how jyotirlingas can be 14

How Dwadasa Jyothirlingas can be 14

Lord Siva,Nageswar ( Dwaraka)

“Saurashtre Somanathamcha Srisaile MallikarjunamUjjayinya Mahakalam Omkaramamaleswaram Paralyam Vaidyanathancha Dakinyam Bheema Shankaram

Setu Bandhethu Ramesam, Nagesam DarukavaneVaranasyantu Vishwesam

Tryambakam GautameethateHimalayetu Kedaaram, Ghrishnesamcha shivaalaye

Etani jyotirlingani, Saayam Praatah PatennarahSapta Janma Kritam papam,

Smaranena Vinashyati”

The above shloka tells us about dwadasa (12) jyotirlingas. Then how they can be 14.

Please go through the Blog completely...

The order of the Jyotirlingas is as per the shloka

Somanath Temple

1) Somanath Jyotirlinga :Jai Somnath. It is in Gujarat and one can go by Somanath express(trainNo1464) which goes from Jabalpur to somanath via Bhopal, Ujjain, Ahmedabad, Rajkot. Somanath is 79 Km from Junagudh.The temple is rebuilt by Maharani Ahilya Bai of Indore in 18th century.The original temple was destroyed by Md Ghajani in 1025 and rebuilt immediately by King Bhima of Gujarat and King Bhoja of Malwa.Later It was destroyed by Md Allauddin Khilji in 1300 and rebuilt by King Mahipala. Later it was destroyed number times and finally by Aurangzeb. It is said that the original shivalinga was hidden by the locals and was reinstalled in the temple built by the Maharani Ahilya Bai. Other places of interest are Gita mandir,Laxminarayana mandir and Parshuram mandir. It is said that Bhagawan Parshuram is relieved of his curse of killing Kshatriyas by Bhagawan Somnath.

Dwaraka is another Jyotirlinga in Gujrat which is 233 Km by road from here.

Stay: Good hotels are not available for accommodation at Somnath and one can stay at Veraval which is 7 Km from Somnath.

Food :Dokala a delicious gujarati dish is available in break fast. Raw khajoor is availble in the season which we may not find in any part of the India except Rajasthan. Thali is available for Rs40.

Near by places: Bakhla Tirth 5 Km from Somanath where lord Krishna has left his body when he was hit by arrow made by stone tip by a Bhil tribal. Famous Gir forest where you can find Asiatic Lions.You need at least two days to see the Gir forest. Gir forest is 42 Km from Junagudh and almost same distance from Somanath. Veraval beach is 5 Km from somnath. Porbandar, the birth place of Mahatma Gandhi is 103 Km from here. Veraval beach is 5 Km from Somnath.

Nearest Air port : Porbandar 103 km

Srisailam Temple

2)Srisailam Jyotirlinga : It is in Andhra Pradesh and it is well connected by road than train. One can go by bus or taxi to Srisailam from Hyderabad. The distance is nearly 232 Km .Nearest railway stations are Vinukonda(120Km), Markapur(85Km) and Kurnool(190Km). Markapur is in Guntur -Hubli route. Here the deity is called as Lord Mallikarjuna. It is said that Adi Shankaracharya has visited this temple and composed Sivananda Lahari here. You can perform abhisheka your self by purchasing the ticket.The goddess is Bhramarambika Devi and it is one of the 18 shaktipeethas. Neck part of goddess sati has fallen here.APSRTC runs a package tour to Sriailam and Nagarjuna sagar on week ends in the season.

Nearest places: The famous Srisailam dam which is 512M length and 270M height and it is a major hydro power station of Andhra Pradesh. Alampur Jogulamba temple is 24 Km from Kurnool. It is one of the 18 shaktipeethas.

Airport : Hyderabad

Stay: Accommodation is available easily like Hotels /dharma salas (chowltries)/srisailam trust guest house.

Mahakaleswar Temple

3)Ujjain Jyotirlinga : The deity is called as Mahakaleswara. Ujjain is 50Km(2hrs) from Indore. Or you can drop at Ujjain while going to Somanath by train.You are allowed to touch the jyotirlinga when rush is not there. The decoration of the linga is different in the morning and evening. One should not miss the evening decoration which is made with the clay from the river shipra. It is said that the Vibhodhi used in the temple comes from the burial ground.

Hara sidhi mata temple which is one of the shaktipeethas is very close to main temple. Upper lip of goddess sati has fallen here.

Hara sidhi mata Temple

(one of the 18 Shaktipeethas)

Ujjain is place of historical importance and there are many places of tourist interests like Ghat Kalika(Kalidas aradhana devi ) temple,Char Dham mandir, bethala pipale tree, temple built by king Vikramaditya and Kala Bhirava temple where liquor is offered as prasada, Bada Ganapathi mandir ,Mangalanath Temple, Gopal mandir,Iskon mandir,Sandeepani Ashram and Bhookhi mata temple. You can see the rare potriat of King Vikramadithya in the court hall near Hara Sidhi mata temple.

Stay : Mahakalewara trust Dharma sala which is neat and clean.Local tourist bus is available which takes 4 hours to cover the above places. MP tourism bus charges Rs50 and private bus charges Rs36.

Food : Pooha is availble in the break fast. Near the main temple Idli is available in the hotel Shivam. Neat Gujarati/Maravari khana is available easily.

Omkarewara Temple

4)Omkareswar Jyotirlinga:The god is called here as Omkareswara. Omkareswaram is 77 Km(Rs50) by road from Khandwa from where very frequent buses are available. It is 80 km(Rs50) from Indore. Nearest railway station is Omkareswara road which is 12Km from the town. You can perform abhisheka your self in the temple. The temple is on the banks of river Narmada. We find many Kanwarias carrying water from Narmada to Mahakaleswar temple by walk. MP Road transport runs direct bus to Ujjain daily twice at 11.30 and 14.30 hrs from Omkaleswar.

Stay :Best place is Gajanana samsthan very neat and less expensive.

5)Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga : There is a dispute about this jyotirlinga. Many people say it is in Deogarh district in Jharkhand state. Some body says it is in Parli in Maharashtra. In both places you will find a plaque made by the respective government saying that it is one of the 12 jyotirlingas. So better to visit both these jyotirlingas to have satisfaction. It increases your count to 13. It is said that Demon King Ravana has offered his heads one by one to Lord Shiva. Pleased with this Shiva descended to earth and cured Ravana who was injured with his act. As Lord Shiva has acted as Vaidya(Doctor) the place is called Vaidyanath.

Vaidyanath Temple (Deogarh)

5a)Vaidyanath,Deogarh(Jharkhand): Nearest rail way station is Jasidih junction which is 7Km from Vaidyanath temple.Jasidh is 311 Km from Howrah/Sealdah in Patna route. As per Siva puranam Vaidyanath is in Chithabhoomi which is the ancient name for Deogarh.It is well connected by road /bus from Ranchi,Gaya,Bhagalpur and Hazaribagh. You can perform abhisheka your self.

Here the Deity is called Baba Baidyanath. It is a huge temple complex having 22 temples. The main one is Baba Baidyanath which is 72 feet from the ground and it is lotus shaped. The other temples are of Maa Parvathi, Maa Kali, Maa Jagat Janani, Kal Bhairav and Lakshminarayan. You will find Maa parvathi temple is tied up with main temple with huge dagha (please see the photo)

The water used for abhisheka is brought from the river Ganga which is 117 KM from the temple from the place called Sultanpur. The water is brought by the Kanwarias who carry the water in Kavadi and walk all the distance by bare foot. You find large crowds walking all the way carrying water.

Road Route: By road Babadham is 373 Km from Kolkatta,112 Km from Girdhi, 281Km from Patna, 67 Km from Dumka and 57 Km from Madhupur. It is 6 hrs distance from Ranch and 4 hrs from Bhagalpur.

Stay : Moderate hotels are available.

Places of Interest: Budh Gaya which is 300Km from here by road. Sarva Mangala Gowri shaktipeetha is also there near Gaya where breast part of goddess sati has fallen.

Parli vaijnath Temple

5b) Parli Vaijnath: The temple is 2Km from the Parli rail way station.It was rebuilt by Maharani Ahilya Bai in 1776. you can perform abhisheka your self by paying Rs 101. Men have to remove their shirts while performing the abhisheka. Out side the temple, Dakshin mukh Ganesh temple is there. Rani Ahilya Bai's (who has renovated many jyotirlingas ) statue is there in the temple complex. The temple water tank is also constructed like shiva linga only.

It is also well connected by road from Nagpur and over night super deluxe buses are available.Bus takes 10hours.

Railway station : Parli vaijnath, which is connected by direct trains from Secunderabad (340Km), Kakinada, Manmad, Visakhapatnam and Bangalore. Parbhani rail way station is 70Km from here which is on Nagpur-Mumbai train route.

Airport : Nanded

Places of interest : Ganghakher is 31 Km from Parli where Dattatreya temple is there. Nanded is 107 Km from here. It is famous gurudwara.

Bhima shankaram temple

6) Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga :It is one of the jyotirlingas which is not connected by train. you can reach it by road from pune or Shirdi or Mumbai . It is 120 Km from Pune and 170 Km from Shirdi. There is no proper accommodation for stay at Bhimashankar and one has to stay at Manchar which is 35Km from Bhimashankar on the way to Pune. Buses are available from Pune,Shivaji nagar bus stand(5Km from rly station) to Bhimashankar directly. First bus (Rs82) starts at 5.15AM.It is ghat road and journey is very enjoyable.

Rameswaram Temple

7) Rameswara Jyotirlinga :It is in Tamil nadu and it is well connected by train from Chennai, Madurai and Trichy.From Chennai it is 600Km and from Madurai it is 120Km.Here deity is called Ramanatha swamy.One can reach Rameswaram(a island) via Pamban bridge across the sea. Here 36 theerthas are there.The lingam here is said to be made by earth by Sita while returning to Ayodhya. It is said that Hanuman was asked to bring a linga from Kasi for worship by Lord Rama. Anticipating some delay in Hanuman's arrival, Rama worshiped Siva(linga made by Sita) before the auspicious moments. we can find the linga brought by Hanuman also which is known as Viswanthar linga or Hanuman linga or Kasi linga.

Out of 36 theerthas 22 are available in the temple and one can take bath in water from these theerthas. people are available in the temple who can take you to all these theerthas and pour water on you with a bucket. Whole activity will not take much time as all these theerthas are very close to each other.

Places of Interest : Dhanuskoti from where Rama has built the bridge to lanka.,Gandamadana .

Nageswara Temple(Dwaraka)

8)Nageswara Jyotirlinga :

There is a dispute about this temple also.Many people say it is in Gujarat near Dwaraka. Some people say it is in Maharashtra at Aunda nagnath .However I am covering both these Jyotirlingas in this blog.

8a)Nageswara jyotirlingam: The Temple is 17 km from Dwaraka. You can reach Dwaraka by Puri - OKha or Ernakulam-OKha train. Dwaraka is one station before Okha. There are reasonable accommodation available for stay at Rs150 for single and Rs 250 for double room. You can visit Nageswar temple by tourist bus(Rs50) which will cover Rukhmini temple, Nageswar temple and Bet Dwaraka apart from Nageswar temple. Bet Dwaraka is the place where Sudhama met lord Krishna. For Bet dwaraka You have to go by boat for which you have to buy boat ticket seperately. At Nageswar temple, one can buy Rs 151 abhisheka ticket and do the same him self by wearing a dhoti provided by temple trust (if yor are not having your own). A huge statue of Lord Siva is there by the side of Nageswar temple.Please see the top of this blog

Places of Interest: Dwarakadish temple, Iskon temple, Swami narayan temple and Trilok darshan art gattery of Brahmakumaris. and the Sharada peeth(Dwaraka). It is one of the four peethas installed by Adi Shankaracharya. Sri shankaracharya has installed Sharada peethas in all four sides that is east ,west, north and south.This is the peetha installed in west.

Food :In breakfast Ghaatia or dokala both made of basan are only available. Both are delicious but if basan does not suit you ,alternative arrangement for bread etc to be made in advance. Plenty of curd is available near all the temples.

Dwarakadish Temple

From here one can go to Somanath by road which is nearly 233 Km. Cell phones are not allowed in any of the temple in Dwarakha.

Aunda(aundha) Naganath Temple

8b) Aunda Naganath jyotirlinga: It is 120Km from Parli in Maharashtra. This is very old temple built by Rani Ahilya Bai. The place where the temple is there is called Darukavanam. The above shloka says 'Nagesam Darukavane' as such it is believed that this is the actual jyothirlinga.It is 51Km from Parbhani rail way station. Nandigram express( train No1401) which goes from Nagpur to Mumbai stops here.The main deity at aundha is in under ground. One can perform abhisheka by purchasing the ticket. The men need not remove their shirts while performing the abhisheka. After the abhisheka the silver cover on the linga is removed and one can have the darshan of the main deity. While coming out from the inner temple one has to climb a 3 feet step which is difficult for ladies and old people.

Food : one can have good food at National dhabha which 2Km from the temple.

Stay : Parbhani where reasonable lodges at Rs 200 to 300 are available.

Places of interest : Jintur is 40 Km from Aunda where Digambar Jain temple is there. The statue of Mahaaveerji here is in almost floating state and just one inch above from the ground and resting on tip of a stone. This can be compared with the mysterious place in US near Sanfransisco. It is said that 500 years back this statue was floating six inches above the ground and when Moghals raided this area it was covered with earth and later the equilibrium was lost.

Nanded which is 64 Km from aundha is another place of interest where we will find famous Gurudwara and Guru Govindji ka samadhi.

In my opinion Aunda naganath seems to be the actual jyotirlinga because this temple only renovated by Rani Ahilya Bai and not the temple at Dwaraka even when she got constructed the temple at Somanath which is also in Gujarat. The temple at Dwaraka seems to be constructed recently. At both these temples(Nageswar Dwaraka /Aunda naganath) we find the plaques/boards made by the respective authorities saying that it is one of the 12 jyotirlingas. As such it is better to visit both these temples.

If you visit both these temples your count goes to 14.

Kasi Viswanath Temple

9) Varanasi Jyotirlinga:

It is the most famous jyotirlinga. It is well connected by train from New Delhi, Kolkatta, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and other major cities. The deity is known as Lord Kasi Visweswara and goddess is known as Kasi Visalakshi. You can do abisheka yourself . Original temple was destroyed many times and finally by Auranagazeb and rebuilt by Maharani Ahilya Bai in 1776. You can take bath in the river ganges which is close to the temple.

Stay: Many dharmasalas and hotels are available

Places of interest: The new Viswanath temple in the university complex and Saranath which is 11km from here. Harichandra ghat where the fire is continuing from the days of Raja Hari chandra.

Trayambakeswar Temple

10) Trayambakeswar Jyotirlinga : It is in Maharashtra and it is 27 km from Nasik. Nasik road railway station is 188 km from Mumbai central . Trayambakeswar is 6 hours by road (bus Rs121) from Manchar which is near Bhimashankar. It is one of the Jyotirlingas where you are not allowed in the inner temple and you can not do abhisheka your self.The decoration of the deityis different in the morning and evening.

Stay:Gajanana Samsthan very clean and reasonable rates( Rs 150 for double room)

Near by places of interest : Panchavati, Muktidham and birth place of River Godavari. It is 2hours hilly route to the birth place of Godavari. Unless you have lot of stamina, do not attempt to visit this place.

Kedarnath Temple

11) Kedarnath Jyotirlinga: It is in Uttaranchal. This is the only jyotirlinga which is not opened through out the year. The temple is opened from May to October every year and you have to go by road only.It is 230Km from Rishikesh and 250Km from Dehradun by road and is at an altitude of 3584M. The temple is built by Adi Shankaracharya in 8th century AD. Original temple said to be built by Pandavas. Behind the temple there is samadhi of Adi Shankaracharya. The route to Kedar from Rishikesh is via Devprayag, Srinagar,Rudraprayaga, Ukhimath and Gowrikhund.There is another route via Utter Kasi and gangotri.

Ukhimath is the place where priests offer prayers for six months when the temple is closed during the winter season.

Nearest railway station : Rishikesh

One can go upto Gowri(Gauri) kund by road and from there you can go to the temple by foot or by horse back or by doli . Lot of stamina is required to go by walk. Doli is safer and convenient than horse back. Doli charges Rs2400 for round trip in season and in non season even less than 1000.Before start one can have bath in Gowri kund(hot water spring). It will be very cold in the month of May also in Kedar and one should have proper winter clothing. On the hill oxygen content will be less and one should take necessary steps when you are planning to go by walk. Now a days helicopter service is also available.

Helecopter services : Helipad is at Agastymuni which is 17 Km from Rudraprayag. Rudraprayag is 140 Km from Rishikesh. Pawan Hans is operationg helecopter services (Five seater) from 6.30 AM to 11.10 AM. Daily 4 trips. Flying time is 45 min. 1hr and 30 min are given for Darshan and you should come back in the next trip. you can opt for next day trip too. Fare is Rs 8000 plus 501 for special darshan. One way ticket is Rs 5000.

Here also you can do abhisheka your self. Abhisheka tickets are available at Rs 2001 and 5 people are allowed for 15 minutes in the inner temple after 00.00 hrs in the night for doing abhisheka.

Other places of interest: Badarinath,Brahama kapalam, Gangothri and Yamunotri. From Kedar via Gupta kashi, Joshimath one can visit Badarinath. Badari is 300Km from Haridwar. Here deity is called Badarinarayana. Day time the deity is covered with chandan and flowers. Late night you can see the original moorthy.

At Gangothri You can visit Ganga mata temple. Here Ganga is called Bhagiradhi.From here one can visit Gomukh. You have to go by walk or pony back to Gomukh. Here you find Bhagiradhi comes out from Gomukh which is supposed to have come from Manasa Sarovar the birth place of River Bhagiradhi(Ganga). Devprayag is the place where Bhagiradhi meets Alakananda. After this also the river is called Alakananda. Rudraprayag is the place where Alakananda meets river Mandakini. After this it is called river Ganga and from here it goes to Rishikesh/Haridwar.

Joshimath is one of the four peethas installed by Adi Shankaracharya.

Grishneswar Temple

12) Grishneswar Jyotirlinga : It is in Maharashtra and near by rail way station is Daulatabad which is 12Km from the temple. It is also well connected by road from Aurangabad. The temple is rebuilt by Maharani Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore around 1768. It is the only jyotirlinga where the deity faces east. Many people are not aware of this temple and people who are visiting shirdi can plan a trip to this temple easily.The deity is called Ghrushmeshwar.The goddess is Grishneshwari. The temple is at Ilapur and the village is called Verul.

Stay : At Verul no proper lodges are there and one has to stay at Daulatabad/Aurangabad.

Near by places of interest: Ellora caves, Shiridi Sai baba temple , Daulatabad Fort, Aurangzeb Tomb, Bibika Makbara(mini tajmahal). Ajantha caves are 110 Km from the temple. Ellora is only 2Km from the temple. 34 caves are there at Ellora.

It is difficult to visit all the above Jyotirlingas in one go and recommended to visit in 3 or 4 attempts by combining the near by jyothirlingas. State wise jyothirlingas are given in the map below.

If you cover all these Jyotirlingas you will be covering 3 Shaktipeethas out of 18 and two Sharada peeths out of four.

Maha Rani Ahilya Bai

(Renovated Somanath,Parli, Aunda nagnath ,Varanasi & Grishneswar Jyotirlingas)

Rajmata Ahilya Bai Holkar (1725 - 1795) has ruled the Malwa kingdom, India from 1767-1795. She was born in the village Chaundi in Maharashtra. She has moved the capital to Maheshwar south of Indore on the Narmada River. Ahilyabai’s husband was killed in battle in 1754. Twelve years later, her father-in-law, Malhar Rao Holkar has died and she has taken charge of the Malwa kingdom. Rani Ahilya Bai was a great builder and patron of many Hindu temples which embellished Maheshwar and Indore. She has also built temples at sacred sites outside her kingdom, from Somanath in Gujarat to the Kashi Vishweswar temple at Varanasi. Some of these details are given in above blog.

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18 shaktipeethas