By Acarya dasa, All India Padayatra leader
On May 26 the All India Padayatra’s char dhama yatra journey brought the party to Vridha Badri.
The Vridha Badri temple (altitude 1380m) in Animath village, Uttarakhand, dates back to when India was ruled by the Gupta Dynasty. The name Vridha Badri is derived from the form of an old man in which Lord Vishnu is worshipped here. The temple, one of the Sapt Badri temples in the Badrikshetra that hold a high significance in Hindu mythology, is situated ahead of Helang village enroute to the Kalpeshwar mahadev temple in the picturesque Urgam valley.
The Sapt Badri temple circuit constitutes a group of seven sacred Hindu temples dedicated to Vishnu located in Uttarakhand’s Garhwal region. The Badrinath temple, called the Badri Vishal (altitude 3133m), is the primary temple among the seven shrines, the other six being Adi Badri, Bhavishya Badri, Yogadhayan Badri, Vridha Badri, Ardha Badri and Dhyan Badri.
The All India padayatris, now joined by the Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra padayatris, will continue their Himalayan pilgrimage from Vridha Badri heading for Badrinath, the first major destination of our char dhama yatra.
