Pages

Friday, February 24, 2012

In case you are interested in the 12 Jyotir lingams

I have listed these Jyothir lingams only in the alphabetical order. I don't believe in the theory that one is superior to the other. We were blessed by all these Kshetras !!!

1. Bhimshankar (Maharashtra)

The legend of Shiva destroying the demon Tripurasura. Bhimashankar is located in the Sahyadri hills of Maharashtra, accessed from Pune

2. Grishnewar (Maharastra)

Located in the vicinity of the tourist town of Ellora, which has several rock cut monuments from the 1st millennium CE.

3. Kasi Viswanath (Uttar Pradesh)
Located in Benares/ Varanasi

Adi Sankaracharya, Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekananda, Goswami Tulsidas, Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Gurunanak have visited this site.

A visit to the temple and a bath in the river Ganga is one of many methods believed to lead one on a path to Moksha (liberation). There is also a tradition that one should give up at least one desire after a pilgrimage to the temple, and the pilgrimage would also include a visit to the temple at Rameswaram in South India, where people take the water samples of the Ganga to perform prayer at the temple and bring back the sand from near that temple (We did this ganga water and the sand).

4. Kedarnath (Uttarakhand)

The Northernmost of the Jyotirlingas. Kedarnath, nestled in the snow clad Himalayas. It is accessible only on foot, six months in a year.

5. Mahakaleswar (MP)

The Mahakaleshwar temple at Ujjain is located near a lake; it has five levels, one of which is underground.The temple itself is located in a spacious courtyard surrounded by massive walls. The shikhara is adorned with sculptural finery. Brass lamps light the way to the underground sanctum. It is believed that prasada offered here to the deity can be re-offered unlike all other shrines.

6. Mallikarjuna (Andhra Pradesh)

Located in Srisailam near Kurnool and Sri Aadi Sankaracharya composed his Sivanandalahiri here.

7. Nageswara (Gujarat)

Near Dwaraka. Two other sites in India, one near Audhgram near Purna in Andhra Pradesh and another near Almora in Uttar Pradesh also enshrine temples to Nageswara Jyotirlingam.

8. Omkareswar (MP)

Located on the Mandhata hill on the banks of the Narmada. The river Narmada branches into two and forms an island Mandhata or Shivapuri in the center. The shape of the island resembles that of the visual representation of the Omkara sound, Om. There are two temples here, one to Omkareshwar and one to Amareshwar.

9. Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu)

Six worship services are carried out each day, the first being at 5am. Special worship services are carried out every Friday.

Festivals: Rama's worship is commemorated in the month of Aani (June 15-July 15); two annual Bhrammotsavams are celebrated in Aadi and in Maasi. These are Tamil months.

There are 36 Theerthams in Rameswaram of which 22 are in the temple and these waters are said to possess medicinal properties. Bathing in these is considered to be of great significance. The Agni theertham refers to the ocean while the Koti theertham is located within the temple itself.

10. Somnath (Gujarat)

Located at Prabhas Patan in Saurashtra in Gujarat
Somnath is considered to be the first of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Shiva. It is situated on the south coast of Saurashtra.
Entrance to the town of Somnath is through the Junagadh Gate . There are also the remains of an ancient Sun temple at Somnath.

11. Trayambakeswar (Maharastra)

Tryambakeshwar located near at a distance of about 30 km from Nasik in Maharashtra. Tryambakeshwar is the source of the river Godavari. This is an ancient shrine, however the current structure is a result of the reconstruction efforts undertaken by the Peshwa Balaji Bajirao in mid 18th century.

The Shivalingam is seen in a depression on the floor of the sanctum; water constantly oozes out from the top of the Shivalingam.Usually, the Shivalingam is covered with a silver mask, and on festive occasions with a golden mask with five faces, each with a golden crown.

12. Vaidyanath (Jharkhand)

Vaidyanath is located at Deogarh in the Santal Parganas region of Bihar.
Some believe Vaidyanath near Parali in Andhra Pradesh to be the Vaidyanatha Jyotirlingam. Others claim that Kiragram in Punjab and Dabhoi in Gujarat are the Vaidyanatha Jyotirlinga temples.

In the temple complex are twenty two other temples. The Baijnath or Vaidyanath temple faces east. The top of the Shiva Lingam is slightly broken, the legend goes that it chipped away when Ravana tried to uproot it. Near the temple is the Sivaganga lake.