By Our Staff Reporter
Chamoli, 18 Nov: The portals of the Badrinath Dham were closed today afternoon after due rituals and amid Vedic chants and with this the Char Dham Yatra season has ended for the current season. Earlier today, Badri-Kedar Temple Committee decorated Badrinath Dham with 15 quintals of flowers.
On the day of closing of portals today, more than 10 thousand devotees were present at the temple.
As part of the rituals, Chief Priest Rawal Ishwar Prasad Namboodiri appeared dressed in woman’s clothes to install the idol of Goddess Lakshmi in the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Badri-Vishal’s Dham. After which the eternal priests Uddhav and Kubera were brought to the temple courtyard. The portals of Lord Badrinath were closed at 3:33 pm after due rituals and amid chants of Badri Vishal and Vedic hymns. Once the portals of the Badrinath close for the season, the visitors are not allowed to reach the temple.
Lord Vishnu is present in Narayan form in Badrinath Dham. Along with Lord Vishnu, idols of Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Ganesha, Kuber and Uddhav are also present in the Dham. Therefore, at the time of closing the doors of Badrinath, the priest (Rawal) has to dress up like a woman. At the same time, idols of Uddhav, besides being a childhood friend of Lord Krishna are also installed as Uddhav was not only a childhood friend of Krishna but also elder to him for which he is treated as brother in law of the Goddess Laxmi.
This year, the number of devotees coming to Badri Nath Dham from India and abroad has set a new record. More than 19 lakh devotees had darshan of Lord Badrinath, who will now be seated in Omkareshwar temple for darshan during the winter season. The Badrinath Dham was grandly decorated with 15 quintals of flowers today. It may be recalled that the closure of the portals of Badrinath is preceded by five types of Panch pujas in Badrinath Dham which began on 14 November, beginning with the worship of Lord Ganesha on the first day followed by worship of Kedareshwar and Adi Shankaracharya temples on the second day while the Kharak puja was performed on the third day.
