Rejuvenation of Badrikashrama

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!! Sri Rama Jayam !!

 

Once Kartikeya swami asked lord Shiva–'How did this sacrosanct place originate?

Who is the presiding deity of this place?'

 

Lord Shiva replied–'Badrikashram is an eternal city and lord Narayan is its

presiding deity. A mere sight of Badrikashram is enough to free a man from all

the bondage of life. There are numerous other holy places situated in the

vicinity, Kedarnath being one of them.'

 

To emphasize the significance of Badrikashram, lord Shiva narrated the following

tale to Kartikeya–'In Satyayuga, lord Vishnu existed in his physical form at

Badrikashram for the benediction of human beings. But, in Tretayuga, only sages

had the privilege of perceiving him with the help of yoga. At the advent of

Dwapar things changed drastically and lord Vishnu just disappeared from

Badrikashram. Deities became worried and asked lord Brahma about the reason that

made lord Vishnu disappear. Even lord Brahma had no answer to this question.

 

Thinking that lord Vishnu must have gone to Ksheer sagar-his eternal abode, all

the deities led by Brahma went there. They eulogized Vishnu, who emerged from

the Ksheer sagar. But, none of the deities except lord Brahma could see him.

Lord Vishnu told Brahma that the main reason why he disappeared from

Badrikashram was the flawed intelligence and arrogance of the deities. Brahma

informed the deities whatever Vishnu had told him. All the deities were ashamed

of themselves and returned to heaven with long faces.

 

Feeling pity on the deities, I (Shiva) disguised myself as a sanyasi and carried

lord Vishnu's idol from Naradteerth to Badrikashram and installed it over there

to uplift the sagging morale of the deities. This is how lord Vishnu once again

graced Badrikashram with his presence. Even a grain of `prasad' had at

Badrikashram is enough to liberate a man from all his sins.

 

This Badrikasharam hence became one of the centres of Sri Krishna's activities

in Bhagavattam.

 

Hare Krishna

Hare Rama