DEHRADUN: The premises of the Jyotireshwar Mahadev temple in Joshimath, housing the ancient ‘kalpavriksha’ (mulberry tree) under which Adi Shankaracharya is believed to have spent five years at the age of 11 before attaining enlightenment, has also developed cracks.
According to local belief, the renowned ancient scholar saw a beam of light (jyoti) while meditating under the tree which resulted in him giving the place the name, Jyotirmath (which later became Joshimath in local usage).
‘Shedding of leaves is nothing unusual’
Meanwhile, concerned at cracks developing at the historic site, members of the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) which administers this temple, the Badrinath and Kedarnath shrines along with other temples in the region, inspected the place a few days ago. The temple’s priest, Mahimanand Uniyal, told TOI on Sunday: “The tree and the temple hold great cultural and religious significance. It is worrying that cracks have developed in the area. On our request, the BKTC team examined the premises.”
The site is located in ward five — part of Manohar Bagh area of Joshimath Municipal Council — where several houses have developed cracks and fissures. Uttarakhand government’s latest data says that 863 structures have developed cracks in the past 30 days, out of which 502 are ‘major’.
The government data, till Saturday, showed that maximum houses with cracks were in Ravigram (161), followed by Gandhinagar (156) and Singdhar ward (151).
Speaking on the matter, Brahmachari Mukundanand, a disciple of Jyotishpeeth shankaracharya, Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, whose traditional seat is in Jyotirmath, where the temple is situated and who had recently approached the Supreme Court to declare the Joshimath crisis a ‘national calamity’, told TOI: “Cracks are developing in Jyotirmath too and it is a matter of great concern for all of us.”
Residents, meanwhile, claimed that “the evergreen mulberry tree, said to be thousands of years old, has never shed its leaves before but this winter, it is doing so, which is strange”.
The temple officials however, said the shedding of leaves is “nothing unusual”.
According to local belief, the renowned ancient scholar saw a beam of light (jyoti) while meditating under the tree which resulted in him giving the place the name, Jyotirmath (which later became Joshimath in local usage).
‘Shedding of leaves is nothing unusual’
Meanwhile, concerned at cracks developing at the historic site, members of the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) which administers this temple, the Badrinath and Kedarnath shrines along with other temples in the region, inspected the place a few days ago. The temple’s priest, Mahimanand Uniyal, told TOI on Sunday: “The tree and the temple hold great cultural and religious significance. It is worrying that cracks have developed in the area. On our request, the BKTC team examined the premises.”
The site is located in ward five — part of Manohar Bagh area of Joshimath Municipal Council — where several houses have developed cracks and fissures. Uttarakhand government’s latest data says that 863 structures have developed cracks in the past 30 days, out of which 502 are ‘major’.
The government data, till Saturday, showed that maximum houses with cracks were in Ravigram (161), followed by Gandhinagar (156) and Singdhar ward (151).
Speaking on the matter, Brahmachari Mukundanand, a disciple of Jyotishpeeth shankaracharya, Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, whose traditional seat is in Jyotirmath, where the temple is situated and who had recently approached the Supreme Court to declare the Joshimath crisis a ‘national calamity’, told TOI: “Cracks are developing in Jyotirmath too and it is a matter of great concern for all of us.”
Residents, meanwhile, claimed that “the evergreen mulberry tree, said to be thousands of years old, has never shed its leaves before but this winter, it is doing so, which is strange”.
The temple officials however, said the shedding of leaves is “nothing unusual”.
