12 Jyotirlinga Temples of Lord Shiva : Famous Shrines of Bhagwan Shankar

Lord Shiva is one of the most popular and worshiped Gods in Hindu Religion. He is mostly worshiped in the linga form. There are innumerable shivalingas with great aura and presence, but the main ones are just twelve. These 12 famous Shrines of Bhagwan Shankar are known as Jyotirlingas. Since there are twelve jyotirlinga temples, they are also referred to as ‘Dwadash Jyotirlingas'.

Two of these famous Lord Shiva Temples are located on a seashore, three on riverbanks, four in the heights of mountains and 3 in the villages located in the meadows. Out of these 12 Jyotirlinga Temples in India 5 are in Maharashtra, 1 in Gujarat, 1 in Tamiilnadu, 1 in Uttaranchal , 1 in Utter Pradesh, 1 in Andra Pradesh and 2 in Madya Pradesh.

Given below is a Sanskrit sloka that lists the names of the 12 Jyotirlinga Shrines.

Saurashtre Somanathamcha Srisaile Mallikarjunam /

Ujjayinyam Mahakalam Omkaramamaleswaram //

Parallyam Vaidyanathancha Dakinyam Bheema Shankaram /

Setu Bandhethu Rameswaram, Nagesam Daruka vane //

Varanasyantu Viswesam Tryambakam Gautameetate /

Himalayetu Kedarm, Ghrishnesamcha vishalake //

The twelve famous Jyotirlinga Shrines of Lord Shiva along with their locations are listed below.

• Somnath in Saurashtra, Gujarat
• Mallikarjuna in Sri Sailam, Andhra Pradesh
• Mahakal in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
• Omkareshwar in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh
• Vaidyanath in Chintabhoomi, Maharashtra
• Bhima Shankar in Dakini, Maharashtra
• Rameshwar in Setubandh Rameshwaram, Tamilnadu
• Nagesh in Darukavan, Gujarat
• Tryambakam on the banks of Gomti near Nasik, Maharashtra
• Kedarnath in the Himalayas, Uttarakhand
• Ghrishneswar Temple in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

Hindus believe that those who chant the Dwadash Jyotirlinga Stotram would attain salvation and enlightenment and by eating the holy offerings one would be released from all sins. These abodes of Lord Shiva are crowded at all times of the year by devotees who visit the temples for darshan of their favorite God.

5 out of the 12 Jyotirlinga Temples are situated in Maharashtra. They are Vaidyanath jyotirlinga in Parali, Tryambakeshwar Jyotirlinga near Nasik, Bhimashankar jyotirling in Dakini , Ghrishneswar jyotirling in Devasrovar and Aundha Nagnath Temple. These shrines can be easily reached from Pune and Mumbai. One can cover 3 jyotirlinga shrines (Grishneshwar, Trimbakeshwar and Bhimashakar) along with two other famous temples in India (Shirdi Saibaba Temple and Shani Shinganapur) in a 3 days pilgrimage.

The Dwadasha Jyotirlinga Stotram is given below

Sourashtra dese visadetiramye Jyotirmayam Chandra Kalavatamsam /

Bhakti Pradanaya Kripaveteernam tam Somanatham Saranam prapadye //

Shrishaila Shringe vibudhaatisange tulaadritungaapi muda vasantam /

Tamararjunam mallikapurvamekam , namami samsara samudrasetum //

Avantikayam vihitaavataram muktipradanaya cha sajjananam /

Akala mrityoh paripakshanartha vande mahakala mahesuresam //

Kaaverika narmadayoh pavitre samagame sajjanataranaya /

Sadaiva mandhatripure vasantam Omkarameesam Shivamekameede //

Poorvottare prajwalikanidhane sada vasantam Girijasametam /

Sursuraradhitapadamangam Shri Vaidyanatham tamaham namami //

Vaamye sadange nagaratiramye vibhushitangam vividhaischa bhogaih /

Sadbhati muktiprada meesha mekam shri Naganatham sharanam prapadye //

Mahadriparshwecha tate ramantam sampoojyamanm satatam muneendre /

Surasurairyaksha mahoragadhyaih Kedarameesham Shivamekameede //

Sahyadrisheershe vimale vasantam Godavari teera pavitradeshe /

Yaddarshanatpatakamaashu nasham praayatitam Tyambaka meeshameede //

Sutamraparnijalrashi yoge nibadhya setum vishikhairasankhyaih /

Shree Rama chandrena samarpitam tam Rameshwarakhyam niyatam namami //

Yam Dakinee shakineeka samaje nishevyamanam pishitasanaishcha /

Sadaiva Bheemadipadaprasiddham tam Shankaram bhakta hitam namami //

Saananda maananda vane vasantam ananda kandam hatapapavrindam /

Vaaranaseenathamanatha natham shree Vishwanatham Sharanam prapadye //

Ilapure ramya vishalakeshmin samullasantamcha jagadvarenyam /

Vande mahodaratara swabhavam Ghrishneshwarakhyam saranam prapadye //

Jyotirmaya DwaadasaLingakaanam Shivatmanamproktamidam kramena /

Stotram pathitwa manujoti bhaktya phalam tadalokya nijam bhajechcha //

Iti shri Dwadasa JyotirLinga stotram sampoornam.