Joshimath

Joshimath in Uttarakhand is the gateway to Badrinath Dham. It is the eternal place of residence of Lord Sri Narasimha and Bhakta Prahlada. Joshimath is revered as one of the 108 Divya Deshams of the Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya. It is the tapo bhumi of Adi Guru Shankaracharya and one of the four original (amnaya) pithas of Bharatavarsha established by Adi Guru Shankaracharya.

The meandering roads from Haridwar measuring 236 kilometers lead to the serene town of Joshimath on the southern bank of sacred Alakananda River. This small town is situated amidst the snow-capped and lush green mountains spread across the horizon for as far as one’s eyes can behold. Every vision is filled with waterfalls flowing incessantly, the clouds moving soothingly and the mountains crowning the glory of the sky. The next morning, the chants from the Narasimha Temple woke up my soul up to the hustle of a small market present here and the buzz of pilgrims who are either progressing towards Badrinath Dham or returning to Haridwar. Remember I had told you that Jyotirmutt is the gateway to Badrinath Dham?

Joshimath comes from the Sanskrit word Jyotirmutt meaning the institution of knowledge. Jyothi refers to light which signifies knowledge. Mutt or math is a religious institution established for the purpose of preaching the principles of Sanatana Dharma. Joshimath was established by Adi Guru Shankaracharya and handed over to one of his prominent disciples Totakacharya to look after and spread its glories throughout the northern tract of Bharatavarsha.

Shankaracharya establishes Joshimath

Approximately 2500 years ago, Lord Shiva advented himself on this earth to preach the Vedas. Why? Because prior to Lord Buddha, people mistook the Vedic teachings and began sacrificing the innocent animals in the name of performance of Yajna. In the Kali-yuga, the yajna has less or no significance as the qualified brahmanas are missing and the absence of apt resources like huge quantity of ghee and chanter of the Vedic Mantras. In the Treta-yuga when the yajnas were prominently performed to realize God, Lord Narayana would personally receive the yajna offerings. Such grand yajnas cannot be performed in the Kali-yuga.

In the beginning of Kali-yuga, it was still considered sinful to kill animals for satisfying one’s tongue and hunger. But the low minded people misused the teachings of Vedas and showing the Yajnas as example they substantiated their heinous crimes for killing the animals for no reason. Earlier the animal would be sacrificed in the yajna and it would get a rejuvenated life. This is definitely not possible in this age. These lowly men stooped down to the level of even killing the cow and thus bringing the era of Sanatana Dharma to almost an end. No father can stay quiet at the murder of one’s children. Thus Lord Buddha appeared.

Lord Buddha rejected the authority of Vedas to protect the poor animals and introduced the principles of ahimsa. When the populace forgot the teachings of Vedas for a brief period, it was then Lord Shiva appeared as Shankara in the village of Kerala – Kalady. In a very young age, he traversed through the vast land of Bharatavarsha to preach the teachings of Vedas to people and thus bringing the lost glory back. It was during this time that he decided to establish the worship of Lord Badri Vishal at Badrinath. He knew that parabrahma resided in Badrikashrama and Shankara travelled there to worship Lord Badri Vishal.

On reaching Badrikashrama, it was a shock to Shankaracharya when he found that the vigraha of Lord Badri Vishal is missing from the Garbha griha of the temple. He then found the vigraha in the nearby Narada Kunda and established it in the Garbha-griha of Badrinath Temple. He also established the procedures of worshiping Lord Badri Vishal. After reinstating the glory of Badrikashrama, Shankara came back to Jyotirmutt and established this as the pitha to protect and preach Sanatana Dharma.

Prior to Adi Shankaracharya Jyotirmutt was not a town. Just one temple of Lord Narasimha existed with a very less population. It was considered as part of Badrikashrama itself. After Adi Shankaracharya established Jyotirmutt, it grew and became the town we see now. Shankaracharya then performed tapasya for six months under Kalpa Vriksha – the shahatut tree which has been growing in Jyotirmutt from time immemorial. Under that tree he acquired knowledge about self and thus the place came to be known as Jyotirmutt. Adi Shankaracharya also did Pratishtha of Jyoteshwar Mahadev under Kalpa Vriksha.

Places to visit in Joshimath

Narasimha Temple – Jyotirmutt or Joshimath is the lila sthali of Lord Narasimha and Bhakta Prahlada. Lord Narasimha is said to have stayed here before moving to Badrikashrama. A grand temple housing the Deity of Lord Sri Narasimha is present here currently where devotees can have darshan of Sri Narasimha Murthy.

Vasudev Temple – A beautiful temple dedicated to Vasudeva Murthy is present next to the Narasimha Temple. Nava Durgas and Ganapati are also worshiped in this temple.

Auli – Auli is around 25 kms from Joshimath. This is the resting place of Bhakta Hanuman from where he first saw the Sanjivani Mountain. Today it is the winter sports destination of Bharat.

Vishnu Prayag – This is one of the Pancha Prayags of Alakananda. It is the confluence of Dhauli Ganga and Alakananda.