If you are planning to take a tour of some Hindu religious places, then you should surely consider the jyotirlingas in India. A jyotirlinga is a place where you will find yourself in a very calming state of mind.
Now, you must have heard a lot about the jyotirlingas, right? Did you know that there are 12 jyotirlingas in India?
Moreover, these jyotirlingas will give you a very spiritual and divine journey as well.
What Are Jyotirlingas?
Now, the question arises what is so special about these religious places? Now, this word is made up of two words- ‘Jyothi’ and ‘Linga’.
But, you might be wondering what do these 12 divine places signify? These Hindu religious places are where you can find Lord Shiva. And, interestingly you will find a different form of Lord Shiva in each of these 12 places.
Furthermore, each word has a separate meaning as well. Now, ‘Jyothi’ means light or radiance, on the other hand, ‘Linga’ means image. And this means that you can see different images of Lord Shiva here.
12 Jyotirlingas In India
There are 12 jyotirlingas all across the country. And if you are a person who wishes to visit all these 12 jyotirlingas in India, here is everything you need to know about it.
Somnath
The Somnath jyotirlinga is located in Prabhas-Kshetra, Gujarat. Here, Lord Shiva resides in the form of Lord Somnath.
Did you know why he took this form? Well, this was to remove the curse on Lord Brahma’s son, Prajapati Daksh is given by the Moon.
You can visit this temple every day from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Nageshwar
The Nageshwar jyotirlinga is situated in the city of Dwarka. Although this city is known for Lord Krishna, this Lord Shiva’s temple is also very popular.
Here, the statue of Lord Shiva is 25 m tall. Moreover, you can also view the Arabian sea from this temple.
You can visit this temple every day from 5 am.m to 9 p.m.
Bhimashankar
You can guess from the name as it suggests, that this temple is located on the bank of the river Bhima. Furthermore, this temple was built by Kumbhakarna’s son Bhima.
Although you can visit this temple from 4:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 4 p.m to 9:30 p.m, the best time to visit here is during Maha Shivratri.
Additionally, this temple also shows the love and devotion between Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. And to show this devotion between them, there is also a Parvati temple nearby.
Trimbakeshwar
This Lord Shiva temple is located at the Brahmagiri mountain, in Maharashtra. This mountain is where the River Godavari originated.
And this is the place where Gautami Ganga prayed to Lord Shiva to reside here. And, hence, there is also a jyotirlinga temple here.
You can visit this temple any day between 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
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Grishneshwar
This is a jyotirlinga that is located in Aurangabad. It is also located near the Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves.
Moreover, you will be amazed to see the inscriptions of the different figures of various gods and goddesses. Additionally, these are also done on the red stones here.
You can visit this temple every day between 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Vaidyanath
This temple is located in Jharkhand. Did you know that the history of this temple is related to Ravana?
Well, one day Ravana asked Lord Shiva to come to Lanka. But, Lord Shiva said that he will do so only if Ravana manages to carry a Shiv linga all the way to Lanka without putting it down or dropping it.
This was when Lord Vishnu tried to use his magic that caused Ravana to drop the SHiva linga here.
Now, you can visit this temple every day from 4 am to 3:30 pm and 6 pm to 9 pm.
Mahakaleshwar
Located in Madhya Pradesh, this temple was made by a 5 years old boy named Shikar. Lord Shiva resides here in the form of Mahakal.
Furthermore, this is also one of the 7 Mukti-sthals in India. And you can visit this temple every day from 4 a.m. to 11 pm.m
Omkareshwar
This is another jyotirlinga that is located on an island called Shivapuri, Madhya Pradesh. Did you know that this was one of the places where the war took place between Gods and the demons thousands of years ago?
And that was when all the lords prayed to Lord Shiva for help. And, listening to their prayers, Lord Shiva appeared in the form of Omkareshwar.
Now, you can visit this temple every day from 5 am to 10 pm.
Kashi Vishwanath
Kashi Vishwanath is called the Golden Temple of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. This temple was made by Ahilyabai Holkar.
You can visit this temple every day between 2:30 am to 11 pm.
Kedarnath
A Lord Shiva temple that is located at a height of 1200 feet is also among the 12 jyotirlingas.
Since this temple is located at such a height, this temple is only open during May and June. And to reach this temple, you will need to cross River Ganga and River Yamuna.
Rameshwaram
This jyotirlinga is located in Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu. Additionally, it is also among the four Dhams in India.
This is one of the most popular temples in the Southern part of India. Furthermore, it is believed that this is where Lord Ram worshipped Lord SHiva before crossing the Indian ocean to reach Lanka.
Now, you can visit this temple every day from 5 am to 1 pm and 3 pm to 9 pm.
Mallikarjuna
This jyotirlinga is located in Andra Pradesh, at the peak of the Shri Sail Mountain. Furthermore, this temple is also known for its architecture and beautiful sculptures.
Here, you will find the deities of Lord Shiva, Parvati, and Bhramaramba as well. And, you can visit this temple every day from 4:30 am to 10 pm.
So, if you are thinking of visiting some religious places, you should try visiting these 12 jyotirlingas at least once in your life.
