GOPESHWAR, INDIA, November 17, 2006: Badrinath Temple on Thursday, closed for the winter season amid chanting of hymns and Vedic rituals. The chief Priest of the shrine closed the doors due to snowfall in the higher reaches of Badrinath, Temple sources said, adding that it will re-open in April-May next year. Thousands of devotees, including many saints, participated in the prayers as the five “vedpathis” (priests who are given the task of reciting the Vedas) chanted hymns in praise of the Temple deity Lord Vishnu before the doors of the shrine were shut. Chairman of the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee, Anusuya Maikhuri said more than six hundred thousand pilgrims visited the temple this year. Badrinath is one of the four holiest “Dhams” (pilgrimage sites) of Hindus and is situated nearly 2 miles above sea-level on the Indo-Tibetan border in Chamoli district of Uttaranchal.
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