सौराष्ट्रेसोमनाथं च श्रीशैले मल्लिकार्जुनम्।
Sanskrit shloka that lists the 12 Jyotirlingas.
उज्जयिन्यांमहाकालमोङ्कारममलेश्वरम्॥
परल्यांवैद्यनाथं च डाकिन्यां भीमशङ्करम्।
सेतुबन्धेतु रामेशं नागेशं दारुकावने॥
वाराणस्यांतु विश्वेशं त्र्यम्बकं गौतमीतटे।
हिमालयेतु केदारं घुश्मेशं च शिवालये॥
एतानिज्योतिर्लिङ्गानि सायं प्रातः पठेन्नरः।
सप्तजन्मकृतंपापं स्मरणेन विनश्यति॥
What Linga Indicates?
Lingam indicates recognizable proof, an image through which you can distinguish the actuality. What isn’t obvious yet can be distinguished – that is the lingam. At the time when an infant is conceived, how would you know whether the infant is male or female? Just through the regenerative organ, would you be able to distinguish whether the infant is a male or a female? This is the reason for calling the reproduction system linga.
In the same way, how would you recognize the Lord of this Creation? The sign by which you recognize both the male and female structures, consolidating them to shape one single image to know the Lord in this Creation, is Shivalinga. It is an image of the generative force.
Why do people worship the Shivalinga?
Devotions of Shivalinga are viewed as the top worship and priority for the devotees of Lord shiva. Love of every single other structure is viewed as optional or secondary. The importance of the Shivalinga is that It is the shining light (fire) type of the Supreme – cemented to simplify its worship. It speaks to the genuine idea of God – shapeless basically and accepting different structures as It wills.
Devotees accept that the Shivalinga causes them to concentrate and go past their cognizance, so they were kept in Shiva sanctuaries. It is likewise loved as the creator of the universe.
Jyotirlingas are deemed the most sacred Shivalingas, and millions of devotees visit each year to worship them. Jyotirlingas are a respectful portrayal of Lord Shiva. Jyoti signifies ‘light’, and linga signifies ‘mark’. So jyotirlinga implies the ‘Radiant mark or emblem of Lord Shiva.
Stories behind the 12 Jyotirlingas:
1) Somnath, Jyotirlinga:
Decimated and re-assembled sixteen times, it is accepted that even today, on a moonless night, Chandra plunges into the blessed water of the ocean here and begins to sparkle once again. It is said that the Moon appealed to Lord Shiva and set up this Jyotirlinga without anyone else, thus getting the name. Soma means moon.
The moon was coupled to be around 27 daughters of Daksha; still, he didn’t focus on the entirety of his 27 brides; he dedicated his time just to Rohini. Seeing this, Daksha gets irritated and denounces Moon that he will lose all his gloss and shine and fade away. Moon begins to blur; thus, he comes down to this spot alongside Rohini and starts appealing to Lord Shiva. Daksha is additionally the father in law of Lord Shiva. Shiva, at that point expels his revile, and Moon takes a dunk in the river Saraswati and begins to shine. Subsequently, this spot gets the name Prabhas, which means shine or sparkle.
2) Mallikarjuna, Jyotirlinga:
The second Jyotirlinga on the list is Mallikarjuna, established in Andhra Pradesh. According to Skanda Purana, Shiva and Parvati were not able to choose which son of theirs should get married first. So they decided to plot a competition between their sons, Ganesha and Kartikeya. The one who would be apt to do this will get married first. Lord Kartikeya took his peacock and started the voyage, but Ganesh chose to go around his parents and stated that they are his world. Shiva and Parvati were very charmed by this, so they got Lord Ganesha married first. And he got married to Riddhi and Siddhi, the daughters of Viswaroopan. It is the specific area where Shiva and Parvati visited their child, Kartik, living there out of shame that he failed his parent’s test.
3) Mahakaleshwar, Jyotirlinga:
The Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain is a third Jyotirlinga and is exceptionally mainstream. It is an unusually sacrosanct spot located on Rudra Sagar’s bank. This place was once managed by a ruler named Chandrasena, a big devotee of Lord Shiva. One day this realm was invaded by lord Ripudamana, who had an evil spirit with him named Dushan. Dushan destroyed the Kingdom, and all the individuals prayed to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva appeared up and saved the city. The individuals of Ujjain requested him to remain there and secure them. Shiva couldn’t say NO and chose to stay in Ujjain to care for his devotees. It is accepted that Lord Shiva still lives in Mahakaleshwar.
4) Omkareshwar, Jyotirlinga:
Many stories spin around this shrine. Some say Lord Shiva had emerged here to conquer the Danavas on the request of the gods, and some state he had shown up here on solicitation of Mount Vindya and favoured him that he would turn into a strong mountain except if he quits influencing Lord Shiva’s devotees. Some state that ruler Mandhata used to worship Lord Shiva here. Lord Shiva was so satisfied with him that he chose to dwell here.
5) Kedarnath, Jyotirlinga:
According to Hindu mythology, the Pandavas needed to dispose of their sins after several killings in the fierce battle of Mahabharata. It is said that they wanted to go to Shiva for his forgiveness and with the goal that they could go to Swarg (heaven). They were informed that they could do so just on the off chance that they could see Lord Shiva and be blessed by him. So they began their hunt. After a long pursuit, they finally saw Lord Shiva at this spot where the Jyotirlinga is built today.
6) Bhimashankar, Jyotirlinga:
Bhima, an asura and also the son of Kumbhakaran, the brother of King Ravana was told by his mother, karkati that Lord Vishnu slaughtered his father in one of his incarnations (Lord Rama). Bhima vowed to take revenge for the demise of his father and began to pray Lord Brahma and was allowed gigantic powers from him. After getting powers, he began devastation and there was carnage everywhere. He took Kamarupeshwar, a major Shiva devotee, as a hostage. Kamarupeshwar denied when Bhima advised Kamarupeshwar to pray to him and not Lord Shiva this and thus Bhima raised his sword to kill him. This is when Lord Shiva appeared to rescue Kamarupeshwar and killed Bhima. All the divine Gods requested Lord Shiva to remain in their, thus agreeing to them, Shiva showed himself as the Bheemashankar Jyotirlinga.
7) Vishwanath, Jyotirlinga:
This place is located on the western banks of the mighty Ganga, Kashi, known as Benaras or Varanasi. It is hailed as the cradle of spirituality or the spiritual capital of India. Interestingly, Lord Shiva, who manifested as a fiery pillar to prove his might, split the earth’s surface and flashed to the skies. A segment of this dynamic light displayed in Jyotirlingams at twelve different sites. And Kashi is one of them. The “Vishwanath” implies the “Ruler of the universe”. The city is the oldest city in history and the most established on the planet.
8) Triambakeshwar, Jyotirlinga:
The main feature of Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple is that the jyotirlinga has three faces representing the gods – Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. Hence the name Trimbakeshwara (Three Lords).
It is said that Gautama Rishi lived on the Brahmagiri hills along with his wife, Ahalya. While there was famine everywhere else on the land, there were abundant food grains inside the rishi’s ashram. The gods blessed him because of his steadfast devotion and regular prayers. The other rishis felt jealous of him and sent a cow into his fields. It died when Gautama tried to frighten the cow away from his fields. For the sin of killing a cow, Gautama worshipped Lord Shiva to release the Ganga River and let her flow into his ashram to purify it. Pleased with his devotion, Lord Shiva released Ganga and told her to stay there. The Kushavarta, or sacred pond that exists now, is the source of the Godavari. (People worship the Godavari as Ganga.) The sage requested Lord Shiva also to make the site his abode, which the Lord did in the form of the jyotirlinga.
9) Vaidyanath, Jyotirlinga:
Ravana the Lanka pati was an immense devotee of ruler Shiva. Pleased with his bhakti, the lord Shiva gave Ravan a boon and allowed him to carry himself in a form of Shivling, as Ravan had requested him to accompany him to Sri Lanka. His only condition was that through his journey to Sri Lanka, not once should the Shivling be placed on the ground. Ravan started his journey and on his way, he asked a local boy Baiju (shepherd), to hold Shivling when he felt the need to answer nature’s call. He instructed Baiju not to keep the Shivling on the ground. When he returned, Ravan was aghast to see that Baiju had kept the Shivling on the ground because it was too heavy. When Ravana tried to lift the Shivling himself, he failed miserably. The Shivling was attached to the ground. Therefore, Baijnath Temple, devoted to Lord Shiva was built on the same spot. The Baijnath Temple was thus named after the shepherd boy Baiju.
10) Nageshwar, Jyotirlinga:
It is said that there was a Shiva devotee named Supriya who lived around here. She was once attacked and spellbound by an evil spirit named Daaruka. At the point when she began to call Lord Shiva, he showed up and executed Daaruka. After this occurrence, He lived here as Nageshwar Jyotirlinga.
11) Rameshwaram, Jyotirlinga:
It is believed that Lord Rama meditated here to exonerate his sin of killing Lord Ravana. The killing of Ravana is regarded as one of the highest acts of evil one can conduct because he was a Brahmin. While travelling from Sri Lanka to Ayodhya, Lord made the decision to ask Shiva, the Lord of Lords, for forgiveness. Since there wasn’t an idol or statue of Lord Shiva in Rameshwaram, he asked Noble Lord Hanuman to transport the sacred statue from the Himalayas.
Since Ravana was a Brahmin, the slaying is believed to be one of the highest forms of evil one can commit. When Lord was returning from Sri Lanka to Ayodhya, he decided to pray for forgiveness to the Lord of Lords, Shiva. In Rameshwaram, there was no statue or idol of Lord Shiva; he requested Noble Lord Hanuman to bring the holy statue from the Himalayas. Hanuman’s delayed arrival compelled Sita maa to construct Shiva’s sacred shrine out of sand from the sea. Later, when Hanuman Ji travelled from the Himalayas with a Shiva Lingam, it was also erected next to the shrine. As a result, there are two lingams in the holy temple: the Ramalingam, which Lady Sita created, and the Vishwalingam, which Lord Hanuman carried from the Great Kailash.
12) Ghrishneshwar, Jyotirlinga:
The story of Ghrishneshwar Jyotirlinga begins with the husband and wife couple Sudharma and Sudeha. Both were happy in married life. But the couple were deprived of happiness as Sudeha could never become a mother. Knowing this, Sudeha convinced her husband Sudharma to marry younger sister Ghrishna. Over time, Ghrishna gave birth to a child. Gradually, the seeds of jealousy started sprouting in Sudeha’s mind after seeing her husband, love, home and respect being snatched from her hand and seeing the opportunity killed the child. And put the child in the pond where Ghrishna used to immerse the Shivling of Lord Shiva. Sudharma’s second wife, Ghrishna, was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. Hearing the news of the boy, there was an outcry all around. Like every day, Ghrishna was worshipping Lord Shiva with a calm mind by making a Shivling, and when she went to immerse the Shivling in the pond, her son came out alive from the pond. Lord Shiva appeared to Ghushma and accepted Ghushma’s request, and started residing here in the form of Bholenath Shivling.
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