Nestled in the lap of the King of Mountains – Himalayas, between the peaks Nara and Narayana is a quaint township called Badarinatha Dhama. Cutting through these two peaks and flowing with rapidity is the icy Alakanada River. The world renowned Badarinarayana Temple is located at the Narayana peak. This peak that seems to touch the sky is of mythological significance.\u00a0 Sitting at this peak and chanting magnifies its benefits by a thousand times. For instance : Chanting \u201cShri Krishnaya Namaha\u201d a 1000 times here will fetch you the benefits of chanting it 10,00,000 times. Perhaps this distinction is due to the very presence of Shri Narayana at this peak. It is commonplace to find several tourists engrossed in the chanting of some mantra.<\/p>\n
The Shri Badarinarayana Temple is the only official pilgrimage site here. Apart from this all one is likely to come across is cramped houses & glittering commercial establishments. When you stand facing the temple, you will come across a pathway to your right. (This was once the Royal path!) This pathway takes you to the famous Brahma Kapala and Mana – the last village before the Indian border. Along the same pathway, to your left side you will come across four pale colored Ashramas. A few steps beyond and you are bound to come to a standstill. Reason being the board hanging at the fifth tiny and old construction which reads \u201cShri Raghavendra Swami Matha\u201d. (I presume all the readers of this article are devotees of Rayaru & hence say you are bound to come to a standstill.) What can one do besides being pleasantly surprised to see the name of Rayaru amidst all the chatter in Hindi, Garhwali & Nepali languages?<\/p>\n
Parvatikar Maharaja was a seeker from Bagalakote – popularly known as the land of black soil. Shri Rayaru followed his great devotee to Badari and inhabited this place. That is an extremely exciting account.<\/p>\n
I have written a detailed narrative of this story for a special edition by Prajavani on the occasion of the 341st Aradhana of Shri Rayaru. They have edited & published it to fit within their framework. This article contains about eight pages. Since it is not feasible to put it up here, I have made a downloadable version available. It is my belief that this will make an interesting read. Do share your thoughts without fail.<\/p>\n
The complete article may be downloaded here:<\/p>\n