ABSTRACT
The establishment of a pilgrimage center is often connected to a number of narratives. Yet, the narratives in circulation today are often less concerned with the historical past of a temple, but rather aim to position a pilgrimage place in the present. In the case of Badrinath, one of the most circulated narratives is about the re-establishment of the temple by Adi Shankaracharya. In this article I will show how his persona was used to (re-)invent an agreeable past for the pilgrimage that does not conflict with the views of the Sanātana Dharma (Skt. the eternal law) and its followers, while at the same time excluding those who are not in line with this mainstream Hindu tendency. In order to accomplish this, Badrinath was removed from its traditional position as a center in the Himalayan borderland and with the help of Shankaracharya the temple became connected to the plains of India and ultimately even to the South where Adi Shankaracharya was born and the head priests of the temple hail from. The chapter compares such narratives attempting to re-construct this Himalayan pilgrimage center according to contemporary mainstream Hindu tendencies with actual rituals and festivals held in and around Badrinath, often in connection with processions, that reveal a rather different picture of the shrine. The latter provide a lens into the religious and cultural tradition that has prevailed in this area before Badrinath evolved into one of India’s major pilgrimage centers.
