Sri Paramapurusha Perumal Temple also called as Jyotirmath temple, located in the city of Joshimath,Chamoli District of Uttarakhand and also revered as one of the 108 Divya Desam temples, dedicated to Lord Vishnu.
Legends Associated with This Shrine
The legend goes that when he was 11, Adi Shankaracharya came to Badrikaranya for performing penance. After performing penance for 5 years, he got enlightened under the Amar Kalpavriksha tree. There is a temple dedicated to Lakshmi Narayana. After going further up, one will find Totakacharya cave and Rajarajeshwari temple. Totakacharya was one of the four principal disciples of Sri Adi Shankaracharya, the Advaita philosopher. His original name was Giri . He composed Totakashtakam, in praise of Guru Adi Shankara, Tika on the Mandukya Karika, and SrutisArasamuddharana. On top of Adi Shankaracharya cave where he attained enlightenment there is a mulberry tree which is more than 2500 years old. The Jyoteshwar Mahadeo Temple has a sphatik Shivalingam brought by Adi Shankaracharya himself from Kailash. There is an akhanda Jyothi burning all the time.
The vatavruksham is an ancient tree with lofty top raising in their full green splendor towards the sky, with strong stems, gigantic boughs, that spoke of such iniquity, of such long years during which they had looked down upon the valley below, where pilgrims came and went, and the things were continually changing, while it stood undisturbed and changeless. Climbing further up, one comes across the Purnagiri Mata temple and swayambu Sankatamochana Hanuman temple dedicated to Goddess Durga and Lord Hanuman respectively. During Samudra manthan along with the Kamadenu, the divine cow providing for all needs. The unique property of the tree is that it never loses a single leaf by itself, it is evergreen and is said to be emanating the deep-seated devotion of Shankaracharya for the Supreme Godhead Vishnu. “Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa narrates one way of gaining insight into the cosmic doctrine of karma is the parable of the Kalpataru, the wish-fulfilling tree.” This tree has an astonishing girth of 36 meters.
Shrine’s Map Location and How to Go There
By Road
Sri Paramapurusha Perumal temple lies on national highway NH58 that connects Delhi with Badrinath and Mana Pass in Uttarakhand near Indo-Tibet border. Regular buses operate from Rishikesh bus station to the temple. The road distance from Rishikesh to the temple is 251 km via Rudraprayag and Chamoli.
By Rail
The nearest railway station to reach the temple is at Rishikesh, which has a small railway terminal. The Haridwar railway junction, 24 km farther from Rishikesh, has train connections to most of the major cities in India.
By Air
The nearest airport is the Jolly Grant Airport near Dehradun, which is 293 km away.
Shrine Timings
6.00 AM to 11.00 AM and 3.00 PM to 7.00 PM.
Events Celebrated at This Shrine
Rama Navami March/April
Krishna Jayanthi August/September
Extra Information About this Shrine
Nearby Temple
Badrinath temple, Badrinath Gopinath Mandir, Chamoli Gopeshwar Kalpeshwar Temple Rudranath Temple Nanda Devi Temple, Nauti, Chamoli Tungnath Temple