Shri Yogdhyan Badri Mandir/Pandukeshwar Uttarakhand

Shri Yogdhyan Badri Temple is located in Pale Chak Bhudar of Pandukeshwar, Uttarakhand. Yogdhyan Badri is located in Pandukeshwar village, a short distance from Hanuman Chatti and Govind Ghat.

This temple is located on the edge of the Govind Ghat of the Alaknanda River and at an altitude of 1,920 meters above sea level. The name of this temple comes in the holy ‘Sapta Badri’. This temple comes during the visit of Badrinath Temple, 18 kilometers from Joshimath and 9 kilometers from Hanuman Chatti.

Here the deity of Lord Vishnu presides in a meditation pose, and hence this place got its name as Yogdhyan. Pandukeshwar is situated at 1,920 m and is named after the father of the Pandvas called Pandu. Yogdhyan Badri is also considered the winter abode for the Utsava-Murti (festival-image) of Badrinath, when the main temple of Badrinath is closed. It is also said that a pilgrimage tour is incomplete without offering prayers at this place.

As per the legend, in Pandukeshwar, King Pandu took up penance and asked Lord Vishnu to cleanse him of the sin of killing the two mating deer, who were ascetics in their previous lives. It is also said that King Pandu installed the bronze statue of Lord Vishnu here and it is where the Pandavas were born and King Pandu died. Also, it is believed that the Pandavas, after defeating Kauravas in the Mahabharata war, came here to repent.

It is believed that King Pandu, the father of five Pandavas, which hero of the epic Mahabharata, installed the symbol of Lord Vishnu’s bronze at this place. This is the place where Pandavas were born. King Pandu had attained salvation at this place. The idol of God Vishnu in this temple is set in a meditation pose, hence this place is called ‘Yog-dhyan badri’ (Yog-meditation badri).

According to legend, Pandav had come here to repentance after defeating and killing his cousin Kaurav in the Mahabharata war. They handed their kingdom, Hastinapur to their grandson Parikshit, and went to the Himalayas to perform penance.