Of
the five Badris, two - Bridnath or old Badri; Bhavishya Badri future
one, are lying near joshimath; the third one called Adi Badri at
Karna Prayag; the fourth at Padukeshwar, and of course the main and
popular one is Badarinath itself. All are enshrining the icons of
Badarinath, but the size and splendour of the mandir varies; and
performance of rituals and conducting of festivals are the same.
At
Padukeshwar Badri, the presiding deity goes by the name of Yogadhyan
Badri. The place, incidentally has unearthed ancient metal foils
that are quite useful in fixing the reign and names of kings, who
ruled over this region, some 1500 years back. They are now kept at
joshimath. The priests of Padukeshwar Badri spend the winter at
Joshimath along with their colleagues employed in the main
Badarinath temple. Due to inadequate publicity, the glory of these
four ancient Vaishnava kshetras are not visited regularly or with as
much zeal as to the main temple.
It
is a small village, accessible by bus plying from Badarinath or to
it.
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