Char Dham
The Char Dham (), also rendered the Chatur Dhama () is a set of four pilgrimage sites in India. It is believed that visiting these sites helps achieve moksha (salvation). The four Dhams are Badrinath, Dwarka, Jagannath and Rameswaram. It is believed that every Hindu should visit the Char Dhams during one's lifetime. The Char Dham as defined by Adi Shankara (686–717 CE) consists of four Hindu pilgrimage sites. 
These main 'dhamas' are the shrines of Vishnu and Rameshwaram is a shrine of Shiva.
All the 'dhamas' are related to four epochs,(1) Dham of Satyuga- Badrinath, Uttarakhand (2) Dham of Tretayuga -Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu (3) Dham of Dwaparayuga - Dvaraka, Gujarat (4) Dham of Kaliyuga - Jagannatha Puri, Odisha.

Description

According to Hindu belief, Badrinath became prominent when Nara-Narayana, an avatar of Vishnu, did Tapasya there. At that time that place was filled with berry trees. In the Sanskrit language, berries are called "badari", so the place was named Badarika-Vana, i.e. the forest of berries. The particular spot where the Nara-Narayana did Tapasya, a large berry tree formed covering him to save him from the rain and the sun. Local people believe that Lakshmi became the berry tree to save Narayana. Post-Tapasya, Narayana said, people will always take Her Name before His Name, hence Hindus always refer "Lakshmi-Narayana". It was therefore called Badri-Nath, i.e. the Lord of Berry forest. This all happened in the Satya Yuga. So Badrinath came to be known as the first Dhama. The temple is located on the banks of the Alaknanda River in the Chamoli district of Uttrakhand.

The second place, Rameswaram, got its importance in the Treta Yuga when Rama built a Shiva-Lingam here and worshipped it to get the blessings of Shiva. The name Rameswaram means "God of Rama". It is also believed that Rama's footprints are imprinted there.

The third, Dwaraka, got its importance in the Dvapara Yuga when Krishna made Dwaraka his residence instead of Mathura, his birthplace.

At the fourth, Puri, Vishnu is worshipped as Jagannatha, his avatara for the current epoch i.e Kali Yuga.

The four Shankaracharya Peetha (Seats) at the Char Dham school of Hinduism, created at least four Hindu monastic institutions. He organised the Hindu practitioners under four  (Sanskrit: ) (institutions/monasteries), with the headquarters at Dvārakā in the West, Jagannatha Puri in the East, Sringeri Sharada Peetham in the South and Badarikashrama in the North.

The table below gives an overview of the four Amnaya Mathas founded by Adi Shankara, and their details.

The four associated places of the Char Dham
Hari (Vishnu) and Hara (Shiva) are called eternal friends in the Puranas. It is said wherever Vishnu resides; Shiva resides nearby. The Char Dham follows this rule. So Kedarnath is considered as the pair of Badrinath, Rama Setu is regarded as the pair of Rameswaram, Somnath is considered as the pair of Dwaraka, and Lingaraja is regarded as the pair of Jagannatha Puri. However, according to some traditions, the Char Dham are Badrinath, Ranganatha-Swami, Dwaraka, and Jagannatha-Puri, all of which are Vaishnava sites, and their associated places are Kedarnath, Rameswaram, Somnath and Lingaraja Temple, Bhubaneswar (or maybe Gupteshwar) respectively.

The Char Dham Highway project (Kedarnath, Bhadrinath, Gangotri, Yamunotri) is functional, and many service providers offer a Char Dham Yatra by helicopter to ease pilgrims.

Puri 

Puri, located in the east, is located in the state of Odisha, India. Puri is one of the oldest cities in the eastern part of the country. It is situated on the Bay of Bengal coast. The main deity is Krishna, revered as Jagannatha. It is the only shrine in India where goddess Subhadra, sister of Krishna, is worshipped along with her brothers, Jagannatha and Balabhadra. The main temple here is about 1000 years old and constructed by Raja Choda Ganga Deva and Raja Tritiya Ananga Bhima Deva. Puri is the site of the Govardhana Matha, one of the four cardinal institutions or Mathas converted by Adi Shankara. Pandit Nilakantha Das suggested that Jagannath was a deity of Jain origin because of the appending of Nath to many Jain tirthankaras.  Jagannath meant the 'World personified' in the Jain context and was derived from Jinanath. Evidence of the Jain terminology such as of Kaivalya, which means moksha or salvation, is found in the Jagannath tradition. Similarly, the twenty two steps leading to the temple, called the Baisi Pahacha, have been proposed as symbolic reverence for the first 22 of the 24 Tirthankaras of Jainism.

According to Annirudh Das, the original Jagannath deity was influenced by Jainism and is none other than the Jina of Kalinga taken to Magadha by Mahapadma Nanda. The theory of Jain origins is supported by the Jain Hathigumpha inscription. It mentions the worship of a relic memorial in Khandagiri-Udayagiri, on the Kumara hill. This location is stated to be the same as the Jagannath temple site. However, states Starza, a Jain text mentions Jains restored the Jagannath shrine, but the authenticity and date of this text are unclear. This is the plume for Oriya people to celebrate a special day in this Dham which is known as Ratha Yatra ("Chariot Festival").

Rameswaram

Rameswaram is located in the state of Tamil Nadu, in the southern part of the Indian peninsula. According to legends, this is the place where Rama, along with his brother Lakshmana and devotee Hanuman, built a bridge (Rama Setu) to reach Lanka to rescue his wife Sita, who had been abducted earlier by Ravana, the ruler of Lanka. The Ramanathaswamy Temple, dedicated to Shiva, occupies a significant area of Rameswaram. The temple is believed to have been consecrated by Rama. Rameswaram is important for the Hindus as a pilgrimage to Benaras is incomplete without a pilgrimage to Rameswaram. The presiding deity here is in the form of a Linga with the name Sri Ramanatha Swamy; it also is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas.

Dwarka 

Dwarka is located in the state of Gujarat, on the western coast of India. The city derives its name from the word "dvara" meaning door or gate in the Sanskrit language. It is located confluence where the Gomti River merges into the Arabian Sea. However, this river Gomti is not the same Gomti River, which is a tributary of Ganga River. The city lies in the westernmost part of India. The legendary city of Dvārakā was the dwelling place of Krishna. It is generally believed that due to damage and destruction by the sea, Dvārakā had submerged six times, and modern-day Dwarka is the 7th such city to be built in the area.

Badrinath

Badrinath is located in the state of Uttarakhand. It is in the Garhwal hills, on the Alaknanda River banks. The town lies between the Nar and Narayana mountain ranges and in the shadow of Nilkantha peak (6,560 m). 
There are other interesting sightseeing spots like Mana, Vyas Gufa, Maatamoorti, Charanpaduka, Bhimkund, and the Mukh of the Saraswati River, within 3  km of Badrinathjee. Joshimath is situated on the slopes above the confluence of the Alaknanda and Dhauliganga rivers. Of the four Maths established by Adi Shankaracharya, Joshimath is the winter seat of Chardham.

While the three other Dhams remain open throughout the year, Badrinath Dham only stays open for pilgrims' darshan from April to October each year.

Chota Char Dham
Another circuit of four ancient pilgrimage sites in the Indian state of Uttarakhand viz. Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath is referred to as Chota Char Dham to differentiate it from this bigger circuit of Char Dham sites. The Chota Char Dham shrines are closed in winter due to snowfall and reopen for pilgrims with the advent of summer.

See also
 Chota Char Dham
 Sapta Puri
 Jyotirlinga
 Famous Hindu yatras
 Hindu pilgrimage sites in India
 List of Hindu festivals
 Padayatra
 Ratha Yatra
 Tirtha
 Tirtha and Kshetra
 Chari Kshetra

References

External links 
 

Hindu pilgrimage sites in India
Char Dham temples
Hindu holy cities