Panch Badri is the conglomeration of five Badris. In the town of Badrikeshwar, Badrinath, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu is worshipped by five different names and at five different places. The five Badris are as follows:
Badri Vishal
This is the main shrine of Lord Badrinath also referred as Badri Vishal or the Vishal Badri. In this temple, one will hear the echoing voice of the devotees chanting "Jai Badri Vishal Ki".
Bhavishya Badri
Joshimath, winter seat of Rawal Sahib of Badrinath and during the ancient period the seat of Adi Shankaracharya, who installed the idol. It is also the temple of Lord Narsingha, incarnation of Lord Vishnu who had the head of lion. It is beautifully and fabulously carved out of Shalagram, black stone. It is believed that the arms of this idol are becoming thin and it is said that when the whole world will be undertaken by Kalyug, the arms will break. The land will face chaos and havoc, as a result the two mountains Jay and Vijay will collapse on the shrine making the holy shrine inaccessible. But there is no need to worry or panic because the almighty and merciful Lord Vishnu will reappear in the Bhavishya Badri in a new form.
The Bhavishya Badri is located at 2,744 meters between the thick and dense forests surrounding Tapovan. Also the scientists have agreed to the point that the temple`s entry point in Joshimath, approached after tedious mounting is sited on an ancient landslide and has been falling. The devotees arriving in flocks can see the accomplishment of the prediction. What so ever, the place is still popular and has captured the hearts of the pilgrims, the temple possesses an image of Lord Narsingh. People visiting this place pass over the Tapovan which is renowned for its hot water spring, situated along the way of the banks of Dhauli Ganga.
Yogdhyan Badri
This temple is located at Pandukeshwar in a distant area of 23 kms from the main shrine Badrinath. This is the place where King Pandu is said to have meditated after there victory over the Kauravas and before going to the stairway to the heaven. The Pandavas gave there Kingdom`s capital i.e. Hastinapur to the King Parikshit and after that they performed penances for there guiltiness over the Himalayas. This place is named after Pandukeshwar is the home of the Yogdhyan Badri.
This is an ancient village that is as old as the Badrinath temple and it possesses copper plates that prove the history of the temples as well as the Katyuri Chand rulers of Garhwal and Kumaon. The ruler of this kingdom introduced them as back as the fourth or fifth century A.D. The Yogdhyan Badri is too much precious and gains a lot of importance and the chamber has an image of the Lord Vishnu in a meditation pose.
Vridha Badri
Vridha Badri is located at the village of Animath, seven kilometers from Joshimath. In the track of Pipalkoti before Helang is the place where several centuries ago the introduction of the Shankaracharya, the idol of Badrinath was enshrined. The idol is known as the Vridha Badri or the first Badri and is nestled in an ancient temple. The temple of Vridha Badri remains open all throughout the year.
Adi-Badri
Adi-Badri is located seventeen kilometers afar from Karanprayag on the Karanprayag, Ranikhet road. Here are located a group of sixteen temples that belong to the Gupta period. In these temples were placed Lord Vishnu`s idol to spread Hinduism to every corner of the country by Adi-Shankaracharya.
The main temple of Narayan has raised platform in a pyramidal form and also its different feature is that it possesses a black idol of Lord Vishnu which is three feet high. Adi-Badri is located within the Badrikshetra and Badrinath being the name for Vishnu, the temple came to be known as the Adi-Badri.