Manifestations of Shiva: Glossary

Jyotirlingas

The Twelve Jyotirlinga Shrines of India According to Hindu belief, the great god Shiva has manifested himself on earth twelve times as a shattering sheath of light. From the long corridors of Rameshvaram in the south to the snowy heights of Kedarnath in the Himalayas, these jyotirlingas, and the temples built to honor these manifestations of the deity, have become the destinations and the culminations of countless Hindu pilgrimages.
1. Bhimashankar	A modest yet graceful structure dating back to the mid-18th century, this temple in the Sahyadri hills of Maharashtra has a lower level sanctum. The site was marked by as he slayed a demon in these hills, and the sweat that poured from his body after the battle is said to have formed the Bhimarathi River.
2. Grishneshwar	Situated adjacent to the famous Ellora Caves, with its ancient paintings from the first millennium C.E., this temple is linked to the legend of a devout woman. When her son was murdered in cold blood, miraculously restored him to life here.
3. Kedarnath Temple	Northernmost of the s, situated at the head of the Mandakini River, in the Himalayas, this temple was built 5000 years ago by the Pandavas, following the great battle chronicled in the . It is here where the Pandavas did penance for killing their own kith and kin in the battle and sought from , whom they found disguised on these icy peaks as a bull. This is why the in this temple is in the shape of a bull's hump. Many pilgrims, traveling to this , encounter snow for the first time in their lives. The temple is open to pilgrims for six months of the year only, from early May through mid-November.
4. Mahakaleshwar	Found near a lake, in a spacious courtyard surrounded by massive walls, in the ancient and historic city of Ujjain, or Avanti, this temple is built with five levels. Brass lamps light the way to the lowest level, an underground sanctum. Legend has it that a demon tormented the residents of Avanti and that, after vanquishing him, accepted the inhabitant's request to take up permanent abode here as a .
5. Nageshwar Shrine	According to legend, while traveling in a boat, a devotee of was attacked and imprisoned by a demon. appeared in the form of a and vanquished the demon here, near Dwarka in Gujarat.
6. Omkareshwar Temple	Located on an island in the Narmada River in central India, where the river branches into two, the temple is encircled by this body of water, and is reached by a ferry from its banks. The shape of this island resembles that of the visual representation of the Omkara sound, or "."
7. Rameshvaram Temple	Many Hindus believe that a pilgrimage beginning in , the City of Light, should culminate here. Originally the temple, in Southern Tamil Nadu, was a small thatched hut, but over the centuries, people added to its structure, and today its three corridors are said to be the longest in the world. Devotees bathe in the temple's 22 wells or tanks before proceeding to the inner sanctum to receive . The is said to have been placed in this temple by Lord Rama, the seventh incarnation (or ) of .
8. Somnath Shrine	This shrine, situated near the town of Veraval in the western part of Gujarat, is linked with legends of the moon, who worshipped and was blessed here by him to grow and shine. Somnath was ransacked and destroyed by Muslim forces in 1025 and 1300 C.E. and destroyed several times again in the 14th-16th centuries but was rebuilt each time.
9. Sri Sailam Temple	Rich in architectural and sculptural wealth, this huge, ancient temple with its fort-like walls and towers is considered one of the finest specimens of Vijayanagar architecture. Of considerable religious and historical significance, its beauty and glory have been praised in Indian literature. The Skanda has a chapter devoted to this temple, and the Tamil saint poets of the past millennium have also sung about it. Along with , is a presiding deity here. And legend has it that assumed the shape of a bee and worshipped Shiva in this place, choosing it as her abode.
10. Tryambakeshwar Temple	At the source of the river Godavari, in the Brahmagiri Hills of central India, this 18th century temple contains three eye-shaped s, underscoring the connection with , who is sometimes known as "the three-eyed one." Pilgrims purify themselves in the river before entering the temple.
11. Vaidyanath Temple	Located in the ancient pilgrimage town of Deogarh in Bihar, this temple is associated with a man of Sri Lanka, who meditated on and requested him to come there so that his capital would become invincible. gave the man one of his twelve s with the condition that if it was placed on the ground it would take root immediately. During his journey back to his country, took the from the man and placed it on the ground here, where it took root, rendering this a sacred place.
12. Visweswara Temple	For at least a thousand years, this temple, sitting at the very center of , the most celebrated pilgrimage site in India--which is also called Kashi and Varanarsi, the City of Light--has been this city's preeminent . Both Visweswara and Viswanatha mean "Lord," and the serves as the archetype and namesake for hundreds of temples throughout India that local worshippers proudly call "Kashi Vishwanatha." Despite its fame, Visweswara Temple, built as recently as the late 18th century, has none of the antiquity or architectural splendor of other sites, but is hidden behind a compound wall. Only Hindus are permitted inside this temple. After making the rounds of some of the subsidiary shrines in the courtyard, they find the smooth black stone set into the floor of the temple in a square, solid-silver recessed altar.