How much do you know Joshimath, the gate of the Himalayas and the stronghold of spirituality?

Continuously Joshimath remains the center of discussion. on Monday Supreme Court refused to hear the petition of Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand on Joshimath. The Supreme Court told the petitioner that you should keep your point in the High Court. The High Court is already hearing the matter. You should keep your point there. Petitioner Swami Avimukteshwaranand had filed the petition seeking rehabilitation of the people of Joshimath and insurance of their properties due to land subsidence.

Joshimath has been called Jyotirmath in religious books. Joshimath is one of the four mathas that were established by Adishankaracharya. Know, interesting things related to Joshimath

1. Joshimath is called the gate of the Himalayas. Joshimath situated in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand is between Kedarnath and Bradinath Dham. In this way, it is also an important stop of the Char Dham Yatra. Joshimath, once a center of spirituality, used to be the capital of the kings of the Katyuri dynasty. That’s why it was also known as Kirtipur.
2. The Katyur dynasty was a historically powerful dynasty of Uttarakhand. Basant Dev was the founder of this dynasty. He made Kirtipur his capital, which after the establishment of Kirtipur Jyotirmath was called Joshimath. The ancient name of Joshimath is Kirtipur even in the Pandukeshwar copper plate.There is a belief among the local people that the left hand of the idol of Lord Narasimha in the Narasimha temple of Joshimath will slowly decay and fall. If this happens, two mountains named Nar and Narayan will be found. In this way the path to Badrinath will be closed forever.
3. Joshimath has also been associated with the Chipko movement. The Chipko movement started in March 1974 in Raini village, 15 km from Joshimath, where Gaura Devi reached the forest with some women and stuck to the trees. He warned the people who were cutting trees that if they have to be cut, first shoot at us. This is how the Chipko movement started and the government had to step back.
4. Joshimath has special importance not only for spirituality and religion, but also geographically. If you are going to visit Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib then you will have to pass through Joshimath which is situated at an altitude of 6150 feet. It is not at all like that the disaster has come here suddenly. The increasing danger on Joshimath was also mentioned in the report of the Mishra Commission in 1976.
5. In the report, due to the increasing population here, people complained about landslides and cracks in the road due to building construction. According to reports, Joshimath is in a landslide zone and is built on piles of mud and debris from the mountain. Scientists of Dehradun’s Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology say, Joshimath’s Ravigram is sinking at a speed of 85 mm every year.