Narsingh Temple, Joshimath — and Adi Shankara's Jyotirmath
What it is
The Narsingh Temple is the main temple of Joshimath, dedicated to Vishnu as Narsimha, the man-lion. Its image is believed to have been set up by Adi Shankara, and it is counted among the 108 Divya Desams of Vishnu. Wikipedia's Joshimath article says that while the Badrinath Temple is closed in winter, an idol of Badri is brought here and worshipped for those six months; its Pandukeshwar article names Pandukeshwar instead, and we give both.
Photos: Rohit Sharma (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Getting there
It is in the town, about 6 minutes by road from the centre on our routing, and close enough to walk. Jyotirmath is a few minutes away.
The belief about the left hand
A local belief, told as belief rather than history, says the left hand of the idol has grown as thin as a hair. On the day it breaks, the Nar and Narayan mountains on the road to Badrinath will join, and Badrinath's worship will move to Bhavishya Badri, about 10 km from Joshimath. An older story, from a history of Kumaon, tells of a Katyuri king who struck a stranger sleeping in his bed and saw milk, not blood, flow from the wound: the stranger was Narsimha.
Jyotirmath
Jyotirmath, which gives the town its other name, is the northern of the four cardinal monasteries that tradition says Adi Shankara founded, the others being at Shringeri, Puri and Dwarka. Its heads carry the title Shankaracharya, and by tradition it is in charge of the Atharvaveda. The math has temples to Badrinarayan and Rajrajeshwari Devi, and a cave where Adi Shankara is said to have meditated. We have no licence-clean photograph of it, so it has no page of its own yet.
When to go
Any time of year. In winter, when Badrinath is closed, the temple is busier with pilgrims.
Around it
The one-day plan pairs the temple and the math with Auli, and the two days with Badrinath carries on up the valley. See things to do in Joshimath.
Plans that include this
All 2 plans that stop here →
Nearby places
All of Joshimath →
Nearby destinations
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Questions people ask
Why is the Narsingh Temple important?
It is Joshimath's main temple, to Vishnu as Narsimha, with an image believed to have been set up by Adi Shankara. By Wikipedia's Joshimath article, an idol of Badri is brought here and worshipped for the six months the Badrinath Temple is closed. Another Wikipedia article names Pandukeshwar instead.
What is the belief about the idol's left hand?
A local belief holds that the idol's left hand has grown as thin as a hair, and that when it breaks the Nar and Narayan mountains will close the road and Badrinath's worship will move to Bhavishya Badri, about 10 km from Joshimath. It is told as belief, not record.
What is Jyotirmath?
Jyotirmath, which gives the town its other name, is the northern of the four cardinal monasteries that tradition says Adi Shankara founded; the others are at Shringeri, Puri and Dwarka. It has temples to Badrinarayan and Rajrajeshwari Devi and a cave where he is said to have meditated.