(Courtesy: Neha Singh)
A Jyotirlinga or Jyotirling or Jyotirlingam, is a devotional shrines where Lord Shiva, is worshipped in the form of a Jyotirlingam.
Jyotir Lingam means The Radiant sign of The Almighty. There are twelve traditional Jyotirlinga shrines in India.
There are twelve traditional Jyotirlinga shrines in India, 5 of them in Maharashtra.
Check them here:
1 Somnath, Gujarat:
Somnath is traditionally considered the first pilgrimage site: the Dwadash Jyotirlinga pilgrimage begins with the Somnath Temple.
2 MallikÄrjuna, Andhra Pradesh:
Mallikarjuna, also called Srisaila, is located on a mountain on the river Krishna. Srisailam enshrines Mallikarjuna in an ancient temple that is architecturally and sculpturally rich.It is one place where Shakti peeta and Jyotirlingam are together.
3 Mahakaleshwar,Madhya Pradesh:
The Lingam at Mahakal is believed to be Swayambhu, the only one of the 12 Jyotirlingams. 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.
4 Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh:
Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh on an island in the Narmada River is home to a Jyotirlinga shrine and the Mamaleshwar temple.
5 Kedarnath, Uttarakhand:
Kedarnath in Uttarakhand is revered as the northernmost and the closest Jyotirlinga to Lord Shiva’s eternal abode of Mount Kailash.
6 Bhimashankar, Maharashtra:
Bhimasankar temple in Bhimpur near Gunupur of Rayagada district in South Orissa is also believed as Bhimasankar Jyotirlinga, which is situated at the western part of the holy Mahendragiri mountains and at the river bank of Mahendratanaya.
7 Visheakarmeshwar, Uttar Pradesh:
Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh is home to the Vishwanath Jyotirlinga shrine, which is perhaps the most sacred of Hindu shrines.
8 Trimbakeshwar, Maharashtra:
Trimbakeshwar Temple, near Nasik in Maharashtra, is a Jyotirlinga shrine associated with the origin of the Godavari river.
9 Baidyanath Jyotirlinga, Jharkhand:
Baidyanath Jyotirlinga temple is located in Deoghar District in Jharkhand . In the month of Shravana millions of devotee visit the temple.Bholebaba darshan during Shravan month attracts devotees from across India and overseas.
10 Nageshvara Jyotirlinga, Uttarakhand:
Nageshvara Jyotirlinga is located among a cluster of 124 large and small historical stone temples inJageshwar, Almora district, Uttarakhand.
11 Rameshwar, Tamil Nadu:
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.
12. Grishneshwar, Maharashtra:
Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga shrine, at a village called Verul which lies at a distance of 11 km from Daulatabad.