Badrinath, the northern dham of the Vaishnava tradition, is the Vishnu temple at the head of the Alaknanda valley.
It is reached by the Joshimath road in the summer months. The Katyuri plates found at Pandukeshwar, nearby, are said to record gifts to Badari in the eighth to tenth centuries (unchecked). A Namboodiri rawal from Kerala is the later tradition, undated for 1200.
Who holds it
- Title
- Rawal (chief priest) and temple servants
- Since
- not known
- Born
- not known
- Confidence
- low
Wikipedia Joshimath and Katyuri pages; nothing for 1200.
What it holds
- Offerings and gifts of the Katyuri age (as the plates are said to show)
- Pilgrim gifts
Allies and rivals
Patrons: the Katyuri successors and Garhwal chiefs.
How things stand that morning
A high-valley shrine open for the summer season.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Early plates and later tradition.
On the map: A point.
Primary sources for Hill rajas
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The River of Kings, with Jonaraja's continuation, Kalhana; continued by Jonaraja (Kalhana 1148 to 1150; Jonaraja about 1459). Kalhana's chronicle stops in 1149, so for 1200 the witness is Jonaraja, writing three centuries later and very briefly. Read online
- The Gopala Raja Chronicle, and the Nepalese colophons, Anonymous (chronicle); various scribes (colophons) (the chronicle about 1389; the colophons are contemporary notes of the 11th to 14th centuries). The Nepal valley in 1200 is known chiefly from dated manuscript colophons and short inscriptions, which name the reigning king with the Nepal era year, and from the Gopalarajavamsavali, a chronicle written about 1389 that lists the kings with regnal years.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.