By OUR STAFF REPORTER
BADRINATH, 14 May: The portals of the Badrinath Dham, one of the four dhams of Uttarakhand, will finally open for this season tomorrow at 4:30 a.m. in the auspicious Dhanishta Nakshatra on Ashstmi of Jayeshta month according to the Hindu Calendar.
While the portals of all the other Dhams have already opened for the year, the opening of the portals of Badrinath was rescheduled due to the lockdown. All the preparations for the opening of the doors of the temple were completed today.
The temple has been decorated in grand manner with flowers brought from Rishikesh. Adi Guru Shankaracharya’s throne, Kubera, Uddhav and Gadhu Ghada Kalash reached here this afternoon from Pandukeshwar. The Rawal of the shrine has already reached the Dham. This year, the ‘Dev Dolis’ did not take their traditional rest along the way in Lambagad and Hanumanchatti and no function was held at these places.
All the traditional rituals were performed today with limited presence of people due to the lockdown and strict adherence to social distancing norms.
It is noteworthy that the traditional pilgrimage is still not allowed in view of the ongoing lockdown due to the corona epidemic prevailing in the country.
Tomorrow, the process of opening the portals will start from 3 a.m. and culminate with opening of the portals at 4:30 a.m. Only a total of 28 persons, including the chief priest, will be able to attend the opening ceremony.
