The Chronicles and Origin of Twelve Jyotirlingas
Twelve Jyotirlingas
Temples in india
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LINGAM
In Hinduism Shiva is deemed to be the generative force of the entirety of presence, all inventiveness, and fruitfulness at each infinite level. The lingam of the Shaivism custom is a short round and hollow oval structure, made of stone, metal, clay, wood, gem, or dispensable material. Ancient Sanskrit texts such as the Mahabharata and the Puranas recount tales that distinguish the lingam as the phallus of Shiva. Studying hindus deem the lingam and yoni together to symbolize the connection of the male and female principles and the oneness of all existence.
As per the linga purana, lingam is a complete emblematic depiction of the undefined Universe bearer the oval, molded stone is the image of the Universe, and the base speaks to the Supreme Power that holds the whole universe in it. Skand Purana states : " The interminable sky (that extraordinarily void which contains the whole Universe) is the linga, the Earth is its base. Toward the finish of time the whole Universe and all the Gods, at last, amalgamated in linga, itself.
The story behind the formation of Twelve Jyotirlingas
In shiv purana you will hear an incident that took place thousand of years ago. When Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma were discussing who is supreme and that
discussing turns into an argument. Then lord Shiva appeared there to settle their argument. He made the infinite pillar of light appears there and that pillar
pierced all three worlds when it appears. Then lord told both of them that whoever finds the light first will be the Supreme God.
They both went in the opposite direction and after a while, they both didn't find the end of the pillar. So lord admitted defeat and told lord Shiva he couldn't find the end while Brahma lied saying he did the find the end of the pillar. Seeing him lying, lord Shiva got furious and cursed Lord Brahma. That no one going to worship Lord Brahma even though he has created this entire universe.
In that anger, the Lord Shiva infinite pillar of light appeared on the earth in 64 places in the form of Lingodbhava. From those 64 places, only 12 are majors, and they now are known as the 12 main Jyotirlingas of India. In each Jyotirlinga Lord Shiva resides in some form of deity and blesses all the people.
Sanskrit shloka that list the 12 Jyotirlingas:
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॥
(English Translation)
“Saurashtre Somanathamcha Srisaile Mallikarjunam|
Ujjayinya Mahakalam Omkaramamaleswaram ||
Paralyam Vaidyanathancha Dakinyam Bheema Shankaram |
Setu Bandhethu Ramesam, Nagesam Darukavane||
Varanasyantu Vishwesam Tryambakam Gautameethate|
Himalayetu Kedaaram, Ghrishnesamcha shivaalaye||
Etani jyotirlingani, Saayam Praatah Patennarah|
Sapta Janma Kritam pApam, Smaranena Vinashyati||”
Somnath
Decimated re-assembled Decimated and re-assembled sixteen times, It is accepted that even today on a moonless night Chandra comes and plunges in the blessed water of the ocean here and begins to sparkle once again. Somnath is called Somnath Mahadev in light of the fact that legend says Moon appealed to Lord Shiva himself and set up this Jyotirlinga without anyone else and thus gets the name.
Soma means Moon. Clearly, the moon was coupled to around 27 daughters of Daksha. Yet, he didn’t focus on the entirety of his 27 brides, however dedicated his time just to Rohini.The father gets irritated and denounces Moon that he will lose all his gloss and shine, and fade away. The moon begins to blur thus he comes down to this spot alongside Rohini and starts appealing to Lord Shiva.
Daksha is additionally the father in law of Lord Shiva. Shiva at that point expels his revile, Moon takes a dunk in the river Saraswati and begins to shine. Subsequently, this spot gets the name Prabhas, which means shine or sparkle. The absolute first Somnath sanctuary is supposed to be built by the moon and it was all gold.
Malikarjuna
It is the specific area where Shiva and Parvati visited their child Kartik, living there out of shame that he failed his parent’s test.
The second Jyotirlinga on the list is Mallikarjuna that is established in Andhra Pradesh. According to Skanda Purana, Shiva and Parvati were not able to choose which son of theirs should get mated first. So they decided to plot a competition between both their sons, Ganesha and Kartikeya. The one who would be apt to do this first will get married first.
Lord Kartikeya took his peacock and started the voyage but Ganesh chose to go round his parents and stated that they are his world. Shiva and Parvati were very charmed with this so they decided to make Lord Ganesha mated first. And he got married to Riddhi and Siddhi, the daughters of Viswaroopan.
Mahakaleshwar temple is situated in the holy city of Ujjain on the banks of river Kshipra in between the Mahakal forest. The temple is one of the most worshiped temples in Central India. While moving here we would get many mythological explanations that how this Jyotirlinga came into existence. The most relevant one is of a five-year boy named Shrikar who was completely allured after seeing devotion of King Chandrasena of Ujjain toward Lord Shiva. Shrikar then took a stone and started worshiping it as Shiva.
Seeing this many people tried to stop him but instead of getting stopped he got more enthusiasm in his devotion towards Lord Shiva. Pleased by devotion of Shrikar Lord Shiva took the form of Jyotirlinga and resided in the name of Mahakaleshwar in the Mahakal forest. This place is also renowned as one of the seven “Mukti-Sthal” where a human can extricate to moksha.
Omkareshwar
There are many stories that spin around this shrine. Faiths say Lord Shiva had emerged here to conquer the danavas on the request of the gods. The jyotirlinga established in madhya pradesh, in khandwa district.
Some state he had shown up here on solicitation of mount Vindya and favored him that he would turn into a strong mountain except if he quits influencing Lord Shiva’s devotees. Some state that ruler Mandhata used to worship Lord Shiva here. Lord Shiva was so satisfied with him that he chose to dwell here.
Baidyanath
You could’ve also heard as Baidyanath or Vaijnath as it is the same temple. It is situated in Deoghar, Jharkhand. Devotees believe that all worries and fear disappear if someone truly prays here within. He attains his moksha i.e. salvation worshiping here with full determination. Once, the demon King Ravana meditated for Lord Shiva and asked him to come to reside in Sri Lanka which was his kingdom. For this, he tried to take Kailash mountain with him, but Lord Shiva cursed it. Ravana asked for his prayers and in return was given of the twelve Jyotirlingas with a condition that if any of the Jyotirling would be grounded anywhere would root there permanently. Demon Ravana got it and lifted the Jyotirlinga and moved towards his kingdom.
While in a way, Lord Varuna entered Ravana’s body and and he felt urgent need to relieve himself. Lord Vishnu appeared in the form of a young man and offered to help Ravana by holding the lingam in the meantime. However Lord Vishnu placed the lingam on ground and it got rooted there. Watching this Ravana in anger of not taking Lord Shiva with him, shred down his nine heads. Seeing this Lord Shiva came to him and joined his all nine head as a Vaidya (one who practices on Ayurvedic Medicines). Therefore, the Jyotirlinga is named as Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga.
It is accepted to be established by the Pandavas, at the specific area where they saw Lord Shiva and were blessed by him and free of their transgressions.
Pandavas needed to dispose of their sins with the goal that they could go to Swarg (heaven). Notwithstanding, they were informed that they could do so just on the off chance that they could see Lord Shiva and be blessed by him. So they began their hunt. After a long pursuit, they at long last saw Lord Shiva at this spot where the Jyotirlinga is built today.
The Lord said that he will remain in this spot as a three-sided molded Jyotirlinga. This is one of the most well-known Jyotirlingas in India and is additionally a sacred spot. Consistently a colossal number of devotees visit this Kedarnath Temple every year.
Bhimashankar
You can visit this temple in Sahyadri region of Pune, Maharastra. It is situated beside the banks of river Bhima and is also believed to be the source of this river. The story of this temple is related to the Kumbhakarna’s son Bhima. When Bhima got to know that he was the son of Demon Kumbhakaran who was killed by Lord Vishnu in the form of Lord Rama, he decided to take revenge against Lord Vishnu. He performed penance to highlight himself in front of Lord Brahma to get heavy powers from him. Seeing his prayers Lord Brahma fulfilled his wishes. Soon after getting all the powers, he started destruction on the earth.
He also had a fight with Kamrupeshwar a devotee Lord Shiva and put him behind the bars. This angered many Gods and they worshiped in front of Lord Shiva to finish this demon. A war went on between the two and Lord Shiva dust him out. All Gods asked Lord Shiva to make this place as his home. This made him get a new form known as Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga. It is also being believed that the sweat from Lord Shiva which came out during the war is Bhima river only.
Rameshwar
Rameshwar temple is one of the most famous in the world. This temple is the southernmost of all the Jyotirlingas. This temple is located on the island of Rameshwaram, off Sethu Coast of Tamil Nadu. The temple is famous for its Architecture. Not only in Bollywood even Hollywood films have some glimpse of this temple in the movies. It’s long corridor, 36 theerthams are all filled with art which resembles the culture of South India. This art is even compared with that of Banaras temple.
This temple is fully associated with Ramayana. Lord Rama while traveling towards Sri Lanka in search of his wife Sita rested at Rameshwaram and were drinking water near the seashore. He heard the proclamation “How could you drink water without my permission?”. After listening this Lord Rama made an idol with the sand and worshiped it and asked blessings so that he could defeat Ravana. He received the blessings from Lord Shiva which than turn into a Jyotirlinga and resided in Rameshwaram.
Kashi Vishwanath
Followers state this city can never be pulverized. It is where Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh, trinity live simultaneously. There is no transgression or sin on earth that can’t be washed here. It also has a fascinating story. The interpretation implies the “Ruler of the universe”. The city is the most established on the planet and has a 3,000 fife multi-year old history. It is said that this city can never be demolished.
The most prominent among all the other Jyotirlingas is the Kashi Viswanath Temple. Those who follow Hindu mythology would’ve surely visited or will visit here. This temple is situated near the bank of river Ganga in the city of Banaras. People believe that if a body is burnt here after death, his soul would be sent to heaven, that’s why the burning ghats never goes out of fire. Many old age homes are situated beside the ghats where old people come and live after leaving their family to have their last breath in the holy city. So that they can leave this world in peace.
Grishneshwar
The Grishneshwar temple is situated in a village Verul, 20 km from Daulatabad, near Aurangabad in Maharastra. If Ajanta and Ellora caves are in your planned trip then you must visit this temple as this temple is very near to the famous tourist spot. Ahilyabai Holkar, one of the famous artist who also rebuilt the famous Kashi Viswanath Temple in Varanasi used his hand in making this beautiful structure.
This temple is also known by Kusumeswarar or Grushmeswara or Grishneswara or Ghusmeswara as been pronounced among natives. Shiva Purana states that, there was a married couple Sudharm and Sudeha who lived on the Devnagari mountain. But they had no infants so Sudeha allowed Sudharm to marry her own sister Ghusma.
Sudharm and Ghusma had a beautiful boy which made her parents proud and this happiness acted as a thorn in the eyes of Sudeha. Without taking this further, Sudeha threw the baby into a lake. Sudharm used to discharge 101 lingams in the same lake. After getting to know about his missing child, he went to the lake and prayed to Lord Shiva to get his son back. After listening to his prayer Lord Shiva showed his presence with the baby Sudharm had lost.
The Lord returned his child and disclosed Sudeha’s evil deeds to of him. Hearing this instead of getting Sudeha punished her prayed God to release her. This pleased Lord Shiva for Sudharm’s generosity. Sudharm also requested God to reside there in the form of Jyotirlinga and named Ghushmeshwar.
Nageshwar
The Nageshwar temple is well known as Nagnath Temple among the local. This temple can be reached by taking the route towards Gomati Dwarka and the Bait Dwarka. This Jyotirlinga is renowned for having a special boon of having protection from all types of poison. History defines about a devotee named Supriya who was captured by a demon name Daaruka.
He imprisoned Supriya into his kingdom known as Darukavana with many others in the bars. She advised everyone present there to recite “Om Nama Shivaaya” with every breath. This information got into the eyes of the demon. He immediately ran towards the prison to kill Supriya. But, before he could do anything Lord Shiva appeared in between and killed the demon. This made in the formation of Nageshwar Jyotirlinga.
Triambakeshwar
Trimbakeshwar Temple is located 30kms from Nashik in Maharastra. This temple is believed to be the source of river Godavari also known as “Goutami Ganga”, the most sacred river in Southern India. According to Shiva Purana, it was a request from river Godavari, Gautam Rishi with many other Gods to reside Lord Shiva here as Trimbakeshwar.
Once, Gautam Rishi was given boon from Lord Varuna with a power of unlimited supply food and grains. This made feel jealous among other gods. So they decided to send a cow to his grain stock. Gautam Rishi seeing the cow killed him accidentally. After realizing his mistake he went to Lord Shiva to clean his sins and purify the premises. Lord Shiva after hearing his prayer asked Ganga to flow through the land to clean all his sins and resided beside the river in the form of Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the history of the twelve Jyotirlinga temples in India reflects the profound spiritual and cultural significance of Lord Shiva in Hinduism. These sacred sites, believed to be manifestations of Shiva's divine light, have been venerated for centuries, drawing pilgrims from across the world. Each Jyotirlinga, from Somnath in the west to Rameshwar in the south, is steeped in unique legends and historical narratives, contributing to the rich tapestry of India's religious heritage.
The enduring devotion to these temples underscores the timeless appeal of Shiva's worship and the integral role these holy sites play in the spiritual lives of millions. Through the continued reverence and preservation of the Jyotirlingas, the essence of India's ancient traditions and the universal quest for divine connection are perpetuated for future generations.
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