ice-clad Himalayas at Thirupriti, Joshimath

 

The Nanda Devi range is a massive, two-peaked mountain massif in the Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand. It is centered around Nanda Devi West (7,816 m), India's second-highest peak and the highest mountain located entirely within the country.  

The range is famous for its unique geographical formation—a natural "protective ring" of peaks known as the Nanda Devi Sanctuary. This barrier consists of 12 peaks exceeding 6,400 meters, effectively encircling the main massif.  

 

A picture of ice-clad Himalayas   at Joshimath, taken by me in 2019 on the way to Badrinath dham.  

The story of Yayati  is mentioned in Bhagavata Puranam as also in Maha Baratham. Yayati,  the son of king Nahusha,  one of ancestors of Pandavas. He ruled over this place.  It is here that the most important rivers of the Nation ~ the Ganges and Yamuna originate. It has the religiously most significant places of  Sri Badrinath and Sri  Kedarnath.   It is Uttarakhand known  "Land of the Gods" due to the many holy Hindu temples and pilgrimage centres. 

The Katyuri kings were a medieval ruling clan of present-day Uttarakhand, India. They ruled over the region now known as Kumaon from 700 to 1200 CE. They called their state Kurmanchal, the land of Kurma, avatar of Sriman Narayana. The Katyuri dynasty was founded by Vashudev Katyuri  and the oldest stone temple in Uttarakhand - is attributed to him. Later the  Kingdom was then named Jyotiryana, and had its capital at Joshimath in the Alaknanda Valley.  Adi Shankara actively toured these places in his short span of life. 

Joshimath is nestled in the Himalayas at a height of 6150 feet above sea level, enroute to Badrinath from Rishikesh.  Joshimath is considered to be a center of great significance for pilgrims traveling in the Garhwal region of Uttarpradesh. ‘Thirupiruthi – Thiru pireethi’ – aka Joshimut is a divyadesam for Srivaishnavas. Joshi mutt is  home to one of the four cardinal pīthas established by Adi Shankara. 

The Srivaishnava divyadesam of Thirupiruthi is in fact a temple of Lord Narasimha – a beautifully ornate simple temple surrounded  on three sides by the snow clad Trishul (7250m) in the south, Badri Peaks (7100 m) in the NW, and Kamat (7750m) in the north. 

Joshimath, Uttarakhand, serves as the "Gateway to the Himalayas," offering some of India's most dramatic views of ice-clad peaks. Sitting at an altitude of approximately 6,150 feet (1,875 m), it provides a clear vantage point for several major massifs, most notably the Nanda Devi range.  

 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
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