Mahadev. Shiva. The Destroyer of Evil. Called by different names but ultimately the Supreme Being. Being a Hindu, most people come across the term “Jyotirlinga” quite a few times while growing up. Shiva’s Jyotirlinga is highly revered among the Hindus. A Jyotirlinga is a shrine where Lord Shiva is worshipped in the form of a Jyotirlingam. Now you would ask what a Jyotirlingam is? It is the radiant sign of The Almighty. A Jyotirlinga is a holy representation of Lord Shiva. The word ‘Jyoti’ means light and ‘linga’ means sign. Jyotirlinga is the light of Lord Shiva.
Overview
According to a Shaiva legend from the Shiva Purana, once, Brahma (the god of creation) and Vishnu (the god of preservation) had an argument over their supremacy. To settle the debate, Shiva pierced the three worlds, appearing as a huge, infinite pillar of light, the jyotirlinga. Brahma and Vishnu decided to ascend and descend across a pillar of light respectively, to find the end of the light in either direction. According to some iterations, Vishnu assumed his Varaha avatar to achieve this task, while Brahma rode a hamsa (swan). Brahma lied that he had discovered the end of the light, producing a ketakī flower as proof, while Vishnu admitted that he could not find the end of the light from his journey. The dishonesty of Brahma angered Shiva, causing him to curse the creator deity that he would not be worshipped; he also declared that Vishnu would be eternally worshipped for his honesty. The jyotirlinga shrines are regarded to be the temples where Shiva appeared as a fiery column of light.
All 12 Jyotirlinga
- Somnath – Gir Somnath In Gujarat
- Nageshwar – Daarukavanam In Gujarat
- Bhimashankar – Pune In Maharashtra
- Trimbakeshwar – Nashik In Maharashtra
- Grishneshwar – Aurangabad In Maharashtra
- Vaidyanath – Deoghar In Jharkhand
- Mahakaleshwar – Ujjain In Madhya Pradesh
- Omkareshwar – Khandwa In Madhya Pradesh
- Kashi Vishwanath – Varanasi In Uttar Pradesh
- Kedarnath – Kedarnath In Uttarakhand
- Rameshwaram – Rameswaram Island In Tamil Nadu
- Mallikarjuna – Srisailam In Andhra Pradesh
