Grishneswar, 11kms from Daulatabad and Aurangabad, is the last of the 12 Jyotir Lingas in the Indian subcontinent. This is the last known residence of the Lord in the flaming form. This ancient spot has had its temple built and rebuilt several times.
The Sthala Purana goes as follows. On a mountain called Devagiri lived a Brahmin by the name of Brahmavetta Sudharm with his wife Sudeha. They were a childless couple for a very long time which made Sudharm very unhappy. Sudeha tried every remedy and failed. Finally she had her sister Ghushma married to her husband. On her sister's advice, Ghushma used to make 108 Shiva Lingas and worship them and perform Abhishekam near a lake.
In due course of time Ghushma was blessed with a son. She in turn became very proud and this got Sudeha very jealous of her. In due course of time Ghushma got her son married as well and continue to worship Lord Shiva. One night in this fit of jealousy Sudeha went and killed Ghushma's son. Her daughter-in-law went to inform her about this terrible mishap while she was worshiping the Lord. Ghushma stayed calm, as if nothing had gone wrong. She continued to worship the Lord near the lake when her son came back alive. Ghushma was neither happy nor sad. This pleased Lord Shiva and he gave her a boon. She requested the Lord to emancipate Sudeha. The Lord was very pleased and granted her another boon. She prayed that the Lord should descend there in Jyotir Linga form and reside there for ever with her name. Hence this shrine is known by the name of Ghushmeswar Shiva Jyotir Linga.
We have come a long way since those times. The depth of faith has not changed in all these years or neither has the pinnacle for higher evolved living. The Jyotir Lingas pulled out events from time to teach us, that every thing can change around us, but it is the ever constant truth of devotion and faith that continues to ring in these temples. The Lord continues to get bathed in the milk and waters of life, purifying the world with potent syllables of devotion that have since then come down these centuries.
In the cold bleak regions of the Garhwal Himalayas lies one of India's holiest spots. The Jyotir Linga of Kedarnath rings a bell in anyone's mind towards the deep secrets of Indian spiritualism.
Kedarnath, is a magical name, a name that denotes spiritualism of a higher kind, that beckons one to make that journey against all odds to meet the Lord, in his holy abode in the Himalayas.
Its a world apart, where the Lord lives, within snow capped ranges and chilling weather. And in the backdrop of white snow and blue sky is a flash of color, an imposing facade decked in marigold. The dynamic facade of Kedarnath is an eyeful to anyone. One can experience the chill in the air, the fresh unpolluted breeze in the space around, the reverberating sound of the bells that hang down at the entrance constantly ringing and more than anything else a simple small temple housing a potent form of the Lord.
Brilliant colors light up the facade, with curtains of flowers raining down the entrance, almost waking us up to something quite similar to a Buddhist monastery lost in the mountains. Kedarnath lies at the head of the Mandakini River in the Chamoli district, dotted with a possible Ganesha in orange at its entrance. Bells ring through out the day reliving the very essence of sound - OM, that spreads over to the mountains beyond.
They say that Kedarnath is one of five shrines called the Pancha Kedar. After the Mahabharata war the five pandavas wanted to seek the help of Lord Shiva, for their redemption from the sin of killing their kith and kin and their guru. Lord Shiva avoided them repeatedly and took refuge in Kedarnath in the form of a bull. The second pandava, Bhima, tried to pick Him up, but the bull dived into the ground leaving behind His hump on the surface. Lord Shiva was pleased with their persistence and requested the Pandavas to worship His hump at Kedarnath. This hump is worshipped at Kedarnath in the form of a conical Shiva pinda form. The other parts of Shiva's body, his arms, face, navel and hair locks appeared at Tungnath, Rudranath, Madmaheshwar and Kalpeshwar. These four shrines along with Kedarnath are worshipped as "Panch Kedar".
When one stands in the middle of these towering mountains the mind just fills with peace and tranquility, with the very Lord Himself who descends down to earth to save us from our misery. Kedarnath, is one such abode, where the Lord resides forever.
An island was once cut out by the sacred Narmada as she flows furiously by the Vindya mountain. Omkareshwar is located in the little town of Mandhata, a little town still brimming with life among the lush green Vindhya hills along the Narmada. A sacred island, which carries the ancient charm of the north, as well as mythological legacy of Rishi Agasthya, Omkareshwar holds to the world one of the Jyotir Lingas out of 12. Interestingly this Linga was split into two, one placed at Omkareshwar and the other part was placed at Amaleshwar.
Omkareshwar gives the feel of the untouched north, untouched by the parasitic evolutions sold by the west. Here once can sit back and relax, having Lassi or a limca, and look at various colors of Sindur lined up for sales at shops near Dhabas. And then the curiosity moves on to the bridge that takes us back into the silence where only the sound of Om can be heard, on this island that is shaped the same way. A modern bridge that appears more like a blotch in this beautiful scenery connects ancient ghats from one side to the other, with even more ancient building towering around giving us a feeling that this still belongs to the ancient world, remnants of a city once built by the king of the Ikshvakus, King Mandhata who is believed to have worshipped Lord Shiva here.
Temple, ancient and sacred dot these beautiful ghats, a picture very similar giving the feeling of Varanasi and the Ganges. Rectangular boats ferry pilgrims across the river which shows all around, steep rising fort walls with ancient palaces and ghats with stairs leading up to the higher parts of this almost magical town, promising a darshan of the Lord in Jyotir Linga form.
As one rises up these steps, revealing a archaic world, where life goes on as usual, where old generations are replaced by new, where life may appear to “improve” but leaves behind the quaint little town hosting a grand temple to the Lord, and everyone gets to worship Him, bathing Him in abhishekam, on their own, something unheard of in the south of the Vindhyas. Mandhata is charming, with jarokhas and modern buildings intermingled so seamlessly that people and Gods in red occupy the street temples together, and worship still goes on as usual.
But what had Agasthya got to do with all this? It is believed that Narada once descended down into Bhu Loka and visited Mount Vindhya and sang praises of Mount Meru, saying all the devas live there. This was Narada’s way of attempting to reduce Mount Vindhya’s pride about his land. On the contrary Mount Vindhya prayed to Lord Shiva and performed penance vigorous enough for the Lord to appear in Jyotir Linga form as Omkareshwar and grant him a boon. Mount Vindhya, in comparison to Mount Meru wished that he would grow taller. And the wish was granted on a condition that he should not hinder the faith or worship of other Shiva devotees. Mount Vindhya grew, so much so that he blocked the Sun from rising as well as the moon. It was then that Rishi Agasthya descended to earth on the request of all in heaven and came upon the Vindhya range. He said he was headed south of the Vindhyas and that the mountains shouldn’t grow until he returned. Sure enough Mount Vindhya agreed and with that his growth was stopped. Sage Agasthya never returned to the North.
Omkareshwar also holds other treasures; Shankaracharya’s Guru is believed to have spent some time here in a cave. This island is also called Shivpuri. This also hosts to the Panchamuga Ganesha and Annapurani whose worship is considered equally auspicious. There is a lot to believe about Omkareshwar and Amaleshwar, apart from the others who hold equal respect in these soils.
