Bharat Mandir Rishikesh

Located in the heart of the city, Bharat Mandir is an ancient temple sacred to Lord Hrishikesh Narayan, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu in Kaliyuga. The temple sanctum houses a well-crafted idol of Lord Vishnu, which is carved out of a single black stone, known as Saligram. Legend has it that the idol of the temple was reinstalled in 789 AD on the day of Basant Pamchmi. Ever since then, Saligram is taken out for a bath in Mayakund, further, a grand procession marches through the streets till the temple for reinstallation. Locals also say that whosoever does 108 parikramas (circumambulation of sacred places) of Lord Hrishikesh Narayan on Akshaya Tritiya will be blessed with their heart’s desire and all their wished will be fulfilled. Perhaps, Akshaya Tritiya is the only day when the feet of God are not covered, and the parikrama is equivalent to the pilgrimage to Badrinath.

One can see the traces of the temple in mythological epics like Shrimadbhagwat, Vishnu Puran, Mahabharat, Vaman Puran and Narsingh Puran. Lord Hrishikesh Narayan, the presiding deity of the temple, is also known as Shri Bharatji Maharaj and perhaps is the main reason the temple is named Bharat Mandir. Even the five Pandavas and Draupadi (characters from the epic Mahabharat) visited the temple and worshiped Lord Hrishikesh Narayan on their way to heaven. Historians believe that during the rule of Ashok, he converted all the temples in the Rishikesh region into Buddhist monasteries. Lord Buddha also visited this temple. The presence of Buddha and monasteries was manifested when the site was dug out, and many ancient sculptures, artefacts and decorated bricks were found. All the antiques found during the excavation are now well preserved in the museum and ancient old Banyan tree nearby the Bharat Mandir. Other then the Banyan tree, here one can see 250 years old Vat, Pipal, Vriksha, Bali, and Pipal trees, which signifies Ganga Vishnu, Mahesh- Tridev.