Badrinath (Uttarakhand) [India], November 18 : The sacred throne of Gods Uddhav, Kuber, and Shankaracharya have begun the winter journey from Badrinath Dham to their designated locations, as announced by temple officials.
"From Badrinath Dham, the throne of Uddhav Ji, Kuber Ji, and Shankaracharya Ji have left for their winter sojourn. With the tunes of the army band and with the rights holders, the palanquins have left for their winter sojourn," the official statement read.
The palanquins will halt at Pandukeshwar for the night, where 'Kuber Ji' and 'Uddhav Ji' will reside in the Yogadhyan Temple. Winter worship of Shri Badrinath Ji will be conducted here, allowing devotees to offer prayers to Lord Badri Vishal during the season.
The throne of 'Shankaracharya Ji' will be placed in the Narsingh Temple in Joshimath. Meanwhile, 'Narad Ji' will perform worship in Badrinath Dham as per scriptures, which state that humans worship Lord 'Shri Badrinath Ji' for six months and gods for the remaining six months.
Meanwhile, the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee, with the support of the District Police Administration, reported a record-breaking influx of pilgrims during the 2024 Yatra season. According to an official statement, a total of 30,87,417 pilgrims visited Badrinath and Kedarnath Dhams this year.
At Badrinath Dham, 11,170 pilgrims visited on the final day, November 17, bringing the season's total to 14,35,341 visitors since the gates opened on May 12. At Kedarnath Dham, 16,52,076 pilgrims arrived between May 10 and November 3, including 1,26,393 who travelled by helicopter.
The committee also reported that 1,83,722 pilgrims visited Shri Hemkunt Sahib and Lokpal Tirtha Shri Laxman Mandir before their gates closed on October 10. The official statement added that these figures reflect the successful management of the Yatra by temple authorities and local administration.
"These figures of the number of pilgrims for the year 2024 for Shri Badrinath - Kedarnath have been released by the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee with the cooperation of the District Police Administration and Temple Committee", the statement read.