Quick read: Soma (moon) got the curse of his father in law mitigated by praying to Shiva at Somnath.

The authoritative list of Jyotirlingas is in the Shiva Purana. It is inscribed at Mahakaal temple, Ujjain. Somnath on the Saurashtra coast of Gujarat is the first on the list.

Soma (moon) was married to the 27 daughters of Daksha (nakshatras of the zodiac) but he favoured Rohini (bright star Aldebaran which comes closest to the ecliptic of the moon). Daksha cursed Soma to disappear, for his partiality.

Soma (moon) prayed to Shiva to escape the curse of his father in law. Shiva reduced the curse to cyclic waxing & waning. The place where he prayed was called Somnath (The Lord of the Moon). The Puranic story is an allegory encoding natural phenomena of the moon as well as Rohini.

The earliest name of Somnath is Prabhasa, mentioned in the Mahabharat as a great tirtha. The Pandavas visited Prabhasa on pilgrimage and Arjuna sought Krishna’s help for the war here.

The ancient Somnath temple was vandalized by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1026CE. It went through cycles of rebuilding and destruction over the next ten centuries. The current grand temple was rebuilt after independence under the guidance of Sardar Patel and KM Munshi, both of whom hailed from Gujarat. It was inaugurated by the first President Dr Rajendra Prasad.

Source: Stories of Lord Shiva, Rama Krishna Mutt

Picture Credit: Gujarat Tourism

Quick Read: Shiva found Kashi to satisfy his in-laws who were not happy with his austere tent at Kailasha.

Note: Kashi ( The Luminous Place) is where the Shiva first appeared on earth as Jyotirlinga (pillar of light). It was the place first created by Shiva & Shakti. From Kashi they created the rest of the universe.

In a lesser known story, Devi Parvati’s parents, Mena & Himalaya were not happy with the tent of Shiva at Kailasha. They desired a proper place for her daughter. So Shiva scanned the whole earth and then came to Kashi. He vowed never to leave it.

Vishwanath temple represents the Jyotirlinga but the whole of Kashi is the abode of Shiva – “Kashi ka kankar Shiva Shankar” (the very stones of Kashi are Shiva).

Source: Rana B Singh , Dolls of India

Picture Credit: Ganga at Kashi, Ramanujam S. R

Quick read: Parvati did Tapas at Gauri Kund seeking Shiva’s hand in marriage

Parvati, Himalya’s daughter wanted to marry Shiva and decided to do tapas to win Him over. Convinced by her austerities Shiva appeared in disguise. He asked Parvati why she wanted to marry a mendicant like him, with no lineage and clan.

Parvati said that Shiva was unchanging & indescribable but assumed forms for the welfare of bhaktas; and that she would only marry Him. Satisfied, Shiva revealed Himself and asked for Her hand. A small temple at Gauri Kund marks the place of Ma Parvati’s tapas. The marriage took place at nearby Triyuginarayan.

Pilgrims start walking from Gaurikund to Kedarnath, the Lord of Cedar trees, and the northernmost JyotirLinga. It is said that the Pandavas wanted to worship Shiva at Kashi to expiate their sin of waging a great war. Shiva refused to meet them and left for the Himalayas. He hid as a bull inside the earth. The Pandavas recognized parts of the bull’s body jutting out and asked for forgiveness. The five places where the bull jutted out became the Panch Kedaras – Kedarnath being the hump of the bull.

Source: “India, A Sacred Geography”, Diana Eck

Picture Credit: Gauri Mata temple at Gauri Kund, Ramanujam SR

Quick read: Sita created a Linga since Hanuman was late in bringing a Linga from Kailasha.

Rama sent Hanuman to the Himalayas to bring an appropriate stone from Kailasha. But Hanuman did not return in time for consecration. So Sita ma created a Linga out of sand which Rama consecrated. Hanuman returned and wanted to replace the sand Linga with the Linga he had brought. However, Hanumanji could not move Sita ma’s linga no matter how hard he tried. Thus there are two Lingas – the Himalayan stone called Vishwanatha and the sand linga called Ramnatha.

There is also a belief that Rama consecrated the Linga before the war and not after the war.

Source: Dwadasa Jyotirlinga, Kanchi Kamakoti Peetha

Picture Credit: Rameswaram temple, Ramanujam S. R

Quick read: The Mahakala at Ujjain is the Lord of time and death; and Ujjain is profusely referred in history and puranas.

Ujjain is as old as history. It is attested from Buddha’s time. It was the capital of Avanti, one of the 16 mahajanapadas. In the epics, it is called the city victorious i.e. Avantika or Ujjaini. It flourished under the Guptas in the 4th-6th cent CE. It was Kalidasa’s hometown. Ancient and modern Literature speak of Ujjain as the centre of India. It is the navel, the nabhi. Puranas state that Ujjain is not only the centre of the universe but is on the vertical axis of the three worlds.

Mahakala at Ujjain is the Lord of time and death. Shiva was bathed first thing in the morning with ash from a funeral pyre. Nowadays ash from burnt cow dung is used. Mahakal is also called Dakshinamoorti, one that faces the South.

Ujjain is one of the most sacred tantra temples. The temple has five levels including an underground one. There are three Lingas, the Omkareshwar is on the level above the Mahakal and the Nagchandreshwar, open only on Nag Panchami, on the third level. One unique feature is that the prasad offered here to the Lord can be reoffered.

Source: Dwadasa Jyotirlinga, Kanchi Kamakoti Peetha

Picture Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Quick read: Omkareshwara is on an island which is in the shape of Om and is formed by the river Narmada.

Omkareshwara is at Mandhata in Madhya Pradesh set in the Vindhya mountains.

Vindhya felt humiliated when Narada told him that Mount Meru was taller. Vindhya established the Omkareshwara and prayed to Shiva who granted him a boon that he would be the tallest mountain. In arrogance, Vindhya started growing and would not stop even when he blocked the sun’s course. The earth started getting scorched and Shiva sent Agastya to straighten the Vindhya. When Agastya came, Vindhya bowed and asked what he could do. Agastya asked him to remain bowed till he returned. The sage proceeded south where he settled down and never returned. Vindhya stayed with the head bowed and didn’t grow henceforth.

Shiva is the Cosmic Sound Aum here – the three primary sound ‘a’, ‘u’ and ‘m’ said to correspond with Brahma, Vishnu & Mahesh. Omkareshwara is an island almost shaped like the Aum in the river Narmada and is a key spot for the iconic Narmada yatra.

Source: Dwadasa Jyotirlinga, Kanchi Kamakoti Peetha

Picture Credit: Ramanujam S. R

Quick read: The Jyotirlinga is near Dwarka which is one of the original char dhams.

Nageshwarnath is located in Darukavana near Dwaraka. There are other claimants for this Jyotirlinga in Pune and Uttarakhand. It refers to a forest of deodar tress. A Shiv Bhakt Supriya was kidnapped by the demon Daruka and his wife Daruki. Supriya created a linga and started worshipping it in the prison. An impressed Shiva gifted Pashupati Astra to Supriya with which he started killing the demons. The place where Supriya worshipped Shiva is near Dwaraka.

Legend has it that a devotee Namdev was blocking the view of other devotees who asked him to move. Namdev asked them to take him to a place where the Lord does not exist. The other devotees carried Namdev south. When they returned, they found that the Linga itself had turned and was facing south.

This ancient tirtha and its surroundings have intimate connections to the events in Krishna’s life including where He left his earthly body. Dwarka is part of the char dham circuit – it is believed that every day, Lord Vishnu takes his bath at Rameshwaram (south), meditates at Badrinath (north), dines at Puri (east) and retires at Dwarka (west).
Adi Shankara also established mathas at the four corners of the country – Sringeri (south), Jyotirmath (north), Puri (east) and Dwarka (west).

Source: Art of Living

Picture Credit: Gujarat Tourism

Quick read: Bhima was Kumbhakarna’s Son and wanted to take revenge on Vishnu (Rama).

Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga is located atop a hill between Pune and Nashik. Bhima, a rakshasa, stayed in the region with his single mother Karkati. Bhima came to know that his father was Kumbhakarna and that he was killed by Rama before he could take Karkati back to Lanka. Bhima wanted to take revenge on Vishnu. He prayed to Brahma who gave him boons. Bhima started creating havoc. Devas prayed to Shiva to stop him.

Another story suggests that Shiva took the Rudra avatar to kill the powerful Tripurasura who was trying to destroy the three worlds. In a long and furious battle, Shiva destroyed the demon and got the name Tripurantaka. After battle, he sat down from exhaustion and the sweat from his body started flowing as the Bhima river, which originates at Bhimashankar and merges with Krishna. Assam also claims this Jyotirlinga.

Source: Shiv Purana, B.K. Chaturvedi

Picture Credit: Team BHP

Quick read: The Joytirlinga marks the devotion of Ghushma who continued her puja even after knowing her son has been killed.

Ghushmeshwara or Grishneshwara is located around a km from Ellora caves. The official depiction of the Linga shows it with light radiating at the base, with a man, Sudharma kneeling before it. His mother Ghushma was an ardent Shiv Bhakt and had a daily routine of making 101 parthiv (earth) lingas which she would then immerse in a tank.

Sudharma’s step mother killed him out of jealousy, cut the body into pieces and threw it into the same pond where Ghushma would immerse the Shiv Lingas. Even after knowing about her Son’s death, Ghushma carried on with her daily routine. When she went to offer the lingas in a pond as usual, she saw her son alive at the pond due to the grace of Shiva. In recognition of her ardent devotion, Shiva stayed back as Ghushmeshwara, Ghushma’s Lord.

Source: Shiv Puran, B.K Chaturvedi

Picture Credit: The Kailasanatha temple at Ellora, Lonely Planet

Quick read: Srisailam is one of the two Jyotirlingas in South India and also one of the few ShaktiPeethas in South India.

Mallikarjuna is at Sri Saila (sacred mountain) in Andhra, a site mentioned in the Mahabharata. Being remote, the ancient temple has retained its serene beauty and features. The outer wall or prakara is one of the largest and most detailed in India with bas reliefs going back to 12th cent CE.

Srisailam is the Jyotirlinga of Lord Mallikarjuna and the Shakti Peeth of Goddess Bharamaramba. Parvati took the form of a thousand bees (Bharamaramba ) to kill the demon Arunasura.

This Jyotirlinga is revered by the local tribals also. Lord Shiva came to Srisailam on a hunting expedition and fell in love with a beautiful Chenchu tribal woman whom he married. She used to accompany him in his expeditions. Shiva is called as Chenchu Mallaiah by the tribes. In a bas relief in the temple, Shiva is shown accompanied by Parvati as a forest woman with arrows and four dogs.

Srisailam is also the place where Shiva & Parvati settled to be close to Lord Karthikeya who left Kailash after being upset after losing a contest with his brother Ganesha. He had settled in the south at Palani in Tamil Nadu. This story explains a great Indian mystery. Somewhere in the Gupta period, the worship of Skanda stopped in North India. But He remains very popular in the south worshipped as Skanda, Murugan, Kartikeya, Kumara or Kumaraswami.

Source: “Temples and Legends of Andhra Pradesh,” Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

Picture Credit: Srisailam, Srisailam Devasthanam

Quick read: Godavari tumbled down Brahmagiri towards Tryambakeshwar to cleanse Rishi Gautam.

Trymbaka means the ‘The three eyed one.” The Linga is ‘Three Eyed’ as it represents the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu & Mahesh. While the site is ancient, the current temple built in black stone and the north Indian nagara style was built in the 18th cent by Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao.

Godavari originates at Brahmagiri near Tryambakeshwar. Rishi Gautam, whose ashram was in this area, once killed a cow by accident. To cleanse himself, he prayed to Shiva to send the river Ganga to him. Soon Ganga flowed down to him, taking the name Godavri. Seeing the miracle, the Gods beseeched Shiva to make Trymbaka his permanent abode.

Source: Stories of Lord Shiva, Rama Krishna Mutt

Picture Credit: The source of Godavari, Ramanujam S. R

Quick read: Ravana had to leave the Linga he was carrying from Kailasha at Vaidyanath

There are many claimants to the Vaidyanatha Jyotirlinga but the one in Jharkhand is the most well known.

Ravana had gone to Kailasha and performed various austerities seeking a Linga for Lanka. Shiva was moved by his discipline and gave him a Linga, with a condition that he could not put it down until he got back to Lanka.

The Devas were uneasy seeing the powerful Linga with him. Varuna, the God of Water entered Ravana’s body so that he could not fight the urge to relieve himself. He gave the Linga to a cowherd (or Ganesha in some stories) who could not mange the heavy weight, as Ravana was taking too long to relieve himself. He put the Linga down. When Ravana returned, he could not move it.

In ardent devotion, Ravana cut off nine of his ten heads and offered to Shiva. Ravana’s head were restored by Shiva but the Linga did not move and took residence there as Vaidyanatha – the Lord of Physicians.

Also known as Babadham, the temple is known for the annual pilgrimage when devotees carry water from the Ganga, eighty miles away, and bring it to the Linga as offering. The pilgrims chant ‘bol bam’ all the way.

Source: “India, A Sacred Geography”, Diana Eck

Picture Credit: William Hodges painting of Vaidyanath, 1782. British Library