Twelve shrines, spread across nine Indian states, are all said to hold the same god in the same form. This article covers the Jyotirlingas — the twelve sacred abodes of Shiva as a pillar of light.
The Legend of the Pillar of Light Need to Know
- A Jyotirlinga, literally a “linga of light,” is a shrine believed to mark a spot where Shiva manifested as a column of light.
- The core legend, told in the Shiva Purana, describes Brahma and Vishnu arguing over who was supreme. Shiva appeared between them as an endless pillar of fire.
- He challenged them to find either end of the pillar. Vishnu, as a boar, dug downward. Brahma, as a swan, flew upward. Neither reached an end.
- Vishnu admitted defeat honestly. Brahma lied, claiming he had reached the top. Shiva cursed Brahma for the lie, saying he would receive no earthly worship.
- Twelve places across India are traditionally counted as sites of this manifestation. Together, they form one of Hinduism’s most important pilgrimage circuits.
The Twelve Shrines Good to Know
- Somnath, Veraval, Gujarat. Read more: ArtnCulture0124 — Somnath Temple: A Thousand Years of Destruction and Rebuilding.
- Mallikarjuna, Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh, on the Krishna river gorge. It is also one of the 18 Shakti Peethas, giving it double significance.
- Mahakaleshwar, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. It is the only Jyotirlinga facing south, tied to the famous pre-dawn Bhasma Aarti ritual.
- Omkareshwar, on an island in the Narmada river, Madhya Pradesh. The island itself is said to be shaped like the sacred syllable “Om.” A common exam trap wrongly pairs Omkareshwar with the Satmala Hills — it actually sits in the Vindhya range area, not the Satmalas. See IndGeo0085 — The Nallamala Hills for the full UPSC 2015 pilgrimage-geography question this trap comes from.
- Kedarnath, in the Himalayas, Uttarakhand. It is part of both the Char Dham circuit and the separate Panch Kedar group of five Shiva shrines.
- Bhimashankar, in the Sahyadri hills near Pune, Maharashtra, by traditional and majority reckoning.
- Kashi Vishwanath, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, on the Ganga. Read more: IndReligion0021 — Kashi Vishwanath Temple.
- Trimbakeshwar, near Nashik, Maharashtra. It is the source of the Godavari river and has an unusual three-faced linga.
- Vaidyanath. This location is genuinely disputed. Deoghar, Jharkhand, is the most widely accepted site among pilgrims, though Parli in Maharashtra also has a strong traditional claim.
- Nageshwar. This location is also genuinely disputed. Popular pilgrimage lists most often place it near Dwarka, Gujarat, though Aundha Nagnath in Maharashtra has its own long-standing claim.
- Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu. The Ramayana says Rama worshipped Shiva here before crossing to Lanka.
- Grishneshwar, near the Ellora Caves, Maharashtra. It is the smallest of the twelve, standing beside a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Test Yourself
Two of India’s Most Storied Shrines Great to Know
- Somnath and Kashi Vishwanath stand apart from the other ten. Both carry centuries of documented history well beyond their status as Jyotirlingas alone, which is why each gets its own dedicated article on this site.
- Somnath was repeatedly attacked and rebuilt across the centuries, most famously after Mahmud of Ghazni’s raid in 1026 CE. Its current structure was rebuilt after 1947.
- Kashi Vishwanath sits on the Ganga at Varanasi, one of the holiest cities in Hinduism, and remains among the most visited shrines in the country today.
- The location disputes around Vaidyanath and Nageshwar are genuine and unresolved. No single authority has settled them, and different regional traditions continue to honour their own claimed site.
- A more recent controversy, raised by Assam’s government in 2023, claims a site near Guwahati as the true Bhimashankar. This is a modern political dispute, not an ancient scholarly one, and the Pune site remains the one most commonly listed.
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