Joshimath nestles in the Himalayas at a height of 6150 feet above sea level, enroute to Badrinath from Rishikesh. There are temples to Narasimha and Vasudeva, built by Adi Sankaracharya here. Joshimath, is the first mutt established by Shri Adi Sankara, and is located at a distance of 14 kms from Helang enroute to Badrinath. Adi Sankara authored Sri Sankara Bhashyam here .
In the temple for Narasimha , is enshrined Badrinarayan along with a pantheon of deities. The presiding deity Lord Narasimha is believed to have been established by Adi Sankara. Joshimutt is surrounded on three sides by the snow clad Trishul (7250m) in the south, Badri Peaks (7100 m) in the NW, and Kamet (7750m) in the north.
Tirumangaialwar has sung in ten verses of Vishnu (Rama) at Tiruppirudi. Tirumangaialwar refers to Vishnu as Rama, Krishna and as 'Paraman' reclining on the thousand headed serpent. It is widely interpreted that Tirumangaialwar has sung of Vasudeva here.
Another school of thought holds that Nandaprayag - the confluence of rivers Nandakini and Alaknanda. situated at a distance of 190 kms from Rishikesh. is Tiruppirudi.There is a temple to Gopala at Nandaprayag.
There is also a strongly-held belief, based on Tirumangai Azhwar's Pasurams that the Divya Desam he visited is in Manasarovar and cannot be accessed. The Narasimha Dev temple established by Adi Sankara has been accepted for centuries to be Thiru pirithi.