Sri Paramapurusha Perumal Temple, Joshimath

Sthala Purāṇam

Thiruppiridhi is generally identified with Joshimath (Jyotirmath) in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, on the Devaprayag-Badrinath route, and is one of the Himalayan Divya Desams. The name Thiruppiridhi expresses the mutual preethi (loving affection) between the Lord and his devotees. The presiding deity, Sri Paramapurusha Perumal (Paramapurushan), reclines in bhujanga-sayana posture facing east and is said to have granted darshan to Parvati Devi; his consort is Parimalavalli Nachiyar, the vimanam is the Govardhana Vimanam, and the tirthams include Manasa, Govardhana and Indra theerthams. The sthala puranam recalls that the sage Kanva dwelt here, that a king named Nanda sacrificed for humanity's welfare nearby (Nandaprayag), and especially that Adi Shankaracharya came from Kerala in the 8th century, performed tapas beneath a tree, attained enlightenment and established the Jyotirmath (which became Joshimath), composing his Sankara Bhashyam here and installing Narasimha and standing Vasudeva images. During Badrinath's winter closure, the Badri Narayana utsava deity is brought and worshipped here for six months. A distinctive doctrine holds that, while of the 108 Divya Desams only Paramapadam and Thiruparkadal cannot be reached in the body, the Lord here grants the full vision of Thiruparkadal to devotees. The sole Alvar to offer mangalasasanam is Thirumangai Alvar, three of whose pasurams liken the Perumal to the Rama, Krishna and Narasimha avataras.

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📍 30.55500, 79.56500

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