Jyotir Math

One of the four maths or sacred centers
traditionally believed to have been
established by the great philosopher
Shankaracharya; the others are the
Sharada math, Shringeri math, and
Govardhan math. These four sacred
centers are each associated with one of
the four geographical corners of the
Indian subcontinent; the Jyotir math is
in the northern quarter, in the town of
Joshimath in the state of Uttar Pradesh,
high in the Himalaya Mountains.
Shankaracharya is traditionally cited as
the founder of the Dashanami Sanyasis,
the most prestigious Hindu ascetic
order. The Dashanami (“ten names”)
ascetics are devotees (bhakta) of the god
Shiva and are separated into ten divisions, each with a different name. These
ten divisions are organized into four
larger groups—Anandawara, Bhogawara,
Bhuriwara, and Kitawara—each of which
has two or three of the ten divisions, and
each of which is associated with one of the
four sacred centers. Of these, the Jyotir
math is associated with the Anandawara
group of the Dashanamis.