PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
The Badrinath Dham will be reopened for devotees on April 23 at 6:15 AM. The date and timing of the temple’s reopening was announced after a ceremony in the palace of the erstwhile king of Tehri on the occasion of Vasant Panchami on Friday.
Priests and Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) officials gathered at the Narendranagar palace along with members of the erstwhile royal family of Tehri. BKTC chairman Hemant Dwivedi said that with the date of Badrinath’s reopening being decided, the committee has started preparations for the Yatra period. The arrangements and work plan for the pilgrimage period will be finalised shortly with the committee focusing on the winter Yatra along with the coming Char Dham Yatra.
Earlier, the ritual worship began at the temple at 10:30 AM. In the presence of the erstwhile king Manujyendra Shah, the Raj Purohit Krishna Prasad Uniyal consulted the Panchang and Shah’s birth chart before arriving at the date for reopening of Badrinath. The Badrinath Rawal Amarnath Namboodiri and others were also present on the occasion.
It is worth mentioning here that as per tradition, the date of reopening of Badrinath is decided after consulting the Tehri king’s birth chart and the traditional Hindu calendar. After this, the dates for reopening of Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri are decided on different occasions according to tradition.
