Door of Badrinath shrine opens for devotees for six months
Door of Badrinath shrine opens for devotees for six months As the doors of the Badrinath temple were open for devotees ceremoniously on Monday morning, thousands of pilgrims braved early morning chill for the first glimpse of the deity. The doors (kapat) were opened at 4:30 AM amid chanting of vedic mantras and the tunes played by the army band. The pilgrims were waiting since the night in massive numbers for the first ritualistic glimpse of the god. The temple is of utmost religious importance for Hindus.
With the opening of Badrinath, the annual pilgrimage to Char Dham is in full swing. The three other Himalayan shrines — Kedranath, Gangotri and Yamunotri — that are part of the Char Dham yatra are already open.
All the Himalayan shrines are closed every year with the onset of winter as they become snowbound and reopened with the start of summer.
Ganesh Godiyal, president of Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC), said pilgrims had started gathering outside the temple since Sunday. “There was a huge rush of pilgrims who had been patiently waiting for the portals to open in the morning,” he said. Around 7.50 lakh pilgrims had visited Badrinath last year.
