01The northern seat
Adi Shankaracharya set four mathas at the four corners of Bharat: Sringeri in the south, Dwarka in the west, Puri in the east and Jyotirmath in the north. Each guards a Veda and a mahavakya; Jyotirmath holds the Atharva Veda and the saying Ayam Atma Brahma, this Self is Brahman. Its first head was Totakacharya, Shankara’s disciple. Under an old mulberry tree, the Kalpavriksha, Shankara is said to have sat in meditation and gained jyoti, the light of knowledge, which gave the place its name. The seat stood empty for long periods and was revived in 1941 with Swami Brahmananda Saraswati as Shankaracharya.
02Narasimha and the sinking town
In the Narasimha temple the murti’s one wrist is said to grow thinner each year; the Puranic tradition of the town holds that when it breaks, the road to Badrinath will be blocked and Bhagwan will be worshipped at Bhavishya Badri instead. Each winter Badrinath’s gaddi comes down to this temple. In January 2023 cracks opened in hundreds of houses as the slope beneath the town subsided, and families were moved out. The state government restored the old name Jyotirmath in place of Joshimath in 2024.
The life of this place
- 1941The Shankaracharya seat is revived with Swami Brahmananda Saraswati.
- January 2023Land subsidence cracks hundreds of houses in the town.
On the road to Badrinath, 45 km below it. The ropeway to Auli starts here; visit the Narasimha temple and the Kalpavriksha in the matha compound.
