What Are Some Interesting and Unknown Facts About Chardham Yatra?

Chardhams are the four hallowed and highly revered religious destinations high up in the Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand. The four Dham are much more than mere pilgrimage sites. They are in fact religious institutions that can reinstate one’s faith in God.  The concept of Chardham was established by Adi guru Shankaracharya in order to revive the Hindu religion from annihilation. Today all devout pilgrims long to visit the Chardham at least once in their lifetime in order to attain ‘Moksha’ or salvation. The ‘Chardham’, namely Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, Badrinath are collectively referred to as the Chota Chardham. It is a replica of the greater India Chardham circuit or Maha parikrama pilgrimage. The Chardham Yatra isn’t easy. Trekking to higher Himalayan altitudes comes with several odd challenges for the pilgrims. There are more to the Chardham than we actually know. To learn about some very interesting and unknown facts about Chardham Yatra, read on:

1. The Parikrama or circumambulation of the Chota Chardham circuit is undertaken from left to right direction. Thus, the Yatra starts from a visit to Yamunotri; the westernmost shrine followed by a visit to Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath, the last of the Dham in the Yatra circuit.
2. The Chardham temples do not symbolize any one particular religious sect of Hinduism. In fact three major religious sects are represented through the Chardham. Devi Shakti is represented through Yamunotri Dham and Gangotri dham. Shaivism is represented through Kedarnath Dham while Vaishnavism is represented through the Badrinath Dham
3. The Badrinath Dham shrine that you get to see was not the lord’s original shrine. From the river bed of River Alaknanda, Adi guru Shankaracharya retrieved the much revered idol of Badrinath ji and enshrined it in the nearby Garud caves which happened to be the idol’s first, original home
4. Badrinath Dham was originally not a Hindu shrine but a Buddhist monastery which later got converted into a Hindu temple under the initiative of Adi guru Shankaracharya. The frontal façade at the temple’s entrance is very colorful and quite resembles that of a Buddhist monastery.
5. One cannot blow Conch in the region of the Chardham. An interesting tale backs this practice. It is said that when Agasthya muni was out on his mission to destroy demons at the Kedarnath Dham, two of the demons escaped from his clutches. Vatapi, one of the demons hid himself in a conch. As per common belief, blowing of conch can make the demon escape from the conch and spread terror among the natives of the region. So, this is an important Char Dham yatra travel tip for you. Never dare to blow conch when you are at the Chardham. By doing so, you’ll hurt the sentiments of the locals and incur their wrath.
6. The original Kedarnath temple was built by the Pandavas. Pandavas had built the temple in order to please Lord Shiva who was angry with them and was avoiding them in the guise of a bull. By way of building this temple they wanted to please the lord and get his blessings so that they could free themselves from the sins of killing their own relatives in the battlefield of Mahabharata
7. An interesting prophecy has been made about the temples of Kedarnath and Badrinath. It is said that a time will come when no one will be able to visit these temples as the routes to these temples will be blocked forever. During that time Bhavishya Badri will serve as the chief shrine of the future eras. Furthermore, it has been said that the joining of Vijay and Jay; the 2 mountains located at Vishnu Prayag will lead to this occurrence.