Jyotirlinga is the pure form of Lord Shankar. Shiva himself resides here. Jyotirlinga came into existence due to the protection, welfare and requests of the devotees. Why is Jyotirlinga different from other Lingas?

All the shrines are lingamya. Everything is established in Linga, there is no counting of Shivalingas which are seen, described, and contemplated in these pilgrimages. All these are forms of Lord Shiva, no one is different from Shiva. Lord Shambhu is present in the form of Linga in the Dieties , demons and related trilokas to bestow blessings on all the people. To bless all the world, Lord Shiva has installed many types of Lingas in pilgrimage places and other places. Wherever devotees remembered Lord Shambhu with devotion, he incarnated and settled there. To do favor to the people, Lord Shiva created many Lingas from his own form. By worshiping that Linga, a person definitely attains success. There are countless forms of Linga and Upalinga, yet in Shiv Purana, 12 Jyotirlingas are mentioned as the main ones, where Lord Shiva himself appeared and established himself for the welfare of Deities , sages and humans.

These lines are very important to remember the sublingas of Jyotirmayalingas. This verse addresses the names of twelve Jyotirlingas located in different parts of Bharat. Each of these Jyotirlingas represents different incarnations or forms of Lord Shiva.

Saurashtra Somnath Cha Srishaile Mallikarjunam. Ujjayinyan Mahakaalmonkare Parmeshwaram ॥ Kedaram Himavatpashte Dakinya Bhimashankaram. Varanasya Cha Visvesham Trimbakam Gautamitatte ॥

Vaidyanatham Chitabhumou Nageshan Darukavane. Setubandhe cha Ramesham Ghushmesham tu Shivalaye.

(Meaning - (1) Shri Somnath in Saurashtra (Kathiawad), (2) Shri Mallikarjuna on Shri Shail, (3) Shri Mahakal in Ujjaini, (4) Shri Onkareshwar or Amreshwar in the middle of Narmada, (5) Shri Kedarnath in snow covered Kedarkhand, (6) Shri Bhima Shankar in a place called Dakini, (7) Shri Vishwanath in Varanasi, (8) Shri Trimbakeshwar on the banks of Godavari, (9) Shri Vaidyanath in Chitabhoomi, (10) Shri Nageshwar in Darukavan, (11) Shri Rameshwar on Setubandh, (12) Shri Ghushmeshwar in Shivalaya. There are twelve Jyotirlingas.)

1-Somnath in Saurashtra - Somnath is considered to be the first Jyotirlinga among the twelve Jyotirlingas. This Jyotirlinga is situated in Saurashtra, Gujarat. This pilgrimage is also famous for Shradh of ancestors etc. Here the special importance of performing Shradh in the months of Chaitra, Bhadrapada and Kartik has been explained. There is a huge crowd of devotees here during these three months. Being affected by the curse of Daksh Prajapati, Chandrama worshiped the earthly Shivalinga and requested him to remain there as a boon. Due to which Lord Shiva was satisfied and appeared in the form of Somnath Jyotirlinga for the welfare of the Deities and all the worlds.

2. Mallikarjuna on Srishail mountain - The name of the mountain on which the Jyotirlinga named Sri Mallikarjuna is situated is Srishail. Sri Mallikarjuna is situated on Mount Srisaila on the banks of the Krishna River in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh. It is called Kailash of the South. Mallika means Parvati and Arjun means Lord Shankar, in this way the lights of both are established, just by seeing them the desired result is achieved. Lord Shiva visits his son Kumar Kartikeya every new moon day and Parvati ji visits him during the full moon day. Just to see his son, he became present in the form of Jyotirlinga. The same Jyotirlinga became famous by the name of Mallikarjuna.

3-Mahakal in Ujjain - Mahakal Jyotirlinga is located in Ujjain city of Madhya Pradesh state. Ujjain is also called Avantika Puri, this place is said to give desired results and remove all sins. Lord Shiva appeared in the form of Mahakal in Ujjain to protect the virtuous souls named Vedapriya and Devapriya, Priyamadha, Sukrit and Suvrata from the demon named Dushan.

4- Omkareshwar – Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga is situated on an island called Shivpuri in the middle of Narmada River in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh. There are two separate Lingas here named Omkareshwar and Amaleshwar. But both are considered to be two forms of the same Jyotirlinga. They are situated on the banks of the lake and provide complete results to the worshippers. Pleased with the penance of Vindhya Mountain, Lord Shankar appeared in the form of Omkar Jyotirlinga.

5-Kedar on the peak of Himalayas- Shri Kedarnath or Kedareshwar is situated on a peak called Kedar in the Himalayas in Rudra Prayag of Uttarakhand state. To the east of the peak, Shri Badrinath is situated on the banks of Alaknanda and to the west, Shri Kedarnath is situated on the banks of Mandakini. Pleased with the worship of the mortal Shivalinga of Lord Vishnu's incarnation Nara and Narayana, Shiva appeared in the form of Kedarnath Jyotirlinga for the benefit of the people.,

6- Bhimashankar in Dakini- Shri Bhima Shankar is situated on a mountain called Sahyadri, about 106 kilometers away from Pune in Maharashtra. The peak of Sahyadri Mountain, where the ancient temple of this Jyotirlinga is situated, is named Dakini. Lord Shiva appeared in the form of Bhimeshwar to protect his beloved devotee Sudakshina from the demon Karkati and the demon Bhima, the son of Kumbhakarna and remained eternally situated in the form of Bhima Shankar Jyotirlinga to protect his devotees and for their welfare. .

7-Vishwanath in Varanasi- Vishwanath ji of Kashi is famous. The famous temple of this Jyotirlinga is Kashi Vishwanath Temple, which is in Kashi Nagar (Varanasi). At the time of creation, Lord Shiva himself established the Linga that grants salvation in Kashi. Which is famous as Vishwanath Jyotirlinga. Even when a cataclysm comes, Kashi is never destroyed.

8-Trimbak on the banks of Godavari - This Jyotirlinga is famous by the name of Trimbak or Trimbakeshwar. Jyotirlinga named Trimbakeshwar is located near the Godavari coast, about 35 km from Nashik city of Maharashtra province. Satisfied with the worship of Gautam Rishi and Ahalya, Lord Shiva appeared Infront of them and established Ganga and settled himself there only and became famous as Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga.

9-Vaidyanath in Chita Bhoomi – Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga is located in Deoghar district of Jharkhand in India. In this Jyotirlinga, Panchshul is installed in place of Trishul. Here every year, 2 days before Mahashivratri, Panchshul is removed from the temples of Lord Shiva, Mother Parvati, and Lakshmi-Narayan. During this time, a crowd of devotees gather to touch Panchshul. When Ravana, after pleasing Lord Shiva by doing severe penance, started taking his Shivalinga to Lanka, then due to the glory of Lord Shiva, Ravana placed the Shivalinga at a place as per the instructions of Lord Shiva, then he could not lift that Shivalinga from there and the same Shivalinga became famous by the name of Vaidyanatheshwar Jyotirlinga.

10-Nagesh at Darukavan – Nageshwar Jyotirlinga is located at a distance of 25 kilometers from Dwarka Puri on the outskirts of Gujarat state. Nageshwar means God of snakes. People who have snake defects in their horoscope should offer snakes made of metal here. By doing this, Sarp Dosh does not have any negative effect on life. Mother Parvati, pleased with the demon Daruka, and Lord Shiva, pleased with the beloved devotee, both got established for the welfare of the people in the form of Nageshwar Jyotirlinga.

11-Rameshwar in Setubandh - Rameshwar Jyotirlinga is located in Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu. Shri Vishnu incarnation Lord Shri Ram Ji worshiped the Parthiv Linga and prayed to Lord Shiva to always reside there to purify the people of the world and for the welfare of others. Due to which Lord Mahadev remained situated there forever in the form of Jyotirlinga. Then the same Jyotirlinga became famous by the name of Rameshwar.

12-Ghushmeshwar in the pagoda- Shri Ghushmeshwar is also called Ghusrineshwar or Ghrishneshwar. This Jyotirlinga is located in Verul village in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. Lord Shiva was pleased with the devotion of his beloved devotee Ghushma and established him as Ghushmeshwar Jyotirlinga in her name. Ellora caves are also located here, which are world famous.

Verified from Puran.......

Writer :- krishna

Twelve (12) Jyotirlingas