Jyotir Linga Trayambakeswar, Trimbak near Nasik

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Brahmagiri hills are a part of a charming countryside, in the wilderness of Maharastra surrounded by green and years of worship. A voice sings the praise of the 12 Jyotir Lingas and attributes his worship to Lord Shiva. The sweetness in his voice wake the senses and sends goose pimples through oneself, just experiencing the peace at Trayambakeswar temple.

Om Namah Shivaya

A shikhara rising up into the sky carries with it smaller vimanas intricately carved into itself. Its not just the beauty of these minor temples dotting the roof that stands out, its a reminder of the recurring pattern of our births, a cycle we don't want to get out of.

My life, like these endless vimanas, goes through its never-ending rhythm of living and desire. A churn so strong, that I do not know the way out. A reflection of this endless living with no effort to rise out of it brings the Jyotir Linga of Trayambakeshwar temple to those suffering this misery. How blind are we, that we don’t see this glaring truth in front of us and just leave it to being an ancient wonder. All that remains is a stone Linga embedded deep within these walls that beckons us to look within ourselves and find our own flame of enlightenment.

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The potency of this Linga is well known, from the yuga of Gautama Rishi(sage) and his wife Ahilya who lived in their ashram here and attained great siddhas such that it rendered even Indra insecure. Gautama Rishi's devotion was so superior that Varuna (Lord of water) blessed him with a bottomless well from which rose unlimited supply of grain. The other sages conspired against him in jealousy. Few versions run from here on. A cow once strayed into their ashram and began to eat the grain. This cow is believed to be the incarnation of Ganesha in some cases and Jaya(an associate of Parvati)in other versions.

When Gautama rishi saw the cow eating into the supply, he tried to shoo the cow away with a bunch of Darbha grass. The cow died within the ashram, this in reality was an illusion created and Gautama Rishi brings Kala Sarpa dosha upon himself. Kala(time) sarpa (snake like) dosha (sin) is a state of higher misery given to those who have attained higher levels of perfection like the great sages in ancient times. The misery is such that it follows generations of lineage of those who have commit a sin, the death of the sacred animal - the cow, being one of them.

In order to release himself from this dosha, Gautama made a small Linga and diligently worshipped the Lord asking for respite. He prayed to the Lord, asking for the Ganges to descend to the earth, in the form of Godavari, and flow through his ashram and rid him off the sin of killing a cow within his courtyard. The Lord answered his prayers and the source of the Ganges starts here in the south and forms the River Godavari.

The Ganges still flows within the shrine chamber, ever covering this small linga, that stays beneath the earth with the water rising out. The Lord lies here submerged, in a constant abhishekam, the worship of whom resurrects anyone from this endless churn of living.

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Photo courtesy: ©Lux

Jyotirlinga Nageshwar / Naganath Shiva

Nageswaram Naganatham Nagabrana booshidham |

Nataka-pradham Navarasa Pradham Jyodhir-Swaroopam Vandhe Namami ||

The Jyotirlinga Shloka goes: ...Nagesham Daarukavane...

There are three different interpretations to this part of the Jyotirlinga Shloka. The first version is that Darukavan is in Dwaraka, the land of Lord Krishna. There is another belief that goes to say that Darukavana means Daruka Vane or deodar forests at the Himalayan foothills, which would be Jageshwar which houses another cluster of Shiva temples. The third to take claim to Nageswar Shiva is Audhgram near Purna in Andhra Pradesh.

The surrounding mythologies seem to be constant and all of them refer to a demon called Daruka. Daruka was known to be a tyrant, who didn't allow anyone to live in peace. A merchant by the name of Supriya came to Darukavanam while he was out sailing to sell his wares. (This also probably explains why Dwaraka is celebrated to host a Jyotirlinga shrine as its on a coastline) Supriya was an ardent Shiva devotee. Daruka asked Supriya to teach him how to worship Lord Shiva, how to perform puja and penance. Supriya was worried that Daruka would gain additional power with his puja and hence refused to help. This enraged Daruka andhe tortured Supriya, but it didn't change Supriya's mind. Seeing the devotion of Supriya, Lord Shiva appeared in Jyotirlinga form and destroyed Daruka. But Supriya's problems did not end here. Daruki, who was Daruka's wife took on the reign and continued torturing everyone. Shiva vanquished her too and gave darshan to the people of Darukavana in Jyotirlinga form.

They say this linga is different from all the others as its Gomugam (the extension of the Linga from which the fluids of libation flow out) faces South, unlike all others that face North. It is beleived that a devotee called Namdev was singing bhajans to the Lord when one of the devotees asked him to move so that they could view the Lord. Namdev, continued to sing asking the devotees if there was any place that the Lord did not exist, he would be happy stand there. The enraged devotee, moved him to the south of the Linga only to realize that the Shiva Linga had turned South and pointed its Gomugam to the east.

Indian mythology has its charm. From great Gods testing aspirants to great sages reaching extreme heights of perfection to mortal devotees of the Lord getting to see His favor in their lifetimes. It probably just goes to say that a pure heart and a clean mind with sincerity is all that is needed to achieve this. Does it really matter where the real Jyotirlinga is hosted? Would it make the other Lingas installed in the Indian country side any less potent? Shiva is worshipped, respected with awe and possibly feared as well. Nobody would question that, but what needs to be questioned is whether we are willing and capable to handle that kind of potency.



















Photo courtesy: Liveindia.com

Jyotir Linga Rameswaram, shrine near the sea

Rameshwaram – Temple for a cosmic bath

It was a moment, a moment recorded in faith, not written on a tablet or a wall but in the mind’s of the generations to follow, an event that brought awe and amazement over the truth, that there is a supernatural out there.

In the middle of the vast ocean, a King lay his feet on the sandy beaches of earth and turned the island into a sacred land. It was an island that took the shape of the sacred subtle sound OM. On this island He was advised to worship the Lord by a great sage, who guided him through his worship. It was here that his worship brought into being a huge column of fire that rose out of the ocean and presented itself as a Jyotir Linga among these sacred sands.

A miracle on the golden sands remains embedded in the mind. The vast ocean ahead gives no hint that it ever subdued to a column of fire. Its sunrise again, the calm waters send ripples to the coast, ripples that gentle toss the boats waking the world out of deep slumber. Times have changed, the very idol of the Lord that once was worshipped by the great King in the open, is now covered well within the walls of a huge temple. Three prakaras, need to be crossed to see the Lord deep within his dark chamber. A chamber where the very light of the Jyotir Linga now lies dim, and is visible only to a true sincere aspirant.

They say the great King was Lord Rama who was advised by sage Agastya to perform the worship to Lord Shiva to rid himself off the karma of having killed Ravana, a great Shiva Bhakta. It was Hanuman who went to the banks of Narmada (or Kailasa is debatable) and brought back the Shiva Linga for the worship but didn’t make it in time. Lord Rama made a replica of the Lord in sand and Lord Shiva rose to give it its life. Hanuman was very disappointed that he didn’t make it in time and that the ritual was performed in his absence. He tried to uproot the Linga but was unsuccessful and the marks of it are still visible on the Linga. The Shiva Linga Hanuman brought was also installed, a little to the south, and should be worshipped first before the main Linga is worshipped.

Read more in details: Rameshwaram – Temple for a cosmic bath

It’s a different world there, when one descends into Rameshwaram, with 51 theerthams scattered around this island. 22 of these wells are well within the temple complex. The feeling of purity is very evident when you walk through the corridors, bathing at each well and heading into the temple to finally meet the Lord. The times have changed, the dark torch lit corridors now blaze with electric lights, yet the pillars and the music carries you back into those times, of a different living, perfect living with a slower life and more room for peace and spiritualism and oneness with the Lord.

Jyotir Linga Bhimashankar, Sahyadri Hills

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Kshetragyam Kshetrapalancha Parartyaika prayojanam|
vyomakesam Jyothir-swaroopam Beemasankaram Namamyaham||

It’s the peak of the rainy season, and the ghats are lush green and fresh under the cloudy sky. The air smells of the earth just wet with droplets of pure water from heaven as the clouds grey out the sunlight. Heavy droplets, bringing to the mind peace and tranquility that one doesn’t have to pay for but just experiences. The Sahyadri hills unfold their carpets of thick vegetation and it’s a divine feeling to feel the cool breeze ruffle ones hair! The mind is peaceful, the senses awake, the focus is Bhimashankar.

In this picturesque land among fort walls and rich pure streams of water lies a little temple, ancient and powerful holding the very light of the Lord within its walls. Here the ancient temple bell rings and the sound reverberates through the air, divine echo that has been heard since 1720 AD. Times have changed, new replace the old and yet this temple still stands there in all its ancient finery. Built in the ancient Nagara style, this temple has small shikharas rising upwards towards the ancient finial where one can see the orange glow of the flag that gloriously surmounts it.

It’s a winding way to walk down along a railing with small shops selling everything that can be offered to the divine within. Interestingly here, the lesser known milk weed flowers are offered as compare to the common marigold yellow mounds in baskets. A dip in the sacred waters of the kund here transports the mind to a different world as one proceeds to meet the Lord.


















Closing one's eyes and drifting towards infinity draws the soul to the sound of a river, a sacred river called Bhimarathi, fed by the divine sweat of Lord Shiva as He rests after the Tripurantaka Samharam. The story goes that the demon Tripurasura had accumulated enough power and had started harassing every one at Swarglok, Bhulok, and patal(Netherworld). Lord Shiva came to their rescue and took on the form of Rudravatar. He defeated Tripurasura and saved the three worlds.

The Puranas indicate that Bhima was an asura born to Kumbakarna and Karkadi. When he heard from his mother that his father, grandfather and uncles had been slain by Lord Rama in war he decided to avenge their deaths. He did severe penance and won the favour of Lord Brahma who granted him immense power and strength. With this he defeated the devas and finally came to attack all the Kings. King Priyadarman (Kamarupeswar) of Kamarupa and his queen Dakshinadevi were thrown into the dungeons. They continued to worship Lord Shiva even in the dungeons. Fearing they would vanquish him, Bhima commanded them to stop worship. When they refused he went ahead to kill them. Shiva rose out of the Linga they worshipped, in Jyotir Linga form and destroyed the asura. On the request of all the devas Shiva continues to reside here as Bhimashankar.






















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Photo courtesy: world66.com (Creative Commons License), Copyright © 1998-2001 Live India Internet Services!

Jyothir linga Somanatham - The moon descends to earth

The Shiva Purana goes:

Somanadham Someswaram Samastha Gunaparagam |
Gora-Padhaka thavagnim Jyothir-Swaroopam Namamyaham ||

Along the sandy coastline of Northwest India, the Lord descended on earth in a column of fire. He made a divine appearance, one seen by few but sung by many. A flaming Linga of light came to reside along the silent sands of the western sea coast.

It is believed that the Chandra (Soman) was the chosen husband for the 27 beautiful daughters of King Daksha. Good natured and fair, Soman was not just kind to his many wives but presented himself with grace and charm unmatched. But this didn’t last long, Soman’s interested clearly drifted towards one of his wives and he began to favor Rohini over the others and gave her far more attention than the rest.

This angered his remaining wives and they went back heart broken to their father and complained to King Daksha over Soman’s new inclination. King Daksha’s anger knew no boundaries and he cursed Soman that he would lose all the beauty and charm that he was proud of till now.

Having realized his mistake Soman sort the help of the Devas who directed him to Brahma to help him get rid of his curse. Brahma advised him to descend to earth, and meditate on the Mrityunjaya mantra attributed to Lord Shiva at Somnath and seek his favor to get rid of the curse.

Soman (alias Chandra – Moon) descended to earth and along the confluence of the river Saraswati he stood on one leg and started to chant the Mrityunjaya mantra. He chanted for years until finally, Lord Shiva who was pleased with his penance appeared before him in the form of a light or Jyotir Swarupa. Lord Shiva couldn’t reverse the curse but he promised Soman that for one fortnight in a month he would grow to appear bright, charming, and glow to his fullest form for one night but the other fortnight of the month he would fade into darkness. Shiva promised him that he would be seated among his locks or jatas waxing and waning through the month. The waxing phase of the moon is called Krishna Paksham and the waning phase is called Sukla Paksham.

Within the shrine chamber is a sacred Jyothir linga, covered in red, with the Moon on its crown. Someswara Linga is potent for it has also been worshipped by Chandrabagha devi, making this place a Shakti peetham. The devi shrine resides behind the Shiva Linga itself. It was in later centuries that a temple was built to house the fiery Lord and his consort.














Also read: PRAN PRATISHTHA by Sardar Shri Vallabhbhai Patel