Informative

The 12 Jyotirlingas

The 12 Jyotirlingas – Radiant Infinity – Story and Spiritual Significance

The word Jyotirlinga, when broken down, means Raidant (Jyoti) and Infinity (Linga). The term Jyotirlinga expresses the radiance infinity of Lord Shiva and how He is the beginning and the end that exists and doesn’t exist simultaneously.

There are total 12 Jyotirlinga temples in India, and are beautifully described by the below Stotram –

Shree Dwadasha (12) Jyotirlingam Stotram

सौराष्ट्रे सोमनाथं च श्रीशैले मल्लिकार्जुनम् । उज्जयिन्यां महाकालम्_ॐकारममलेश्वरम् ॥१॥

परल्यां वैद्यनाथं च डाकिन्यां भीमाशंकरम् । सेतुबंधे तु रामेशं नागेशं दारुकावने ॥२॥

वाराणस्यां तु विश्वेशं त्र्यंबकं गौतमीतटे ।हिमालये तु केदारम् घुश्मेशं च शिवालये ॥३॥

एतानि ज्योतिर्लिङ्गानि सायं प्रातः पठेन्नरः ।सप्तजन्मकृतं पापं स्मरणेन विनश्यति ॥४॥

Meaning – 

(1) Somanath in Saurashtra and

Mallikarjunam in Shri-Shailam; Mahakaal in Ujjain, Omkareshwar in Amleshwar.

(2) Vaidyanath in Paralya and

Bhimashankaram in Dakinya; Ramesham (Rameshwaram) in Sethubandh, Nagesham

(Nageshwar) in Darauka-Vana.

(3) Vishvanath in Vanarasi, Triambakam at

the bank of the river Gautami; Kedarnath in the Himalayas and Gushmeshwar in

Shivalaya (Shiwar).

(4) One who recites these Jyotirlingas

every evening and morning gets relieved of all sins committed in past seven lives. 

It is believed that one who visits these 12 Jyotirlinga temples mentioned in the Stotram, gets all their wishes fulfilled and attains Moksha as Maheshwara (Shiva) gets pleased by the worship.

In this blog, we will understand the story behind the creation of the Jyotirlingas and their spiritual importance.

The Story

According to Śiva Mahāpurāṇa, once Lord Brahma (the God of creation) and Lord Vishnu (the God of preservation) had an argument over supremacy of creation. To settle the debate, Supreme God Shiva pierced the three worlds appearing as a huge infinite pillar of light, asking both Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu to find the end/beginning of the light, upon which, it will be clear who the creator is.

Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma split their ways to downwards and upwards respectively to find the end of the light in either direction. Upon no success, Lord Brahma lied that He found out the end, while Lord Vishnu conceded His defeat. This lie of Lord Brahma angered Lord Shiva making Him curse Lord Brahma that even though He is the creator of the universe He would not be worshipped. This is also the reason that there are no Lord Brahma temples in the world, except one in the city of Pushkar Rajasthan.

It was then understood that the Jyotirlinga is the Supreme Shiva, part less reality, out of which Shiva appeared in another form, Lingodbhava. The Jyotirlinga shrines are temples where Shiva appeared as a fiery column of light. 

Originally there were believed to be 64 jyotirlingas while twelve of them are considered to be very auspicious and holy. Each of the twelve jyotirlinga sites take the name of the presiding deity, each considered a different manifestation of Shiva. At all these sites, the primary image is lingam representing the beginningless and endless Stambha pillar, symbolising the infinite nature of Shiva.

Spiritual Importance –

Jyotirlingas have tremendous power for anyone who is beginning their spiritual journey and is in need of divine interference. The way the Jyotirlingas were consecrated and made, gives them immense power, to bless the seeker on their spiritual path. The twelve Jyotirlingas are located at geographically and astronomically significant points. These points are subject to certain forces in the existence. A long time ago, people with a certain level of perception very carefully calibrated these spaces and fixed those points according to the celestial movement. These spaces are created in a certain way, not just using human capabilities, but the forces of nature.

These temples were consecrated according to the science of energizing forms. This is the science of using life energies to enhance human life in a phenomenal way. If you transform mud into food, we call this agriculture; if you make food into flesh and bone, we call this digestion; if you make flesh into mud, we call this cremation. If you can make this flesh or even a stone or an empty space into a divine possibility, that is called consecration; it is a fantastic science.

When a seeker walks into these temples and meditates near the Jyotirlingas, they can feel the powers of Prakriti (Mother Nature) and Paurush (Lord Shiva) coming together and taking them forward on their path, removing any obstacles they were facing till now.

We will do a detailed blog on each of the Jyotirlingas, explaining their locations and histories as well. Till then, we encourage you to do some research and try visiting one of the Jyotirlingas and experience the spiritual ascension.

We hope this blog helped you understand the beginning and end of the Universe better. Feel free to write to us at info@chamundaswamiji.com for any queries.

We will be back with another interesting blog next week.