| Char Dham Yatra – towards Badrinath, Day 56 |


Having learnt the history of Joshimath, we shall now have Darshan of Narsimh temple situated here. This village settlement in the Himalayas is so very beautiful, and deeply intertwined with spirituality. Every grain & particle over here wears the fragrance of our rich culture and heritage. We shall now have Darshan of the Narsimh temple in this very sacred place.

Narsimh Mandir

The Lord Narsimh temple is situated in the Jyotirmath (Joshimath) region. It is one of the most popular temples in Joshimath dedicated to Lord Narsimh, the 4th Avatar of Lord Vishnu. As it is also one of the Sapta Badris, it is called Naarsingh Badri or Narasimh Badri too. Narsimh Badri was once the home of Saint Badri. It is said of this over 1200 years old temple, that Adi Guru Shankaracharya had himself installed the idol of Lord Narsimh here. The 10 inch tall idol of the Lord installed here, is carved out of black Saligram stone, showing Lord Narsimh seated on a Lotus. There are idols of Badrinarayan, Kuber and Uddhav too installed alingside the idol of Lord Narsimh.

To the right of Narsimh Swami, within the temple premises, are idols of Lord Rama, Mata Sita, Hanuman ji and Garud. To the left is an idol of Maa Chandika (Kali Mata). Lord Narsimh is known to have incarnated to protect and save His devotee Prahlada and to slay his father Hiranyakashipu, the demon king. The revered idol of Narsimh Swami installed in this temple is shrinking in size day by day. The left hand in the idol is quite thin and, it is becoming thinner by the day. The day the left hand of Lord Narsimh breaks and falls is the day that the Nar and Narayan (Jaya and Vijaya) mountains will disintegrate & collapse to become one. The route to Badrinath shall be blocked forever thence. It is only after this that the new Badrinath will be installed at a distance of approximately 23 km from Joshimath, in Bhavishya Badri. Lord Narsimh protects his devotees from every single calamity. Hail Lord Narsimh!

(To be continued …)