend, Adi Shankaracharya discovered a black stone image of Lord Badrinarayan made of Shaligram stone in the Alaknanda River. He originally enshrined it in a cave near the Tapt Kund hot springs. In the sixteenth century, the King of Garhwal moved the murti to the present temple.
The temple is approximately 50 ft (15 m) tall with a small cupola on top, covered with a gold gilt roof.
The facade is built of stone, with arched windows. A broad stairway leads up to a tall arched gateway, which is the main entrance. The architecture resembles a Buddhist vihara (temple), with the brightly painted facade also more typical of Buddhist temples.
Just inside is the mandapa, a large pillared hall that leads to the garbha grha, or main shrine area. The walls and pillars of the mandapa are covered with intricate carving