The 12 Jyotirlingas of the Great God of Gods- Lord Shiva

During the month of shravan India offers numerous fair and festivals across the country. All Mondays of sacred holy month of Shravan is devoted to the worship of great God Lord Shiva. The holy yatra or march of Kanwariya also start during this sacred month and Pilgrims called Kanwariya, The famous 12 Jyotirlingas of God Shiva are spread all over India, Jyothi lingam means, Lord Shiva appeared in the form of light (Jyothi) lingam.

Here is the list of 12 jyotirlinga’s

1. Somnath Jyotirlinga: The Somnath Temple is located in the Saurashtra, on the western coast of Gujarat The Protector of Moon God temple is destroyed six times and rebuilt six times, recently it was rebuilt in November 1947. The Aadi Jyotirling Shree Somnath Mahadev temple is dedicated to Someshwara, the Lord Shiva, with moon on his head.

 

2. Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga: Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple is located at Srisailam in Nallamala hills of Andhra Pradesh.The temple in hill looks like a great fort and is also known for its treasure of sculptures, There are number of sculptures on the walls appear as a gallery.

 

3. Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga: The most famous Mahakaleshwar Hindu temples is situated in the holy and ancient city of Ujjain in the state of Madhya PradeshMahakaleshwar idol is also known as dakshinamurti, as its facing the south. This is only temple of lord Shiva among the 12 Jyotirlingas where the idol of Great God is facing the south.

 

4. Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga: Omkareshwar is a famous Jyotirlinga temple located is a holy island of Shivpuri in Maheshwar, Madhay PradeshShape of the holy island is looks like the holy symbol of Shiva “the Om”. There are two temples Omkareshwar and other one is Amareshwar, The Mamleshwar jyotirling is situated on other side of Narmada river.

 

5. Kedarnath Jyotirlinga: The kedarnath jyotirlinga temple, one of the holiest Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Shiva is located in Uttarakhand. The Temple is one of the four major sites in India’s known as Chota Char Dham, other three are Yamunotri,Gangotri and and Badrinath. Shri Kedarnath temple is open only between the end of April to Kartik Purnima, During the winters, the murtis (idols) from Kedarnath temple are brought to Ukhimath and worshiped there for six months.

 

6. Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga: Bhimashankar Temple Jyotirlinga is situated in the Sahyadri ranges near pune in Maharashtra. Bhimashankar, One of the oldest Shiva temple is surrounded by Buddha style carvings, dense forests of high hill ranges and home to rare species of flora and fauna.

 

7. Vishwanath Jyotirlinga: Kashi Vishwanath JyotirLinga temple is located in the oldest city of India, Banaras Uttar Pradesh. Kashi, Banaras now Varanasi is the holiest city of India and fully dedicated to the Lord VishwanathThe Aarti is held in the temple five times in a daythe evening Aarti is called  Ganga Aarti held every evening at Dasashwamedha Ghat.

 

8. Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga: The Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga is located at the source of the holy Godavari river in the town of Trimbak, in the Nashik, Maharashtra Triambakeshwar owns spectacular distinction of the Jyotirlinga having three faces exemplifying Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara (Shiva). All other 11 Jyotirlingas have only Shiva lingam.

 

9. Baidyanath Jyotirlinga: The Baidyanath dham also known as Baba dham is the most sacred abodes of Shiva It is believed that the Baidynath (Vaidyanath) Jyotirlingam in Deogarh is associated with legendary stories of Ravana and Lord Shiva. This shrine is very famous, as Kanwariya Offers holy water of river Ganges to the Lord Shiva during the holy month of Shravan.

 

10. Nageshwar Jyotirlinga: The Nageshwar Jyotirlinga is believed as the first Jyotirlinga on the earth. The great Nageshwar Jyotirlinga is located near Dwarka, in the Gujarat state of India.Nageshvara Jyotirlinga is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines of Lord Shiva mentioned in the Shiva Purana.

 

11. Rameshwaram Jyotirlinga: Rameshwaram is a religious town located in the state of Tamil NaduAmongst the 12 Lord Shiva Jyotirlinga, Rameshwaram is one of the most sacred shrines of Hindus in India.Rameswara means Lord of Rama,the seventh incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu is believed to have prayed to Shiva here. So this place is considered holy pilgrimage site for both Shaivites and Vaishnavites.

 

12. Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga: The Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga temple is placed at a close distance of about 11 km from Daulatabad in the neighborhood of Aurangabad in Maharashtra.

 

Holy month of Shrawan is filled with devotional fervours for the devotees of Lord Shiva at all Jyotirlinga shrines across India.