Journey
Jyotirlingas
The twelve Jyotirlingas are the principal Shiva shrines of India, believed to be self-manifested (svayambhu) lingams of light. The Shiva Purana lists them as Somnath, Mallikarjuna, Mahakaleshwar, Omkareshwar, Kedarnath, Bhimashankar, Vishwanath, Trimbakeshwar, Baidyanath, Nageshwar, Rameshwara and Grishneshwar, mapping Shaiva devotion across the entire subcontinent. The list varies between recensions, and at least three sites are claimed by more than one town.
Stops (14)
- Somnāth / Prabhāsa · Somnath Temple
On the Arabian Sea coast at Prabhas Patan, the first Jyotirlinga, said to be worshipped by the moon god Soma to escape Daksha's curse. Repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt from the 11th century onward, most famously sacked by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1026. The present temple was reconsecrated in 1951 by Sardar Patel.
- Srisailam/ Sri Shailam · Mallikarjuna Temple
At Srisailam on the Nallamala hills above the Krishna river, where Shiva and Parvati took form as Mallikarjuna and Bhramaramba to console Kartikeya after his flight from Kailash. Darshan here is traditionally held equal to darshan at Kashi Vishwanath. It is also one of the eighteen Shakti Peethas.
- Ujjain / Avantikā · Mahakaleshwar Temple
Mahakaleshwar, Ujjain: On the Shipra in Madhya Pradesh, the only south-facing Jyotirlinga, considered swayambhu and bhairava in aspect. Its distinctive bhasma aarti at 4 am uses ashes said in earlier tradition to come from cremation grounds. Ujjain served as classical India's zero meridian for astronomy, giving Mahakaleshwar cosmic-temporal significance.
- Omkāreshvara · Omkareshwar Temple
Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh: On the Mandhata island in the Narmada, shaped like the syllable Om. It houses two lingams, Omkareshwar on the island and Amareshwar on the south bank, sometimes counted as one Jyotirlinga split. Adi Shankaracharya is said to have met his guru Govinda Bhagavatpada in a cave here.
- Kedāranāth · Kedarnath Temple
At 3,583 metres in the Garhwal Himalayas, the highest Jyotirlinga. The lingam is a natural rock outcrop said to be Shiva's hump when he fled the Pandavas as a bull, with other body parts appearing at the Panch Kedar shrines. The temple survived the 2013 flash floods intact.
- Bhīmashankara · Bhimashankar Temple
In the Sahyadri hills of Pune district at the source of the Bhima river, in dense Western Ghats forest. Shiva is said to have taken this form after slaying the demon Tripurasura. The site is enclosed within the Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary, home to the endemic Malabar giant squirrel, tying the shrine into a Ghat ecology.
- Kāshī / Vārānasī / Banāras · Kashi Vishwanath Temple
Vishwanath, Varanasi: On the Ganga at Kashi, the most spiritually charged Jyotirlinga, believed to grant instant moksha through Shiva's taraka mantra whispered at death at Manikarnika Ghat. The current temple dates to 1780 under Ahilyabai Holkar, and its 750 kilograms of gold plating on the shikhara were gifted by Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
- Tryambaka / Trimbakeshwar · Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple
Near Nashik at the source of the Godavari river, at the foot of Brahmagiri hill. The lingam has three faces representing Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, uniquely triune among the Jyotirlingas. It anchors the Nashik Kumbh Mela cycle and marks the Godavari's ritual origin, southern counterpart to Gangotri.
- Deoghar Baidyanāth · Baidyanath Jyotirlinga Temple
At Deoghar, traditionally identified as the Jyotirlinga installed by Ravana. The month-long Shravani Mela draws kanwariyas who walk 108 kilometres from Sultanganj on the Ganga carrying its water. Some traditions place this Jyotirlinga instead at Parli Vaijnath in Maharashtra, a dispute unresolved between the two seats.
- Nāgesha / Nāgeshvara · Nageshwar Jyotirlinga Temple
Near Dwarka on the Saurashtra coast, worshipped as the naga or serpent-lord Jyotirlinga. Shiva is said to have manifested here to protect a devotee named Supriya from the demon Daruka. A 25 metre statue of Shiva stands beside the temple, one of the largest in India. It pairs with Dwarka in the western pilgrimage circuit.
- Rāmeshvara / Rameswaram · Ramanathaswamy Temple
On Pamban Island facing Sri Lanka, the southernmost Jyotirlinga. Rama is said to have installed the lingam before crossing to Lanka to rescue Sita, making it a rare shrine linking Vaishnava and Shaiva narratives. It is also the southern dham of the pan-Indian Char Dham. Its temple corridors are the longest of any Hindu temple.
- Grishneshvara / Ghushmesha · Grishneshwar Temple
Near Ellora in Aurangabad district, the twelfth and last Jyotirlinga, associated with a devotee named Kusuma whose devotion revived her murdered child. Its 18th century temple was rebuilt by Ahilyabai Holkar. It sits within walking distance of the Ellora caves, tying the Jyotirlinga circuit to the Kailasa monolith at Cave 16.
- Nagnath, Hingoli
Aundha Nagnath in Hingoli district is claimed by many traditions as the true Nageshwar Jyotirlinga, disputing the more commonly cited Nageshwar near Dwarka in Gujarat. The Hemadpanti-style temple dates to the Yadava period and is significant in the Marathi Warkari devotional circuit.
- Parli Vaijnath, Beed
Parli Vaijnath in Beed district is claimed as the true Baidyanath Jyotirlinga, disputing Deoghar in Jharkhand. Both sites maintain the claim, and neither has been resolved in favour of the other.