Jyotirlinga

A Jyotirlinga or Jyotirlingam, is a devotional representation of the Supreme God Shiva. Jyoti means 'radiance' and lingam the 'Image or Sign' of Shiva; Jyotir Lingam thus means the Radiant Sign of The Almighty Shiva. There are twelve traditional Jyotirlinga shrines in India.

According to Shiva Mahapurana, once Brahma (the god of creation) and Vishnu (the form of God during Preservation) had an argument over supremacy of creation. To settle the debate, Supreme God Shiva pierced the three worlds appearing as a huge Infinite Pillar of Light, the Jyotirlinga which later cooled into the Holy Mountain Annamalai (on which the Temple of Arunachaleshvara is located). Vishnu and Brahma split their ways to downwards and upwards respectively to find the end of the light in either direction. Brahma lied that he found out the end, while Vishnu conceded his defeat. This lie of Brahma angered Shiva making him curse Brahma that even though he is the creator of the universe he would not be worshipped. The jyotirlinga is the Supreme Siva, partless reality, out of which Shiva appeared in another Form, Lingodbhava. The jyothirlinga shrines are Temples where Shiva appeared as a fiery column of light.

Originally there were believed to be 64 jyothirlingas while 12 of them are considered to be very auspicious and holy. Each of the twelve jyothirlinga sites take the name of the presiding deity, each considered a different manifestation of Shiva. At all these sites, the primary image is lingam representing the beginningless and endless Stambha pillar, symbolizing the infinite nature of Shiva.

The twelve jyothirlinga are:

1.     Somnath in Gir Somnath, Gujarat

2.     Mallikarjuna in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh

3.     Mahakaleswar in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh

4.     Omkareshwar in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh

5.     Kedarnath in Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand

6.     Bhimashankar in Pune, Maharashtra

7.     Vishwanath in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

8.     Trimbakeshwar in Nashik, Maharashtra

9.     Vaidyanath in Parli, Maharashtra

10.  Nageshwara in Dwaraka, Gujarat

11.  Ramanathaswamy in Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu

12.  Grishneshwar in Ellora, Maharashtra 

Sanskrit Sloka

The following sloka (द्वादशज्योतिर्लिंगस्तोत्रम्Dvādaśa Jyotirliṅga Stotram) describes the 12 Jyotirlingas:

Sanskrit	transliteration	translation
सौराष्ट्रेसोमनाथंचश्रीशैलेमल्लिकार्जुनम्।	Saurāṣṭre Somanāthaṃ ca Śrīśaile Mallikārjunam	Somanath in Saurashtra and Mallikarjunam in Shri-Shailam;
उज्जयिन्यांमहाकालमोङ्कारममलेश्वरम्॥	Ujjayinyāṃ Mahākālam Omkāram Mamleśhwaram	Mahakaal in Ujjain, Mamleshwar in Omkareshwar;
परल्यांवैद्यनाथंचडाकिन्यांभीमशङ्करम्।	Paraly Vaidyanāthaṃ cha Ḍākinyāṃ Bhīmaśhaṅkaram	Vaidyanath in Chitabhoomi,(Deogarh) Jharkhand or Parali in Maharashtra and Bhimashankaram in Dakinya;
सेतुबन्धेतुरामेशंनागेशंदारुकावने॥	Setubandhe tu Rāmeśaṃ Nāgeśhaṃ Dārukāvane	Ramesham (Rameshwaram) in Sethubandh, Nagesham in Daruka-Vana;
वाराणस्यांतुविश्वेशंत्र्यम्बकंगौतमीतटे।	Vārāṇasyāṃ tu Viśveśaṃ Tryambakaṃ Gautamītaṭe	Vishwesham (Vishvanath) in Vanarasi, Tryambakam at bank of the river Gautami (Godavari);
हिमालयेतुकेदारंघुश्मेशंचशिवालये॥	Himālaye tu Kedāraṃ Ghuśmeśaṃ ca Śivālaye	Kedar (Kedarnath) in Himalayas and Ghrishnesh (Ghrishneshwar) in Shivalaya (Verul).
एतानिज्योतिर्लिङ्गानिसायंप्रातःपठेन्नरः।	etāni jyotirliṅgāni sāyaṃ prātaḥ paṭhennaraḥ	One who recites these Jyotirlingas every evening and morning
सप्तजन्मकृतंपापंस्मरणेनविनश्यति॥	saptajanmakṛtaṃ pāpaṃ smaraṇena vinaśyati	is relieved of all sins committed in past seven lives.
एतेशांदर्शनादेवपातकंनैवतिष्ठति।	eteśāṃ darśanādeva pātakaṃ naiva tiṣṭhati	One who visits these, gets all his wishes fulfilled
कर्मक्षयोभवेत्तस्ययस्यतुष्टोमहेश्वराः॥:	karmakṣayo bhavettasya yasya tuṣṭo maheśvarāḥ	and one's karma gets eliminated as Maheshwara gets satisfied to the worship.

The names and the locations of 12 other Jyotirlinga's are mentioned in the Shiva Purana (Satarudra Samhita, Ch.42/2-4). These shrines are:

S. No.	Jyotirlinga	State	Location	Description
1	Somnath	Gujarat	Veraval, Saurashtra	Somnath is traditionally considered the first pilgrimage site: the Dwadash Jyotirlinga pilgrimage begins with the Somnath Temple. The temple, that was destroyed and re-built sixteen times, is held in reverence throughout India and is rich in legend, tradition, and history. It is located at Prabhas Patan (Somnath - Veraval) in Saurashtra region of Gujarat state in western India.
2	Mallikārjuna Swāmi	Andhra Pradesh	Srisailam	Mallikārjuna, also called Srisaila, is located on a mountain in Kurnool District in Rayalaseema. It enshrines Mallikarjuna in an ancient temple that is architecturally and sculpturally rich. It is a place where Shakti peetha and Jyotirlingam are together. Adi Shankara composed his Shivananda Lahari here.
3	Mahakaleshwar	Madhya Pradesh	Ujjain	Mahakal, Ujjain (or Avanti) in Madhya Pradesh is home to the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga temple. The Lingam at Mahakal is believed to be Swayambhu, the only one of the 12 Jyotirlingams to be so. It is also the only one facing south and also the temple to have a Shree Rudra Yantra perched upside down at the ceiling of the Garbhagriha (where the Shiv Lingam sits). It is a place where Shakti peeta and Jyotirlingam are together.
4	Omkareshwar	Madhya Pradesh	Omkareshwar	Omkareshwar is in Madhya Pradesh on an island in the Narmada River and home to a Jyotirlinga shrine and the Mamaleshwar temple.
5	Kedarnath	Uttarakhand	Kedarnath	Kedarnath in Uttarakhand is revered as the northernmost and the closest Jyotirlinga to Lord Shiva's eternal abode of Mount Kailash. Kedarnath forms a part of the smaller Char Dham pilgrimage circuit of Hinduism. Kedarnath, nestled in the snow-clad Himalayas, is an ancient shrine, rich in legend and tradition. It is accessible only for six months a year. It is also one of the Padal Petra Stalam of Vada Naadu mentioned in Thevaaram. Shiva assumed the form of wild boar and dived into the earth at Kedarnath to emerge at Pashupatinath. Pure ghee is applied at Kedarnath lingam as the boar was injured.
6	Bhimashankar	Maharashtra	Bhimashankar	Bhimashankar is very much debated. There is a Bhimashankara temple near Pune (pictured) in Maharashtra, which was referred to as Daakini country, but Kashipur in Uttarakhand was also referred to as Daakini country in ancient days and a Bhimashkar Temple known as Shree Moteshwar Mahadev is present there. Another Bhimashankar is in the Sahyadri range of Maharashtra. The Bhimashankar temple near Guwahati, Assam is the jyotirlinga according to Sivapuran. According to Linga Purana, Bhimasankar temple in Bhimpur near Gunupur of Rayagada district in South Orissa is also believed as Bhimasankar Jyotirlinga, which is situated at the western part of the holy Mahendragiri mountains and at the river bank of Mahendratanaya(which is also believed as the Daakini area by many historian), was excavated in the year 1974, having quadrangular Shakti around the Linga and decorated by a Upavita as per the puran.
7	Kashi Vishwanath Temple	Uttar Pradesh	Varanasi	The Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh is home to the Vishwanath Jyotirlinga shrine, which is perhaps the most sacred of Hindu shrines. It is also one of the Padal Petra Stalam of Vada Naadu mentioned in Thevaaram. The temple is situated in Varanasi, the holiest city for Hindus, where a Hindu is expected to make a pilgrimage at least once in his life, and if possible, also pour the remains of cremated ancestors on the River Ganges. The temple stands on the western bank of the holy river Ganges, and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas. In fact, it is a place where Shakti peeta and Jyotirlingam are together. It is the holiest of all Shiva temples. The main deity is known by the name Vishwanath or Vishweshwara meaning Ruler of the universe. The temple town, is considered the oldest living city in the world, with 3500 years of documented history, is also called Kashi.
8	Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple	Maharashtra	Trimbakeshwar, near Nashik	The Trimbakeshwar Temple, near Nasik in Maharashtra, is a Jyotirlinga shrine associated with the origin of the Godavari River.
9	Nageshvara Jyotirlinga	Gujarat	Near Jamnagar	Nageshvara Jyotirlinga is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines mentioned in the Shiva Purana and the Dvādaśa Jyotirliṅga Stotram ,says one of the jyotirlinga namely Nagesh is situated in Daruka-Vana and most probably the present day Dwarka region. Other claims to the Nagesh Jyotirlinga status come from - Aundha Naganath (Hingoli District of Maharashtra) and Jageshwar (Almora District of Uttarakhand)
10	Baidyanath Temple	Jharkhand	Deoghar	Baidyanath Jyotirlinga temple, also known as Baba vaidyanath dham and vaidyanath dham is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the most sacred abodes of Shiva. It is located in Deoghar in the Santhal Pargana division of the state of Jharkhand, India. It is a temple complex consisting of the main temple of Baba vaidyanath, where the Jyotirlinga is installed, and 21 other temples. or Parali in Maharashtra According to Hindu beliefs, the demon king Ravana worshipped Shiva at the current site of the temple to get the boons that he later used to wreak havoc in the world. Ravana offered his ten heads one after another to Shiva as a sacrifice. Pleased with this, Shiva descended to cure Ravana who was injured. As he acted as a doctor, he is referred to as Vaidhya ("doctor"). From this aspect of Shiva, the temple derives its name. The Other claim for Vaidyanath is from Parli in Maharashtra.
11	Rameshwar	Tamil Nadu	Rameswaram	Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu is home to the vast Ramalingeswarar Jyotirlinga temple and is revered as the southernmost of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of India. It enshrines the Rameśvara ("Lord of Rama") pillar. It is also one of the Padal Petra Stalam of Pandya Naadu mentioned in Thevaaram.
12	Grishneshwar	Maharashtra	Ellora	Grishneshwar temple, sometimes referred to as the Dhushmeshwar temple, is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines mentioned in the Shiva Purana