Jyotirmath, also called Joshimath is a place in Uttaranchal in the Himalayas. It is the site of the original uttaramnaya matha or northern matha (monastery), established by Adi Sankara.
As it is close to the pilgrimage town of Badrinath, and the Jyotirmath matha has not always been active, it is sometimes said that the original northern matha was at Badrinath.
Joshimath has a temple dedicated to Narshimsha, an incarnation of Vishnu, an arm of the idol of this deity (which is install in the temple) is said to be thinning daily and it is believed that when it breaks off the road to Badrinath will be close by a land slip.
To the south of the big square in front of the temple there is a roofed building housing a stone cistern with two brass spouts known as Danddhara and Narshimha Dhara between which there are brass idols of Rama and Sita.
Today Joshimath has emerged as an important hill station and offers wide tourism potential.
On the way to Badrinath, in the village of Joshimath, there are two separate establishments, respectively controlled by Vasudevananda and Swarupananda.
What his introduction calls the "inclusive tradition" of the Kanchi matha is in fact a highly contested claim within the Dasanami tradition, with the potential to cause a deep schism.
As for the Jyotirmath succession controversy, it has always been a matter of public knowledge in India, both because of the close physical proximity of the two separate establishments at Joshimath and because of the fact that all the people involved are public figures.
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