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Jyotirlinga

A Jyotirlinga (Sanskrit: ज्योतिर्लिङ्ग, romanized: Jyotirliṅga, lit. 'lingam of light')[1] or Jyotirlingam is a devotional representation of the Hindu god Shiva. The word is a Sanskrit compound of jyotis ('radiance') and linga ('sign'). The Śiva Mahāpurāṇam (also Shiva Purana) mentions 64 original jyotirlinga shrines in India. While the 12 Mahajyotirlingas are considered the holiest of holiest among the 64 jyotirlingas there are various famous Shiva temples like Taraknath Temple inTarakeswar, West Bengal , Lingaraja Temple Odisha etc.

Hinduism

Legend

According to a Shiva legend from the Shiva Purana, once, Brahma (the god of creation) and Vishnu (the god of preservation) had an argument over their supremacy.[2] 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).[3] 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.[4] 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.[5] The jyotirlinga shrines are regarded to be the temples where Shiva appeared as a fiery column of light.[6][7]

Original 64

Originally, there were believed to have been 64 jyotirlingas of which twelve are considered to be very auspicious and holy.[2] The twelve jyotirlinga sites take the names of their respective presiding deity, and each is considered a different manifestation of Shiva.[8] At all these sites, the primary image is lingam, representing the beginningless and endless stambha (pillar), symbolising the infinite nature of Shiva.[8][9][10]

Sanskrit shlokas

The following shloka (द्वादश ज्योतिर्लिंग स्तोत्रम् Dvādaśa Jyotirliṅga Stotram) describes the 12 jyotirlingas:[11][12]

Twelve most sacred sites

The names and the locations of 12 jyotirlingas are mentioned in the Shiva Purana (Śatarudra Saṁhitā, Ch.42/2-4). The detailed stories are given in Kotirudra Saṁhitā, chapters 14 to 33. These temples (not in order) are:

State wise sequence:

To make your pilgrimage more manageable, consider the following itinerary:

Start in Gujarat: Visit Somnath and Nageshwar.

Move to Madhya Pradesh: Visit Omkareshwar and Mahakaleshwar.

Head North to Uttarakhand: Visit Kedarnath.

Travel East to Uttar Pradesh: Visit Kashi Vishwanath.

Move to Jharkhand: Visit Baidyanath.

Head South to Andhra Pradesh: Visit Mallikarjuna.

Move further South to Tamil Nadu: Visit Rameshwar.

Travel to Maharashtra: Visit Bhimashankar, Trimbakeshwar, and Grishneshwar.

Each Jyotirlinga is unique and offers a profound spiritual experience. Plan your journey considering travel time, local weather, and festival dates to make the most of your pilgrimage.[13]

References

Citations

  1. ^ Wisdom Library 2019
  2. ^ a b Venugopalam 2003, pp. 92–95
  3. ^ Pattanaik 2017, p. 126
  4. ^ Kumar 2003, p. 1645
  5. ^ Gangashetty 2019, p. 102
  6. ^ Eck 1999, p. 107
  7. ^ Gwynne 2009, section on Char Dham
  8. ^ a b Lochtefeld 2002, pp. 324–325
  9. ^ Harding 1998, pp. 158–158
  10. ^ Vivekananda, v. 4
  11. ^ Vaidika Vignanam n.d.
  12. ^ "Archived copy of Dvādaśa Jyotirliṅga Stotram" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  13. ^ Gaurang Panchani, GujjuTraveling (10 July 2024). "12 Jyotirlinga: Final Pilgrimage to Holy Places - GujjuTraveling". Retrieved 27 July 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ a b Chakravarti 1994, p. 140

Works cited

External links