The worship of shivalinga is considering the prime worship for the devotees of Lord shiva. Worship of all other forms is considering secondary. The significance of the shivalinga is that It is the resplendent light (flame) form of the Supreme – solidify to make the worship of It easier. It represents the real nature of God – formless essentially and taking various forms as It wills. More details on the shiva linga significance could be find in Shaivam’s A Perspective.
This jyoti swarUpa of God exists in all the shivalinga forms, there are prominent abodes across the Indian subcontinent, where It is in a splendid form. These are renown as dvAdasa jyotirlingas or 12 jyotirlingas. These holds in such great esteem since ancient pre-historic times. Puranas talk in many sections as well as in detail about the glory of these abodes. Devotees have been gets pull towards these kshetras due to the highly benevolent divine presence in these abodes, since ancient times.
There is a Sanskrit shloka that lists the twelve jyotirlinga temples.
Mahadev, the Lord incorporates in Himself, the aura and the holiness of all the twelve JyotirLingas. The grandeur of these places is unique. Devotees line up in great numbers to take a look and get a Darshan of all the JyotirLingas.
Location of the jyotirlinga temples
Two on the seashore, three on river banks, four in the heights of the mountains, and three in villages located in meadows; the twelve Jyotirlingas spread out like this. Every place has been describing in glorious words by many detailing the surroundings etc.
Those of us who go to these temples of Shubhankar Shankar- Jyoti-Sivasthan, receive the holy blessings of the Lord, and come back happy, peaceful, and blessed. This indeed depends on one’s devotion and experience, too.
- Somnath in Saurashtra (Guj)
- Mallikarjun in Srisailam (A.P.)
- Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain (M.P.)
- Omkareshwar in Shivpuri / mAmaleswara (M.P.)
- Vaidyanath in Parali (Mah)
- Nageswar in Darukavanam
- Kedareswar in Kedarnath / Himalayas (Utt)
- Tryambakeswar in Nasik (Mah)
- Rameshwar in Setubandanam / Rameshwaram (T.N.)
- Bhimashankar in Dakini (Mah)
- Visweswar in Varanasi (U.P.) and
- Ghrishneswar in Devasrovar (Mah).
1) Somanath Jyotirlinga :
Jai Somnath. It is in Gujarat and one can go by Somanath express(trainNo1464) which goes from Jabalpur to Somnath via Bhopal, Ujjain, Ahmedabad, Rajkot. Somanath is 79 Km from Junagudh.The temple rebuilds by Maharani Ahilya Bai of Indore in the 18th century. The original temple destroy by Md Ghajani in 1025 and rebuilt immediately by King Bhima of Gujarat and King Bhoja of Malwa. Later It destroys by Md Allauddin Khilji in 1300 and rebuilt by King Mahipala. Later it destroys a number of times and finally by Aurangzeb. It says that the original shivalinga was hidden by the locals and reinstall in the temple built by the Maharani Ahilya Bai.
2)Srisailam Jyotirlinga :
It is in Andhra Pradesh and it is well connected by road than the train. One can go by bus or taxi to Srisailam from Hyderabad. The distance is nearly 232 Km . The nearest railway stations are Vinukonda(120Km), Markapur(85Km), and Kurnool(190Km). Markapur is in Guntur -Hubli route. Here the deity is called Lord Mallikarjuna. It is said that Adi Shankaracharya has visited this temple and composed Sivananda Lahari here. You can perform abhisheka yourself by purchasing the ticket. The goddess is Bhramarambika Devi and it is one of the 18 shaktipeethas.
3)Ujjain Jyotirlinga: The deity is called Mahakaleswara. Ujjain is 50Km(2hrs) from Indore. Or you can drop at Ujjain while going to Somanath by train. You are allowed to touch the jyotirlinga when the rush is not there. The decoration of the linga is different in the morning and evening. One should not miss the evening decoration which is made with the clay from the river Shipra. It is said that the Vibhodhi used in the temple comes from the burial ground.
4)Omkareswar Jyotirlinga:
The god is called here Omkareswara. Omkareswaram is 77 Km(Rs50) by road from Khandwa from where very frequent buses are available. It is 80 km(Rs50) from Indore. The nearest railway station is Omkareswara road which is 12Km from the town. You can perform abhisheka yourself in the temple. The temple is on the banks of the river Narmada. We find many Kanwarias carrying water from Narmada to Mahakaleswar temple by walk. MP Road transport runs a direct bus to Ujjain daily twice at 11.30 and 14.30 hrs from Omkaleswar.
5)Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga :
There is a dispute about this jyotirlinga. Many people say it is in the Deogarh district in Jharkhand state. Somebody says it is in Parli in Maharashtra. In both places, you will find a plaque made by the respective government saying that it is one of the 12 jyotirlingas. So better to visit both these jyotirlingas to have satisfaction. It increases your count to 13.
6)Parli Vaijnath:
The temple is 2Km from the Parli railway station. It was rebuilt by Maharani Ahilya Bai in 1776. you can perform abhisheka yourself by paying Rs 101. Men have to remove their shirts while performing the abhisheka. Outside the temple, Dakshin Mukhi Ganesh temple is there. Rani Ahilya Bai’s (who has renovated many jyotirlingas ) statue is there in the temple complex.
6) Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga :
It is one of the jyotirlingas which is not connected by train. you can reach it by road from Pune or Shirdi or Mumbai. It is 120 Km from Pune and 170 Km from Shirdi. There is no proper accommodation for staying at Bhimashankar and one has to stay at Manchar which is 35Km from Bhimashankar on the way to Pune. Buses are available from Pune, Shivaji Nagar bus stand(5Km from railway station) to Bhimashankar directly. The first bus (Rs82) starts at 5.15 AM. It is a ghat road and the journey is very enjoyable.
7) Rameswara Jyotirlinga :
It is in Tamil Nadu and it is well connect by train from Chennai, Madurai, and Trichy. From Chennai it is 600Km and from Madurai it is 120Km. Here the deity is call Ramanatha Swamy. One can reach Rameswaram(an island) via the Pamban Bridge across the sea. Here 36 there has been there.
8)Nageswara jyotirlingas:
the Temple is 17 km from Dwaraka. You can reach Dwaraka by Puri – OKha or Ernakulam-OKha train. Dwaraka is one station before Okha. There is a reasonable accommodation available for stay at Rs150 for single and Rs 250 for a double room. You can visit Nageswar temple by tourist bus(Rs50) which will cover Rukhmini temple, Nageswar temple, and Bet Dwaraka apart from Nageswar temple. Bet Dwaraka is the place where Sudhama met lord, Krishna. For Bet Dwaraka, You have to go by boat for which you have to buy a boat ticket separately. At Nageswar temple, one can buy Rs 151 abhisheka ticket and do the same himself by wearing a dhoti provided by temple trust (if you are not having your own). A huge statue of Lord Siva is thereby the side of the Nageswar temple.
9) Varanasi Jyotirlinga:
It is the most famous jyotirlinga. It is well connect by train from New Delhi, Kolkatta, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, and other major cities. The deity is known as Lord Kasi Visweswara and the goddess is known as Kasi Visalakshi. You can do abhisheka yourself. The original temple was destroy many times and finally by Auranagazeb and rebuild by Maharani Ahilya Bai in 1776. You can take bath in the river Ganges which is close to the temple.
10) Trayambakeswar Jyotirlinga :
It is in Maharashtra and it is 27 km from Nasik. Nasik road railway station is 188 km from Mumbai central. Trayambakeswar is 6 hours by road (bus Rs121) from Manchar which is near Bhimashankar. It is one of the Jyotirlingas where you are not allowed in the inner temple and you can not do abhisheka yourself. The decoration of the deity is different in the morning and evening. trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga represent Lord Shiva, Lord Bramha & Lord Vishnu
11) Kedarnath Jyotirlinga:
It is in Uttaranchal. This is the only jyotirlinga that is not open throughout the year. The Kedarnath temple is open from May to October every year and you have to go by road only. It is 230Km from Rishikesh and 250Km from Dehradun by road and is at an altitude of 3584M. The temple is build by Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century AD. Original temple said to be build by Pandavas. Behind the temple, there is the samadhi of Adi Shankaracharya. The route to Kedar from Rishikesh is via Devprayag, Srinagar, Rudraprayag, Ukhimath, and Gowrikhund. There is another route via Utter Kasi and Gangotri.
12) Grishneswar Jyotirlinga :
It is in Maharashtra and the nearby railway station is Daulatabad which is 12Km from the temple It is also well-connect by road from Aurangabad, It is the only jyotirlinga where the deity faces east. Many people are not aware of this temple and people who are visiting Shirdi can plan a trip to this temple easily. The deity calls Ghrushmeshwar. The goddess is Grishneshwari. The temple is at Ilapur and the village calls Verul.
