12 Jyotirlingas

Somnath  

As per this story Soma, the Moon God was married to 27 daughters of the famous king named Daksha Prajapati. All the wives received the finest treatments in their in-law’s abode but not all of them were happy.  Why you may ask? The answer: Out of all his 27 wives, the Moon God loved Rohini much more than others which made his 26 beloveds feel neglected.

Tired of not being able to win their husband’s affection, the 26 daughters went to narrate their dismal plight to their father. Daksha Prajapati advised the Moon God to treat all his daughters equally but the latter did not pay any heed to his father-in-law’s plea for three times in a row. Infuriated by this absolute insult Daksha Prajapati cursed the Moon God who lost his precious luster.  

The loss of Moon God’s effulgence led to some of the disastrous calamities. So Lord Brahma advised the Moon God to visit a place called Prabhas Kshetra and perform rituals to please Lord Shiva. Happy with his devotion and strict penance of six long months, Lord Shiva redeemed the curse and then everything was back to normalcy- no more destructive calamities.

In return Moon, God built a temple in gold to honor Lord Shiva during the era that is known as Satya Yug. The legend also states that it was again built by Ravana, in silver during another era known as Treta Yuga. It was followed by Lord Krishna who built it using sandalwood in the timeline of Dvapara Yuga. Yet again, it was built by the emperor Vikramaditya, in stone at the end of another great era ‘Kali Yug’.

Mallikarjuna

When Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati decided to marry their two adoring sons, Lord Ganesha and Kartikeya, they were in a dilemma who should be married first. Lord Shiva and Parvati then devised a competition for their sons. Shiva decided that whoever circumambulates the earth first wins and will be married first.

Kartikeya set out on his flying peacock mount, thinking there was no chance that his brother could win on his mount which was Mouse Mushaka. But Ganesha was clever and devised a strategy that would ensure his success.

He went around Shiva and Parvati seven times, arguing that parents were equivalent to the world according to the Shashtra scriptures. The Shastras are a set of rules that have been a part of Hinduism since the conception of the religion. This feat much impressed Shiva and Parvati, and they married Lord Ganesha to the embodiment of intellect (Goddess Buddhi), prosperity (Goddess Riddhi) and spiritual dexterity (Goddess Siddhi).

However, the celebration was short-lived because when Kartikeya returned, he was furious that he lost. Feeling dejected, he flew away to Mount Krauncha to spend his days as Kumar Brahmachari. Shiva and Parvati then followed after their son to appease him and presided on the Mountain as Mallika and Arjuna. They became patrons of the mountain and lived there with Kartikeya. The site was then called Mallikarjuna and became a holy place of worship for both Shiva and Parvati disciples.

Mahakaleshwar

According to the ancient scripture Sthalapuranam, King Chandrasena was a devotee of Shiva. A young boy named Shrikhar heard his prayers to the god and wanted to join him. However, people did not let him do it, and sent him out of the city. Also, Shrikhar heard the plans of rival kings Ripudhamana and Singhaditya to attack the city with the help of the demon king Dushan.

Moreover, Dushan had a blessing of invisibility from Brahma. So, Shrikhar and a priest named Vriddhi prayed to Lord Shiva for help. The enemies arrived at Avantika (Ujjain) and started torturing the people. They banned all Vedic Dharmanushtan activities in the city. The people started praying to Lord Shiva for help.

Devotees also believe that when Dushan started attacking Avantika, the ground split near the statue of Parvati and Lord Shiva came out of it as Mahakaal. He burnt the demons with just one grunt. Adhering to the request of the people of Avantika, Lord Shiva then decided to stay there as the chief deity of Avantika.

Omkareshwar

There are several stories associated with Omkareshwar, as mentioned in ancient Hindu texts. According to one, once Narad Muni (a traveling Vedic sage) visited the Vindhya Mountains and got enraged because there was no home for Lord Shiva in the region. So, the God of Vindhya Mountain started Tapasya (non-indulgence) to repent for this mistake.

He meditated on Lord Shiva in the form of the earthly lord. His faith and patience impressed Mahadev (Lord Shiva) who told the mountain god that he would reside on the island as Pranava Linga. And it would be divided into two parts- Mamleswar and Omkareswar. While Mamleswar was an earthly linga, Omkareswas was a Jyoti Linga (column of light). Since then, the place was named as Omkareswar, and a temple was built to worship the Jyotirlingam.

Kedarnath

It is stated that the Pandavas sought Lord Shiva to relieve them from the guilt of killing their blood relatives.

However, shiva disguised himself as a milch buffalo to roam in the Himalayas. On being found by the Pandavas, Sadashiva dove underground. When Bhima ran to catch him for the purpose of getting milk.  Bhima firmly held the back of the buffalo but the buffalo began to penetrate the earth. Bhima had only managed to get hold of its hump. Other body parts of buffalo showed up at different places. The hump of the buffalo was found in Kedarnath, the navel emerged in Madhya-Maheshwar, two forelegs appeared in Tungnath, the face in Rudranath, and the hair in Kalpeshwar. These are collectively called the Panch Kedar - the five sacred places. The literal meaning of Kedar is swamp. 

Bhimashankar 

According to one such legend, in the Treta Yuga, Kumbhkaran (brother of the evil King Ravana in Ramayana) had a son named Bhima who wanted to take revenge for his father’s death at the hands of Lord Rama.

Fueled by revenge, Bhima started penance in the worship of Lord Brahma, the creator god, and received a boon of extreme power from him. After receiving so much power, Bhima became even more arrogant. And he threatened the then king Kamarupehsvar to stop worshipping Lord Shiva.

When the king denied, Bhima held him captive, but the king continued his worship even in prison and made a Shivlinga there. Blinded by power, Bhima tried to destroy the Shivlinga with his sword, but Lord Shiva appeared at the site and killed him to save the innocent king. After that, all Gods appeared there and requested Shiva to stay in the place as a Jyotirlinga, which came to be known as Bhimshankar Jyotirlinga.

According to one legend, a demon called Tripurasura performed penance in the Bhimashankar jungle to please Lord Shiva and ask him for the gift of immortality. Lord Shiva was pleased with his devotion and granted him immortality on the condition that he would use his power to help the local people. Tripurasura agreed with Him. However, over time, he forgot his promise and began to harass both humans and the gods. When the gods begged Lord Shiva to do something to stop the ensuing chaos, the Lord prayed to his consort Goddess Parvati. Both of them appeared as Ardhanari Nateshwara and killed Tripurasura, after which peace prevailed.

Kashi Vishwanath 

Another story has it that long ago, all of it started when the Nirgun Shiva, created a world where Vishnu resided. Once, when Vishnu tilled his head, a gemstone fell, and it came to be known as Manikarnika. The entire Panch Koshi area of Manikarnika waters was made into Trident by Shiva, which resulted in the birth of Brahma from Vishnu’s navel. Brahma then created the mortal world. Shiva then removed the city of Kashi from His Trident and set it in this mortal world. But, in the time of Pralay, Shiva saved it by keeping it safe in his Trishul. That’s why Kashi is also known as Avi Mukta kshetra.

The divine city of Varanasi is regarded not only as auspicious for the Hindus, but also people from other religions. Buddha had come to Varanasi and preached his first sermon – ‘five’ near Varanasi. It is the hometown of Kabir in the 15th century, whereas in the 16th century, it was Goswami Tulsi Das who composed Hanuman Chalisa and RamachitraManasa.

Many other leading saints like Guru Nanak, Guru Govind Singh have also come to Kashi to preach their teachings. Saints like Adi Sankaracharya, Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Bamakhyapa, have also visited the holy site and have left with immense knowledge and learning.

Trambakeshwar 

Trimbak was believed to be the land of rishis, and the residence of Gautam Rishi along with his wife, Ahilya. When severe drought struck the place, Gautam Rishi prayed to the God of Rain for some pouring. Pleased with his prayers, Lord Varuna showered Trimbak with rain for days at a stretch. It helped Gautam Rishi to sow crops and to be able to feed more and more people who took resort in his Ashram. It only added to the punyas of Gautam Rishi.

One day, while walking in the fields, he accidentally killed an innocent cow with his dharba. The cow was a friend of Parvati, Jaya, who had taken the form of a cow. Other rishis refused to take resort to his Ashram when they came across the heinous crime. Gautam rishi pleaded with them to show him the right path to have a way out with the sins.

The Rishis advised him to pray to Lord Shiva to release the Ganges, and taking a bath in the Ganges will wash away all his sins. After this, Gautam Rishi went to the peak of Brahmagiri hills and practiced penance for over 1,000 years. Lord Shiva was pleased with his prayers and decided to wash away his sins by asking Ganga to flow. But, Ganga seemed to have a different plan. Shiva then danced Tandav Nritya, on the peak of Bhramagiri, and dashed his jata. Ganga being afraid starts flowing, and Gautam Rishi could take a bath to wipe away all his sins.

Lord Shiva released Ganga and told her to stay there. The Kushavarta Pond that exists now in Godavari River, people worship the Godavari as Ganga. All Rishi's requested to Lord Shiva to stay there, which Lord Shiva did in the form of Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga.

The Jyotirlinga's extraordinary feature is its three faces embodying Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Rudra. The three faces of Jyotirling make this place more special. The Hindu belief that those who visit Trimabkeshwar attain salvation or Moksha.

Nageshwara 

The Nageshwar Temple has an intriguing tale associated with its origins. Story has it that once there was a ruthless demon called Daruka. He was a savage who liked to torture people. But he was also a devout devotee of Lord Shiva. Once a merchant named Supriya, wanting to see this famous devotee of Shiva, visited Daruka. Daruka lived with his wife Daruki in the forest of Darukavanam.

Supriya was an accomplished worshipper of Shiva. Daruka then asked Supriya to teach him the right way to worship Shiva, including all the norms and rituals of performing Tapa (penance). Afraid that Daruka will use the powers gained from his Tapa to torture people, Supriya refused to teach him. Daruka did not take this well. Furious, he began to torture Supriya. Unmoving in his faith in Shiva, Supriya remained unaffected by this torture.

Impressed by Supriya’s bravery and devotion, Lord Shiva appeared before him and killed Daruka. Heartbroken and enraged by her husband’s death, Daruki started torturing Supriya even more. Shiva killed Daruki too and saved Supriya from her wrath. He then resided there as Nageshwar for the betterment of the whole community.

Vaidyanath

The most popular story goes that in the Treta Yuga, Lanka King Ravana offered constant prayers to Lord Shiva. Ravana wanted to persuade Mahadev to stay in Lanka for the safety of the city. Pleased by his devotion, Shiva allowed him to take his ‘Atmalingam’ to Sri Lanka.

But the Lord put forth a condition that the lingam should not break or be transferred to another person on the journey. The Gods feared that Ravana would stir havoc in the world under the safety of Lord Shiva. The water God Varun entered Ravana’s belly, and he felt a strong urge to release water, so he handed the Shiv Linga to a Brahmin (who was Lord Ganesha’s Avatar).

The Brahmin placed the Lingam in Deoghar and thus it got affixed in this place. Angered by this, Ravana resorted to violence and damaged the lingam while trying to lift it. He felt severe guilt and started offering his 10 heads to Lord Shiva one by one. Pleased by his penance, Lord Shiva appeared and cured all his injuries. Thus, he got the name “Vaidya” (Doctor), and this place came to be known as Vaidyanath.

Goddess Sati sacrificed her life to rebel against her father’s objection to her marriage with Shiva. In order to honor her death, Lord Vishnu divided her body into 52 parts which fell on different places on earth and turned into shrines. These places are called Shaktipeethas, and Vaidyanath Shaktipeeth is where Sati’s heart fell on earth.

Rameshwaram

The Rameswaram temple is linked with the Hindu epic Ramayana. The story has it that after killing the demon King Ravana to save his wife, Lord Rama headed to Rameswar on his way back to Ayodhya.

On the way, some saints advised Rama to worship Lord Shiva in order to compensate for the sin of killing a Shiva devotee (Ravana). Lord Rama agreed and asked Lord Hanuman (a helpful monkey-friend of Rama) to bring a Shivlinga from Kailash (Himalayas).

Rama fixed a certain auspicious time for the installation of the Shivlinga, but Lord Hanuman couldn’t make it in time. As the installation time approached, Lord Rama became restless and asked his consort, Sita, to build a lingam. Sita built a beautiful “Ramalingam” out of the sand, and Lord Rama installed the lingam in Rameswaram.

When Lord Hanuman returned with Jyotirlinga from Kailash, he became upset about seeing the already installed lingam. To make up for it, he requested Rama that the Shivlinga brought from Kailash is worshipped before the “Ramalingam”. Lord Rama agreed to this, and since then, it has been a tradition to worship the Shivlingam before the Ramalingam in the temple.

Grishneshwar 

The Grishneshwar temple is situated in the tiny village of Verul in the Aurangabad district. Less than a kilometer away from the world-renowned Ellora Caves.

Legend associated with the temple follows Goddess Parvathi as she was mixing vermillion on her palm. According to Hindu Religion, applying red vermillion on the forehead symbolizes marital bliss. Parvathi realized that she could not put the vermillion in the powder form, so she mixed it with water from the Shivalay, the holy lake situated near the temple.

She held the vermillion in her left palm and started making a paste with her right hand. The circular movements of her hands created friction (Grishna) in her hands, and from it emerged Lord Shiva. He appeared as a bright light which turned into a linga. Parvathi named this linga ‘Grishneshwar’ (God of Friction) because it was created from the friction between her hands. It is how the temple is believed to have gotten its name.