Portals of the renowned Hindu pilgrimage centre and 11th ‘jyotirlinga’ Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines were opened on Friday, coinciding with Akshay Tritiya.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the chardham pilgrimage will set a new record of pilgrims footfall this season.

The Kedarnath shrine portals were opened at 7 am following a traditional ceremony amid chanting of hymns and performance of rituals by priests in the glory of Lord Shiva. The occasion was also marked by the customary devotional tunes played by the Indian Army’s Grenadier Regiment band in the presence of nearly 10 thousand pilgrims.

In a post on ‘X’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished success to people undertaking the spiritual journey to chardham this year.

“Many congratulations on the beginning of the holy Char Dham Yatra of Devbhoomi Uttarakhand. This journey of the four Dhams, including Baba Kedarnath Dham, is such a spiritual and cultural journey for the devotees, which gives new energy to their faith and devotion. My best wishes to all the devotees and pilgrims who are going on this journey. Jai Baba Bholenath!” he said.

Kedarnath portal opening ceremony witnessed the presence of more than 10,000 devotees at Kedarpuri. The temple was decorated with more than 20 quintals of flowers and the petals were showered on the pilgrims  aerially through helicopter at the time of opening ceremony and the ritual being conducted by the dharmachayas and pandits.

As per traditional process of opening the Kedarnath portals, panchmukhi (penta faceted) idol of lord Kedarnath arrived Kedarpuri from its panchkedar seat of the Omkareshwar Temple Ukhimath shrine on May 9, Thursday, passing through its main halting points Guptkashi, Fata and Gaurikund.

“The Chardham Yatra will create a new record in this pilgrimage season and the state government is committed to provide all facilities to the pilgrims coming to Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. Adequater medical facilities and othet services  are also being put in place according to the pilgrims needs” said Dhami. It’s significant more than 55 lakh pilgrims visited Uttarakhand in 2023 pilgrimage season.

The pilgrims had  started arriving at the temple premises to participate in the portal opening ceremony as early as 4 am. Kedarnath shrine rawal, dharmacharyas and other designated  priests started puja at the temple portal chanting traditional rituals to invoke the blessings of lord Bhairavnath and lord Shiva as per scheduled time in the morning. This followed opening of the portals at 7 am sharp, according to the pre-decided calendar schedule. After this swayambhu (self manifested) shivalinga of the lord Kedarnath was adorned in its traditional form and devotees were allowed inside the shrine for darshan.

Earlier according to the calendar schedule deity Bhairavnath was worshiped at Omkareshwar Temple, Ukhimath on May 6 and the journey for Kedarpuri began on the same day. It’s notable that Omkareshwar temple remains the Kedarnath seat for six months as its brought down at the alternate place of worship with closure of the shrine portals every pilgrimage season for the winter.

Gangotri and Yamunotri portals were opened after the Kedarnath ceremony at 10.29 am and 12.25 pm respectively. Earlier the doli (tableau) of the deity Yamunotri was was brought from its alternate seat at Khushimath Kharsali to the Yamunotri shrine in the morning. It was installed in the temple after the traditional  religious functions following which pilgrims were allowed to have darshan.

Similarly deity Gangotri’s tableau was also brought from its alternate seat of worship at Bhairavghati Temple to be installed in the Gangotri temple. Helicopters to shower flower petals on the pilgrims were used in Yamunotri and Gangotri as well.

Portals of Badrinath shrine will be opened on May 12, Sunday.