Dwadas (12) Jyotirling

Dwadas Jyotirlinga

Dwadas (twelve) Jyotirlinga are the most pious twelve natural lingas worshipped in twelve shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva. All these Lingas are in India. It is believed a devotee can reap immense virtues by visiting and worshiping at these temples. The following hymn describes about the presence of these most sacred twelve Shivalingas.  

Saurashtre Somnatham Cha Shrishaile Mallikarjunam ||

Ujjainyam Mahakalomkare Mammaleshwaram ||

Parlyam Vaijnatham Cha Dakinyam Bheem Shankaram ||

Setu Bandhe Tu Ramesham Nagesham Daruka Vane ||

Varanasya Tu Vishwesham Tribakam Gautamitate ||

Himalaye Tu Kedaram Ghurmesham Cha Shivalaye ||

Aetani Jyotirlingani Sayam Prataha Pathennaraha ||

Sapta Janma Kritam Papam Smaranen Vinashyati ||

Meaning

Somanath in Saurashtra and Mallikarjunam in Shri-Shailam;

Mahakaal in Ujjain, Omkareshwar in Amleshwar;

Vaidyanath in Paralya and Bhimashankaram in Dakinya;

Ramesham (Rameshwaram) in Sethubandh, Nagesham in Daruka-Vana;

Vishwa-Isham (Vishvanath) in Vanarasi, Triambakam at bank of the river Gautami;

Kedar (Kedarnath) in Himalayas and Gushmesh (Gushmeshwar) in Shivalaya (Shiwar).

One who recites these Jyotirlingas every evening and morning,

is relieved of all his sins committed in past seven lives also even just by recalling these lingas.

Location

1.     Somnath: Somnath temple is located at Prabhas Patan in Saurashtra region of Gujarat.

2.     Srisailam: Mallikārjuna, also called Srisailam, is located on a mountain in Kurnool District in Rayalaseema in Andhra Pradesh.

3.     Ujjain: Mahakal or Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga temple is in Ujjain (or Avanti) in Madhya Pradesh.

4.     Omkareshwar: Omkareshwar temple is on an island in the Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh.

5.     Vaidyanath: Baidyanath Jyotirlinga temple, also known as Baba dham and Baidyanath dham is located in Deoghar in the Santhal Parganas division of the state of Jharkhand.

6.     Bhimsankar: Bhimashankara temple is near Pune in Maharashtra, which was referred to as Daakini country.

7.     Rameshwaram: This vast temple in the island of Rameswaram, in Southern Tamilnadu enshrines Ramalingeswaram.

8.     Nageshvara: Nageshvara Jyotirlinga temple is near Dwaraka in Gujarat.

9.     Varanasi: The Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh is home to the Vishwanath Jyotirlinga shrine.

10. Trimbakeshwar: Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga shrine is near Nasik in Maharashtra.

11.  Kedarnath: Kedarnath nestled in the snow-clad Himalayas in Uttarakhand. The temple is accessible only on foot, six months in a year.

12.  Ghushmeshwar: Ghushmeshwar which is at distance of about 29 km from the city of Grishneshwar (Verul village) near Aurangabad.  

The hymn about the location of the twelve Jyotirlingas comes from an ancient mythological text. But in modern days names of the places have also been changed. Hence, there is still controversy about the exact location of some of these temples. Yet, the above description can be accepted as the best analysed one.

Where God dwells

Naham vasami vaikunthe yoginam hridaye na cha,

Mad-bhakta yatra gayanti tatra tishthami narada – Padma Purana.

Once debarshi Narada asked Lord Vishnu about His abode. Vaikuntha or Vaikunthapuri is the abode of Lord Vishnu. Again yogis or saints are the biggest devotees of God. Hence, normally one may assume God should be present at either of the place. And this is also a fact. But as per the above verse there is another favourite place of God where he loves to reside.

Answering to the query of debarshi Narada about His abode, Lord Vishnu said, “I don’t live in Vaikuntha or in the hearts of the yogins. Rather I dwell there, where my devotees sing.”

Naham comes from Na+aham. Na-no. Aham-I. Vasami-live. Vaikunthe- in Vaikuntha, the eternal abode of Lord Vishnu as per mythological books. Yoginam hridaye na cha- not even in the hearts of the saints. Mad-Bhakta means my devotees. Yatra gayanti – where sings. Tatra-there. Tisthami – I stay, narada – O Narada.

God very much loves the place where His devotees sing. Generally devotees sing devotional songs (bhajans) or ‘Naama-sankirtana’. Bhajan is the song about God while Naama sankirtana or simply sankirtana is about singing God’s name repeatedly in a tune. But sankirtana should also be backed by feeling (Bhava), love (Prema) and faith (Sraddha). Again, singing God’s name collectively yields even more result. Sankirtan is one of the nine modes of Bhakti (Navadha bhakti). This is the easiest method for salvation in Kali Yuga.

(The blogger solicits your precious and divine comments for the write up. Please feel free to mail me at himanshuguruz@gmail.com for any query)