12 JYOTIRLINGA

Worship of shivalinga is considered the prime worship for the devotees of Lord shiva. Worship of all other forms is considered secondary. The significance of the shivalinga is that It is the resplendent light (flame) form of the Supreme - solidified to make the worship of It easier. It represents the real nature of God - formless essentially and taking various forms as It wills.

सौराष्ट्रे सोमनाथं च श्रीशैले मल्लिकार्जुनम्। उज्जयिन्यां महाकालमोङ्कारममलेश्वरम्॥
परल्यां वैद्यनाथं च डाकिन्यां भीमशङ्करम्। सेतुबन्धे तु रामेशं नागेशं दारुकावने॥
वाराणस्यां तु विश्वेशं त्र्यम्बकं गौतमीतटे। हिमालये तु केदारं घुश्मेशं च शिवालये॥
एतानि ज्योतिर्लिङ्गानि सायं प्रातः पठेन्नरः। सप्तजन्मकृतं पापं स्मरणेन विनश्यति॥
एतेशां दर्शनादेव पातकं नैव तिष्ठति। कर्मक्षयो भवेत्तस्य यस्य तुष्टो महेश्वराः॥:
द्वादश ज्योतिर्लिंग स्तोत्रम्

1. Somnath Somnath is traditionally considered the first pilgrimage site: the Dwadash Jyotirlinga pilgrimage begins with the Somnath Temple. The temple, that was destroyed and re-built sixteen times, is held in reverence throughout India and is rich in legend, tradition, and history. It is located at Prabhas Patan (Somnath – Veraval) in Saurashtra in Gujarat. 2. Malikarjun

Mallikārjuna, also called Śrīśaila, is located on a mountain on the river Krishna.[8] Srisailam, in Kurnool District in Andhra Pradesh enshrines Mallikarjuna in an ancient temple that is architecturally and sculpturally rich.It is one place where Shakti peeta and Jyotirlingam are together. Adi Shankaracomposed his Sivananda Lahiri here. It is also one of the Padal Petra Stalam of Vada Naadu mentioned in Thevaaram. 3. Mahakal

Mahakal, Ujjain (or Avanti) in Madhya Pradesh is home to the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga temple. The Lingam at Mahakal is believed to be Swayambhu, the only one of the 12 Jyotirlingams to be so. It is also the only one facing south and also the temple to have a Shree Yantra perched upside down at the ceiling of the Garbhagriha (where the Shiv Lingam sits).It is one place where Shakti peeta and Jyotirlingam are together

4. Omkareshwar  Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh on an island in the Narmada River is home to a Jyotirlinga shrine and the Mamaleshwar temple.

5. Kedarnath  Kedarnath in Uttarakhand is revered as the northernmost and the closest Jyotirlinga to Lord Shiva’s eternal abode of Mount Kailash. Kedarnath forms a part of the smaller Char Dham pilgrimage circuit of Hinduism. Kedarnath, nestled in the snow-clad Himalayas, is an ancient shrine, rich in legend and tradition. It is accessible only by foot, and only for six months a year. It is also one of the Padal Petra Stalam of Vada Naadu mentioned in Thevaaram.

6. Bhimashankar Bhimashankar is very much debated. There is a Bhimashankara temple near Pune in Maharashtra, which was referred to as Daakini country, but Kashipur in Uttarakhand was also referred to as Daakini country in ancient days and a Bhimashkar Temple known as Shree Moteshwar Mahadev is present there. Another Bhimashankar is in the Sahyadri range of Maharashtra. The Bhimashankar temple near Guwahati, Assam is the jyotirlinga according to Sivapuran.According to “LINGA PURAN”, Bhimasankar temple in Bhimpur near Gunupur of Rayagada district in South Orissa is also believed as Bhimasankar Jyotirlinga, which is situated at the western part of the holy Mahendragiri mountains and at the river bank of Mahendratanaya(which is also believed as the Daakini area by many historian), was excavated in the year 1974, having quadrangular Shakti around the Linga and decorated by a Upavita as per the puran.

7. Kashi Vishwanath  Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh is home to the Vishwanath Jyotirlinga shrine, which is perhaps the most sacred of Hindu shrines. It is also one of the Padal Petra Stalam of Vada Naadu mentioned in Thevaaram.

8. Trimbakeshwar  Trimbakeshwar Temple, near Nasik in Maharashtra, is a Jyotirlinga shrine associated with the origin of the Godavari river.

9. Baidyanath  Baidyanath Jyotirlinga temple is located in Deoghar District in Jharkhand . In the month of Shravana millions of devotee visit the temple.Bholebaba darshan during Shravan month attracts devotees from across India and overseas.It is believed that once Ravan worshipped Shiva for years and requested his god ( Shiva) to come to Lanka . Shiva manifested as shivaling and asked Ravan to not to put down anywhere until he takes it to Lanka. Vishnu intercepted Ravana in between and convinced him to keep it for sometime. Since then shiva resides as Baidyanath in Deoghar.

10. Nageshvara  Nageshvara Jyotirlinga is located among a cluster of 124 large and small historical stone temples inJageshwar, Almora district, Uttarakhand. Once the centre of Lakulish Shaivism, Jageshwar is located at an altitude of 1870 mts, in the Jataganga river valley near a Deodar forest (Cedrus deodara) starting from Artola village on Almora–Pithoragarh highway, where two streams Nandini and Surabhi flow down the hills in the narrow valley and meet near the sacred spot.Believed to be the site of the first of the twelve Jyotirlingas, Nageshvara Jyotirlinga, Jageshwar holds the ‘Jageshwar Monsoon Festival’ during the Hindu calendar month of Shravan and the annual ‘Maha Shivratri Mela’ (Shivratri festival) during spring.

11. Rameswaram  Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu is home to the vast Ramalingeswarar Jyotirlinga temple and is revered as the southernmost of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of India. It enshrines the Rameśvara (“Lord of Rama”) pillar.[11] It is also one of the Padal Petra Stalam of Pandya Naadu mentioned in Thevaaram.

Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga shrine, at a village called Verul which lies at a distance of 11 km from Daulatabad and 30 km from [Aurangabad]. It lies at a close proximity to the Ellora caves. 12. Grishneshwar Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga shrine, at a village called Verul which lies at a distance of 11 km from Daulatabad and 30 km from [Aurangabad]. It lies at a close proximity to the Ellora caves