INDIA – THE COUNTRY OF TEMPLES
- THE COUNTRY OF WORSHIP
- THE COUNTRY
OF GODS
- MY COUNTRY
TEMPLES TO VISIT IN INDIA
Jyotirlingas
1)
BHIMASHANKAR
Bhimashankar in the Sahyadri range
of Maharashtra contains a Jyotirlinga shrine associated with Shiva destroying
the demon Tripurasura. There is also a Bhimashankara temple at Kashipurnear
Nainital, which was referred to as Daakini country in ancient days. It is
believed that Bhima the Pandava prince was married to Hidamba, a Daakini here.
Mahashivaratri is celebrated in great splendour here too. This temple also has
shrines to Bhairavanath and Devi, and a temple tank by name Shivaganga.
2) TRIMBAKESHWAR
3)
GRISHNESHWAR
Grishneshwar is an ancient
pilgrimage site revered as the abode of one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Shiva. It
is located at a distance of 11 km from Daulatabad near Aurangabad in
Maharashtra. Daulatabad was once known as Devagiri. Located nearby are the
popular tourist attractions Ellora - featuring ancient rock cut monuments from
the 1st millennnium CE, and Ajanta known for its exquisite cave paintings again
from the 1st millennium CE. The Grishneswar temple was constructed by
Ahilyabhai Holkar who also re-constructed the Kasi Viswanatha temple at Benares
and the Vishnu Paada temple at Gaya. Grishneshwar is also known as
Ghushmeshwar.
Legend has it that a devout woman
Kusuma offered worship to Shiva regularly by immersing a Shivalingam in a tank,
as a part of her daily ritual worship. Her husband's first wife, envious of her
piety and standing in society murdered Kusuma's son in cold blood. An aggrieved
Ksuma continued her ritual worship, and when she immersed the Shivalingam again
in the tank, her son was miraculously restored to life. Shiva is said to have
appeared in front of her and the villagers, and then on is believed to have
been worshipped in the form of a Jyotirlinga Ghusmeshwar.
4) SOMNATH
Somnath is traditionally considered
the first pilgrimage site: the Dwadash Jyotirlinga pilgrimage begins with the
Somnath Temple. The temple, that was destroyed and re-built sixteen times, is
held in reverence throughout India and is rich in legend, tradition, and
history. It is located at Prabhas Patan (Somnath - Veraval) in Saurashtra in
Gujarat.
5) MALLIKARJUNA
SWAMY
Mallikarjuna, also called Srisaila, is the name of the
pillar located on a mountain on the river Krishna. Srisailam, near Kurnool in
Andhra Pradesh enshrines Mallikarjuna in an ancient temple that is
architecturally and sculpturally rich. Adi Shankara composed his Sivananda
Lahiri here.
6) MAHAKALESHWAR
Mahakal, Ujjain (or Avanti) in Madhya Pradesh is home
to the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga temple. The Lingam at Mahakal is believed to
be Swayambhu, the only one of the 12 Jyotirlingams to be so. It is also the
only one facing south and also the temple to have a Shree Yantra perched upside
down at the ceiling of the Garbhagriha (where the Shiv Lingam sits).It is one
place where Shakti peeta and Jyotirlingam are together.
7) OMKARESHWAR
Omkareshwar, the sacred island, shaped like the
holiest of all Hindu symbols, 'Om', has drawn to it hundreds of generations of
pilgrims. And here, as in so many of Madhya Pradesh's sacred shrines, the works
of Nature complement those of man to provide a setting awe-inspiring in its
magnificence.According to a legend, when Narad, the great seer, paid a visit to
the deity of the Vindhya mountains, he was angry to find that there was no
dwelling here suitable for Lord Shiva. Dismayed at this, the deity of these
mountains subjected himself to very severe austerities. Lord Shiva was so pleased
with this that he said he would make Omkareshwar one of his homes. All this
happened in legendary times, long before the first historian wrote the first
history of Omkareshwar.
8) KEDARNATH
Kedarnath in Uttarakhand is revered as the
northernmost and the closest Jyotirlinga to Lord Shiva's eternal abode of Mount
Kailash. Kedarnath forms a part of the smaller Char Dham pilgrimage circuit of
Hinduism. Kedarnath, nestled in the snow-clad Himalayas, is an ancient shrine,
rich in legend and tradition. It is accessible only by foot, and only for six
months a year. It is also one of the Padal Petra Stalam of Vada Naadu mentioned
in Thevaaram.
9) KASHI VISHWANATH
Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh is
home to the Vishwanath Jyotirlinga shrine, which is perhaps the most sacred of
Hindu shrines. It is also one of the Padal Petra Stalam of Vada Naadu mentioned
in Thevaaram. The temple is situated in Varanasi the holiest existing place of
Hindus, where at least once in life a Hindu is expected to do pilgrimage, and
if possible, also pour the remains of cremated ancestors on the River Ganges.
The temple stands on the western bank of the holy river Ganges, and is one of
the twelve Jyotirlingas. It is the holiest of all Shiva temples. The main deity
is known by the name Vishwanath or Vishweshwara meaning Ruler of the
universe. The temple town, which claims to be the oldest living city in the
world, with 3500 years of documented history, is also called Kashi and hence
the temple is popularly called Kashi Vishwanath Temple.
10) VAIDYANATH JYOTIRLINGA
Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga temple is
located in Deogarh District in Santhal Parganas division of the state Jharkhand
. In the month of Shravana millions of devotee visit the temple. Bholebaba
darshan during Shravan month attracts devotees from across India and overseas.
It is believed that once Ravan
worshipped Shiva for years and requested his god ( Shiva) to come to Lanka .
Shiva manifested as shivaling and asked Ravan to not to put down anywhere until
he takes it to Lanka. Vishnu intercepted Ravana in between and convinced him to
keep it for sometime. Since then shiva resides as Vaidyanath in Deogarh.
11) NAGESHVARA
JYOTIRLINGA
Nageshvara is believed as the first
Jyotirlinga on the earth. There are three major shrines in India which are
believed as identical to this Jyotirlinga. Those are the Jageshwar temple near
Almora in Uttarakhand state, the Nageshwara temple near Dwaraka in Gujarat
state and the Nagnath temple in Aundha in Maharashtra state.
12) RAMESHWAR
Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu is home to
the vast Ramalingeswarar Jyotirlinga temple and is revered as the southernmost
of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of India. It enshrines the Rameśvara ("Lord
of Rama") pillar. It is also one of the Padal Petra Stalam of Pandya Naadu
mentioned in Thevaaram.