Chota Char Dham

Chota Char Dham temples & Chota Char Dham Yatra

There are four Abodes in Himalayas collectively referred as "Chota Char Dham of India” and popular as "CharDham Yatra" which includes four holy shrines of

Hindus: Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri andYamunotri. All of these temples are situated within the Garwhal region of Uttarakhand state in North India

Char Dham is referred to the four most holy Hindu pilgrimage of India nestled in Indian Himalayas of Uttarakhand state of India. Yamunotri, Gangotri, Sri Kedarnathji and Sri Badrinathji, collectively referred to as the Char Dham (four pilgrimage centres) of Hinduism, these four sites are the epicenter of religious activity in north India and important shine for Hindus. These have been the most important Hindu pilgrimage centers which have been visited by devout Hindus for ages.

Char Dham Yatra is one the most popular pilgrimage route, with millions of devotees paying homage to all these religious places in aspiration of eliminates all sins and to attain salvation by the blessings of the Lord. Every Year More than 250,000 pilgrims visit Chardham from various parts of India. Char dham is also growing popular among foreign tourists, who are blessed to see the heavenly natural beauty and Himalayas with a chance to know more about culture of India.

CharDhams of Uttarakand can be covered in one stretch in a matter of 10-11 days. Nowadays, you can also get helicopter services to visit CharDham in just 2 days.

Char Dham  Yatra places	God	Location
Yamunotri	Yamuna River goddess Yamuna	Uttarakhand
Gangotri	Ganga River goddess Ganga	Uttarakhand
Kedarnath	god Shiva	Kedarnath, Uttarakhand 246445
Badrinath	god Vishnu	Chandrabhaga Bridge, Badri to Mata Murti Rd, Badrinath, Uttarakhand 249201

Char Dham Yatra Information:-

Shri Badrinath Dham: is considered the holiest of the four important shrines. The town is at an altitude of 3,133 m. above sea level, situated on the left bank of river Alaknanda and exactly between the two mountains Nara and Narayan and the shadow of Nilkantha peak. The shrine is dedicated to Vishnu the preserver and protector of Hindu Divine Trinity. 

The Badrinath area is referred to as Badari or Badarikaashram in Hindu scriptures. It is a place sacred to Vishnu, particularly in Vishnu's dual form of Nara-Narayana. Thus, in the Mahabharata, Krishna, addressing Arjuna, says, "Thou wast Nara in a former body, and, with Narayana for thy companion, didst perform dreadful austerity at Badari for many myriads of years." One legend has it that when the goddess Ganga was requested to descend to earth to help suffering humanity, the earth was unable to withstand the force of her descent. Therefore the mighty Ganga (Ganges) was split into twelve holy channels, with Alaknanda one of them. 

Badrinath Temple Darshan Timings

Morning Darsan- opens 4:30 A. M. with Shubh Prabhatam and close at 1 P.M. 
Afternoon Darshan- Opens at 4 P.M. and closes at 9 P.M. after the divine song "Geet govind".

Morning Puja 4:30 to 6:30am
1-	Maha Abhishek Puja(3 persons)
2-	Abhishek Puja(2 persons)
7:30 AM to 12 Noon & 3 PM
1-	Ved Path(3 persons)
2-	Geeta Path(3 persons)
Special Puja
1-	Shrimad Bhagwat saptah Path
2-	Entire Pujas of the day
Evening Aarti/Archana and Path- 6Pm to 9Pm according to following serial
1-	Karpoor Arti(2 persons)
2-	Chandi arti(2 persons)
3-	Swarn Aarti(2 persons)
4-	Astottari Puja(2 persons)
5-	Shri Vishnusahastranam(2 persons)
6-	Vishnusahastranamawali path
7-	Shayan Aarti with Geet govind path(2 persons)
Daily or periodical Puja/Bhog & Akhand jyoti
1-	Akhand Jyoti one day
2-	Akhand Jyoti Annual
3-	Ghrit kamal ghee on closing day
4-	Ghee for Deepak on closing day
Daily Bhog of Badrinath ji
1-	Yatri Bhog
2-	Kheer Bhog (after 9AM)
3-	Pind Prasad
4-	Nitya Niyam Bhog
5-	Nityam Niyam Bhog for deties of subordinate temple

When is Badrinath Dham opened and closed?

The opening date of Badrinath Temple is fixed on Basant Panchami by Raj Purohit and closure date is fixed on Vijaydashmi by Mandir Committee.

Shri Kedarnath Dham: The Kedarnath shrine, one of the 12 jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva, Kedar is another name of Lord Shiva, the protector and the destroyer. According to legend, the Pandavas after having won over the Kaurava in the Kurukshetra war, felt guilty of having killed their own brothers and sought the blessings of Lord Shiva for redemption. He eluded them repeatedly and while fleeing took refuge at Kedarnath in the form of a bull. On being followed he dived into the ground, leaving his hump on the surface. The remaining portions of Lord Shiva appeared at four other places and are worshipped there as his manifestations. The arms appeared at Tungnath, the face at Rudranath, the belly at Madhmaheshwar and his locks (hair) with head at Kalpeshwar. Kedarnath and the four above-mentioned shrines are treated as Panch Kedar.

Kedarnath is located in the Himalayas, about 3584m above sea level near the head of river Mandakini, and is flanked by breathtaking snow-capped peaks. Kedarnath hosts one of the holiest Hindu temples, the Kedarnath Temple, and is a popular destination for Hindu pilgrims from all over the world, being one of the four major sites in India's Chota Char Dham pilgrimage.

Morning Puja Details

Full-day puja                           

Maha-abhishek                                                  

Rudra Abhishek

Short time Rudrabhishek

Sodasopachar

Morning Puja

Bal-Bhog  

Note-all the Shiv-Abhishek puja and sodaspachar puja is limited with 5 person due to crowed inside temple and all pooja are performs between 4 AM to 7 AM.

However according to your suitable time situation you can also do Evening Puja booking and choose your best Puja schedule.

Evening Puja Details

Sampurn arti

Shiv Mahimashrot

Shiv Taandavshrot

Shiv sahastranam

Note- all the evening time puja is limited with 5 person and performs in the time of 6 PM to 7:30 PM.

Even you can do also bhog puja in 500 which is performed by temple priest ( pujari ) and Yagya hawan in 1100

When is Kedarnath Dham opened and closed?

The opening of date of Kedarnath Temple is fixed and depends on the occaion of Maha Shiva Ratri and decided by priests in Ukhimath. The closing date of Kedarnath is fixed on Yama Dwitiya (second day after Diwali).

Gangotri Dham: The Shrine of Gangotri situated at an elevation of 3200 m above sea level amidst captivating surroundings along the right bank of Bhagirathi is 100 km from Uttarkashi. The temple opening is preceded by a special Puja of Ganga both inside the temple as well as on the river bank. 

The origin of the holy river is at Gaumukh, set in the Gangotri Glacier, and is a 19 km trek from Gangotri.Gangotri can be reached in one day's travel from Rishikesh, Haridwar or Dehradun, or in two days from Yamunotri, the first site in the Char Dham circuit. More popular and important than its sister site to the east,Gangotri is also accessible directly by car and bus, meaning that it sees many more pilgrims than Yamunotri.

When is Gangotri Dham opened and closed?

The Shrine of Gangotri on the auspicious day of Akshaya Tritiya. The temple closes on the day of Diwali.

Yamunotri Dham: is the Source of Yamunotri River and the seat of Godess Yamuna,it is the westernmost shrine in the Garhwal Himalayas, The main attraction at Yamunotri is the temple devoted to the Goddess Yamuna and the holy thermal springs at Janki Chatti. The temple of Yamuna, on the left bank of the Yamuna, was constructed by Maharaja Pratap Shah of Tehri Garhwal. The deity is made of black marble. The Yamuna, like the Ganges, has been elevated to the status of a divine mother for the Hindus and has been held responsible for nurturing and developing the Indian civilization. 

Yamunotri temple is situated in the western region of Garhwal Himalayas at an altitude of 3,235 metres (10,614 ft) in Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Yamuna. The Yamunotri temple is a full day's journey from Uttarakhand's main towns — Rishikesh, Haridwar or Dehradun.

 

When is Yamunotri Dham opened and closed?

The Yamunotri temple open on Akshay Tritiya and closes on Yama Dwitiya (the second day after Diwali)