List of the 12 Jyotirlinga Temples of Shiva in India

Jyotirlinga Temples, also spelled Jyotirling temples or Jyotirlingam temples, are the 12 temples of Shiva where Lord Siva is worshipped in the form of a Jyotirlingam or "the Lingam of Light". These 12 Jyotirlinga Temples or Dwadasa Jyotirlinga shrines are situated on various parts of India. Here is a list of the 12 Jyotirlinga Temples of Shiva in India.

Twelve Jyotir Linga Temples - Dwadasa Jyothirlinga Temples of Shiva

Somnath Jyotirlinga Temple

Somnath Temple in Gujarat is the first among the 12 Jyotirlinga Temples of Shiva. The temple is located at Prabhas Patan or Somnath Patan, 7 km from Veraval in Saurashtra, on the western coast of Gujarat, India. Somnath literally means “The Protector of (the) Moon God” and legend has it that Lord Shiva Dev, pleased by the prayers of the Moon God (Soma), decided to rest in this Lingam till eternity, and thus the name Somnath Temple.

Mallikarjuna Temple in Srisailam

Srisailam Mallikarjuna Temple is the second of the 12 Jyotirlinga Temples of Shiva. Also known as Bhramaramba Mallikarjunaswamy Temple, the shrine is situated at Srisailam in Nallamala Hills, Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh. This ancient temple is dedicated to Lord Mallikarjuna Swamy (a form of Lord Siva) and Devi Bhramaramba (a form of Goddes Parvathi). Guru Adi Sankaracarya composed one of his famous works the Sivananda Lahari (Shivanandalahari) here.

Mahakaleshwar Temple in Madhya Pradesh

Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga Temple is situated in the historic city of Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, India. The Shiv Linga at Mahakal is believed to be Swayambhu linga, and the temple is one of the 12 Jyotirlingams in India. The idol of Mahakaleshwar faces south, and hence is known as Dakshinamurti or Dakshinamurthy – a form of Shiva as Guru (teacher) of all types of Knowledge, especially the Jnana.

Omkareshwar Temple in Madhya Pradesh

Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga Temple is situated on the banks of Narmada River, in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh, India. Omkareshwar Temple is located on an island called Mandhata or Shivapuri in the Narmada River. The most interesting feature is that the shaped of the island is in the form of the Hnidu Om (Aum) symbol. There are two Hindu temples here – one is dedicated to Omkareshwar and the second one Amareshwar.

Kedarnath Jyotirlinga Temple Uttarakhand

Kedarnath Jyotirlinga Temple is one of the holiest Lord Shiva temples in India, situated atop the Garhwal Himalayan range near the Mandakini River in Uttarakhand district. Kedarnath Temple is the northernmost among the 12 Jyotirlinga temples of Shiva. Kedarnath forms part of the Char Dham pilgrimage and is open only for six months in a year, starting on the Akshaya Tritiya day and closing on Bhai Bij or Bhai Dooj (October end or November first week).

Bhimashankar Temple in Maharashtra

Bhimashankar Temple is one of the 12 revered Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva. The temple is situated in Bhorgiri village, around 50 km north-west of Khed, in Maharashtra, India. Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga Temple is 110 km away from Pune.

Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Uttar Pradesh

Kashi Vishwanath Temple is one of the most sacred Hindu temples in India, dedicated to Lord Shiva. Kashi Vishwanath Jyotirlinga Temple is situated on the banks of holy Ganga River in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

Trimbakeshwar Temple in Maharashtra

Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple or Tryambakeshwar Temple is a famous Jyotirlinga temple situated in Trimbak town in Nashik District of Maharashtra, India. Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga Mandir is locates on the banks is the sacred Godavari River.

Vaidyanath Temple in Deogarh

Vaidyanath Temple also known as Baidyanath Temple is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga temples in India. The location of Vaidyanath Temple is much debated. Some people claim that the Vaidyanath temple located at Deogarh in Bihar is the Jyothirlinga shrine. While Baba Dham Temple or Baidyanath Dham Temple in Deoghar in the Santhal Parganas division of the state of Jharkhand, India.

Nageshwara Jyotirlinga Temple

Nageshvara Jyotirlinga Temple is regarded as the first Jyotirlinga Temple on the earth. There are 3 popular temples in India, which are regarded as identical to this Jyothirlinga temple. They are the Nageshwara temple situated on the route between Dwarka and Bet Dwarka Island, on the coast of Saurashtra in Gujarat; the Jageshwar temple near Almora in Uttarakhand state and the Nagnath temple in Aundha in Maharashtra state.

Ramanathaswamy Temple in Tamil Nadu

Rameswaram Ramanathaswamy Temple in Tamilnadu is the southernmost of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines of India. The ancient Rameshwar Temple is built in traditional Dravidian architecture and is dedicated to Ramalingeswarar (Lord Shiva). Situated on the in the island of Rameswaram, Rameswaram Ramanathaswamy Temple is believed to be the place where Lord Rama have prayed Lord Shiva to expiate any sins for killing demon king Ravana.

Grishneshwar Temple in Maharashtra

Grishneshwar Temple or Ghushmeshwar Temple is an ancient Hindu pilgrimage site located 11 km from Daulatabad, near Aurangabad in Maharashtra India. This Jyotirlinga Temple of Shiva is near the famous Ellora Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in India.

Most important Temples in Thiruvananthapuram: Sree Padmanabhaswamy, Attukal Bhagawati, Sreekanteswaram, Karikkakom Sri Chamundi, Pazhavangadi Ganapathi, Mukkalkkal Sri Varaham Bhagawati, Sri Pazhanchira Devi, Venkatachalapathy Temple Trivandrum

There are numerous temples in Trivandrum, the capital city of Kerala. Thiruvananthapuram, previously called as Trivandrum, is an ancient city with its tradition dating back to 1000 BC. ‘Thiruvananthapuram’ literally means the ‘City of Lord Anantha’. Anantha refers the serpent Shesha on whom Padmanabhan or Vishnu rests. The temple of Lord Vishnu reclining on Anantha, called the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple, is the important landmark of the city. Below is the list of the most important Temples in Trivandrum.

Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple Thiruvananthapuram

The ancient Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu, is the most dominating feature of Thiruvananthapuram district. Constructed in the Dravidian style by a maharaja of Travancore in 1733, the temple faces the Padma Theertham Tank. The idol of the deity is 18 ft in length and is seen reclining on Sri Anantha, the hooded snake. Lord Padmanabhaswamy is viewed through three different doors. The head and torso is seen through the first opening, the midriff and hands through the second door and the feet are visible through the third door. More information in Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple website.

Attukal Bhagawati Temple

Attukal Bhagavathy Temple is located at Attukal, about 2 km away from Trivandrum city. Attukal temple is a famous Trivandrum Temple, which is regarded as the ‘Sabarimala of Women’. According to traditions,

Somnath Temple: How and when to visit?

Facing the wide open Arabian Sea, the temple at Somnath is an imposing structure offering a spectacular sight to the beholders. At a distance of 79 km from Junagadh and 25 km from Chorwad is the temple of Somnath, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva. The legend says, Somnath was built by none other than the Moon God himself at the time of creation. The remains of the temple "braved the shocks of time and survived the attacks of destroyers." Facing the wide open Arabian Sea, the temple at Somnath is an imposing structure offering a spectacular sight to the beholders. At a distance of 79 km from Junagadh and 25 km from Chorwad is the temple of Somnath, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva. The legend says, Somnath was built by none other than the Moon God himself at the time of creation. The remains of the temple "braved the shocks of time and survived the attacks of destroyers."http://religiousprayer.blogspot.com/

It is as old as creation and its reference is available in Rig Ved also. It is said - the Moon (Soma) with his wife Rohini worshipped the deity of the temple, the Sparsha Ling, to free himself from the curse of his father-in-law, Daksha Prajapati. Lord Shiva pleased with his penance restored his light for half of the month. Hence the deity here is known as Someshwar or Somnath, Lord of the moon and the place as Prabhas. The Somnath is known as the Shrine Eternal as it has withstood the shocks of time and the attacks of the destroyers. It has risen like a phoenix each time it was destroyed or desecrated.http://religiousprayer.blogspot.com/


 The present temple is the seventh temple built on the original site. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the great son of India and its first Deputy Prime Minister took a pledge on November 13, 1947 for its reconstruction which was completed on December 1, 1995 when the President of India, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma dedicated it in the service of the nation. The present temple is built by Shree Somnath Trust which looks after the entire complex of Shree Somnath and its environs.
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Such a temple has not been constructed in India during the last 800 years. The Temple is situated at such a place that there is no land in between from Somnath sea-shore to Antartica, the South Pole. Such an inscription in Sanskrit is found on the ARROW-PILLAR erected on the sea-protection wall at the Somnath Temple.There is a grey-sand beach outside the temple which is part of the temple's lonely seaside charm.

The current temple was built to traditional designs on the original site by the sea. It contains one of the 12 sacred Shiva shrines known as jyoti linga. Photography is prohibited inside the temple, and you must leave your camera at the hut outside.http://religiousprayer.blogspot.com/

it is said to have originally been built out of gold by Somraj, the moon god, only to be rebuilt by Rawana in Silver, then by krishna in wood and by Bhimdev in Stone.

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Getting There

Air - The nearest airport from Somnath is Keshod 55 km away and linked to Mumbai. There are regular buses and taxis plying between Keshod and Somnath. Rail - The nearest railhead is seven km away at Veraval, which is connected by train to Ahmedabad and some other cities in Gujarat.

Road - State transport corporation buses and private coaches run regular service to other cities in the region. Somnath is connected by a good road network to the other nearby places like Veraval 7 km, Mumbai 889 km, Ahmedabad 400 km, Bhavnagar 266 km, Junagarh 85 km, and Porbandar 122 km.

source

Somnath.org