Gangotri Dham portals close; devotees can offer prayers at winter abode in Mukhba temple

The portals of Gangotri Dham officially closed for the winter season on Tuesday at 12.05pm amid chants of Vedic hymns and tunes from the Army band and traditional drums.

This year, the shrine witnessed an unprecedented footfall, with over one million devotees arriving for darshan since the portals opened on April 19, breaking all records from the past four years.

The temple was adorned with five quintals of flowers, and an Indian Army band played traditional tunes as the Utsav Doli (festive palanquin) of Goddess Ganga departed for its winter abode. Over a thousand devotees gathered at the shrine to witness the deity’s departure.

After the closure, Goddess Ganga’s palanquin began an approximately 25-kilometre journey to Mukhba village, revered as her maternal home.

The procession made its first major stop at the Bhairav temple after an 8-kilometre trek, then reached the Markandeya temple (Chandeshwari Devi temple) for an overnight halt.

“It was a divine feeling as my family was fortunate to witness the closure of the portal of the Gangotri Dham on Tuesday,” said Amrita Singh, a devotee from Nagpur, Maharashtra.

The palanquin will finally reach the main temple in Mukhya on Wednesday, on the occasion of Bhai Dooj, and for the next six months, devotees can continue to offer prayers and seek blessings at this winter abode, temple committee officials said.

Suresh Semwal, secretary, Gangotri Dham Temple Committee, said, “The portal of the shrine was closed for winter on Tuesday, and the Utsav doli of the deity, carried by the temple priests on foot, has reached the Chandeshwari temple, where it will halt for the night and reach the winter abode of Mukhba temple on Wednesday.”

“This year the dham has seen record-breaking footfall, and we express our gratitude towards the district administration, devotees and especially the Pushkar Dhami chief minister of the state for better coordination this season,” he added.

Gangotri MLA Suresh Chauhan also credited the state administration, police, and the state’s leadership for smoothly managing over a large number of visitors.

He urged devotees to now visit the winter abode for darshan of goddess Ganga during the winter Chardham season, which will begin after the deity’s idol is placed in the temple at Mukhba.

Harshveer Singh, a resident of Mukhba, said, “We travelled all along with the idol of the deity as the portal for the Dham closed and were greeted by villagers who offered their prayers and showered flower petals on the Palanquin of the deity all along the way.”

District magistrate, Uttarkashi, Prashant Arya said, “The portal’s closure ceremony conducted by temple priests was witnessed by the residents and devotees from far and wide. Since the footfall of devotees to the Gangotri shrine this year has been encouraging, we are ready to welcome the devotees at the winter abode during the winter Char Dham yatra that will begin after the deity is installed in Mukhba temple.”