Chardham Yatra - Part 12 (Badrinath to Rudraprayag)

Day 11 (29^th May 2019) – As planned the previous day, we had set our alarm clock at 3 a.m. that day to wake up, have our bath and go for the early morning 4 a.m. Nirmalaya darshan of the Lord. Waking up so early in the cold weather is difficult especially after a hectic previous day. So, we woke up a little later and dragged ourselves to the bathroom. Luckily, we had running hot water available. Still, by the time we were bathed and ready, it was 4.15 a.m. From our window we could hear the faint sound of Vishnu Sahasranamam being played at the temple since 3.30 a.m. and it was in the familiar voice of M S Subbalakshmi.

As we moved towards the temple fully protected by our woollen wear, we saw that about a couple of hundred pilgrims had already assembled and were queued up for darshan. We had no option but to join the queue. It was cold but bearable as we waited in the slow-moving queue. After nearly 45 minutes, we came near the main door of the shrine. Some people were singing bhajans which was nice to hear. After nearly an hour, we had a fleeting darshan of the Lord. Yes, it was the Nirmalayam darshan and we could see the Shaligram from about 20/25 feet. The short darshan only kindled in us a desire to come back one more time in future to see Him for a longer duration.

The idol of Lord Badrinarayana is a Shaligram where He is holding a Shanka (Conch) and a Chakra in two of His arms and the other two arms are resting on His lap in a Yogic pose. The sanctum also has images of Kuber (The Lord of wealth), Sage Narada, Uddhava, Nara & Narayana. There are many other deities around the temple like Mahalakshmi, Garuda, Nava Durga (manifestation of Durga in nine forms). There are also shrines for Lakshmi Narasimha and for Saints Adi Shankaracharya, Nara & Narayana, Ghantakarna, Vedanta Desika & Ramanujacharya. All the other idols in this temple are made of black stone.

Our tour operator Srinivasan also arrived there to offer Kesari (a sweet made with Rawa) prasadam to Ghantakarna which a ritual he has been practicing for a long time. After this, we stepped out and got our pictures taken in front of the temple. After this, we returned to our rooms. Although we were hungry, we just had a cup of coffee as three of us were going to offer Pinda danam to our departed ancestors.

At about 7.45 a.m., three of us went to have bath in the Tapta Kund. There is a story here about the Tapta Kund that is interesting. Due to a curse received by Agni (Lord of fire), He had to reside in Badrinath. After praying to the Lord of Badri for a solution on how to mitigate the curse, He was advised to remain in the Tapta Kund and remove the ailments of people who bathe here. The water here is nearly 45 degrees centigrade and it is shockingly hot when one enters it. Within moments, however, one gets used to the heat and then it becomes very pleasant. We had a quick bath here as it was overcrowded with people, changed into fresh clothes and went for the Pinda danam ritual.

Arrangements had been made with a local priest who conducted / guided many people at the same time. He had a team of people to assist him and the pilgrims in the process. We had to only carry our panchapatram – rest of the items were provided by the priest viz. Til, Rice, Flowers, Turmeric, Water etc. The priest even had a microphone with him to be audible. He spoke in many languages but chose to communicate mainly in broken English. Our respective wives sat behind us to make the rice balls to be offered as Pindam. The whole ritual included offering Pindam to relatives (including parents, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters etc.) and friends, Guru etc. The process took about 45 minutes after which we dissolved the Pindam in the Alaknanada river. The priest followed a slightly different process which he called the Badri Padati (process specifically followed in Badri). Offering of pindam at Badri is believed to grant Moksham (salvation) to the souls concerned and it was a very deeply satisfying to us for having done this. The priest charges were Rs. 750 per person including cost of materials. We also gave tips to the assistants and to many others who flocked around us once the rituals were completed.

After this we went back to our hotel room and had a hearty breakfast of Aloo Parathas made along with curds and pickles and the Kesari prasadam. After this, we packed and checked out of the hotel. The coolies had come to carry our luggage back to the parking area. We left our hotel with a tinge of regret that we could not stay longer. Within a short time, we left Badrinath and rapidly made our way down from the holy Dham. We came to Joshimath and had a darshan of the Bhavishya Kedar - a small temple which is prophesized to be the future Kedarnath when the existing one will become inaccessible. After this we went to the nearby Shankaracharya Mutt and were fortunate to meet His Holiness and also speak with him for a short while. We also visited the Kalpavruksha (boon giving tree) tree under which Adi Shankaracharya had once spent time meditating.

After this we left Joshimath and on the way down, we stopped at a roadside eatery to have our lunch. I must mention here that throughout our Yatra all the food cooked and served by Srinivasan Tours were without onion or garlic. Yet, it was very tasty, and we never missed the flavour adding vegetables. On this day when we had offered Pindam to our ancestors, it was even more nice to have such food. This time it was nice spicy rasam with potato & brinjal vegetable along with rice and curds. Afterwards, we had nice lassi from the eatery to finish the meal.

After a long drive with just one break we arrived at Rudraprayag by around 7.30 p.m. The rooms were very nice, and we had air coolers in each room. That night we had Upma & chutney for dinner.

That concluded Day 11 of our Yatra.