Shiva Linga made up of black stone decorated with flowers & bael leaf known as Aegle marmelos, over orange background, maha shiva ratri a festival of hindu God shankar or shankar bhagwan or bholenath
“Hinduism religion is one of the followed religions in the world. There are three main deities in the Hindu religion- Brahma, Vishnu & Mahesh. They are called Tridev. Lord Shiva is known as Mahesh and he is considered to be the destructor of the evil in the world. Maa Parwati is the wife of Lord Shiva and she is referred to as Shakti. Shiv is worshipped in the form of Shiva Linga in the whole country. There are 64 Jyotirlinga but only 12 Jyotirlinga are considered to be significant.”
What Is Jyotirlinga?
Jyotirlingas are the sacred place where Lord Shiva lives in various ways. The meaning of the Jyotirlinga is the glorious sign of Lord Shiva. The word “Jyoti” means light, radiance, and Linga, sign or image. Thus Jyotirlinga means “Radiant sign of Lord Shiva”. The meaning of jyotirlinga is a luminous beam that emits light.
According to Hindu belief, Lord Shiva is considered to be the supreme deity and creator of the universe. Once Lord Brahma and Vishnu went to war to establish supremacy with each other. Shiva appeared in front of them in the form of a huge pillar of light. Brahma went up and Vishnu went down to find the end of this glittering pillar. While Brahma choose to lie, Vishnu accepted the defeat for not finding an end. Shiva emerged from the pillar, cursing Brahma, who was not worshipped until the end of eternity and blesses Vishnu’s dedication. This splendid pillar is called “Jyotirlinga”. Indian saint Adi Shankaracharya who reviewed Hinduism in 800 CE, mentioned the most important Jyotirlinga.
Somnath Temple, Gujrat:
Somanath is the first and foremost jyotirlinga of all jyotirlinga. It is situated in Gujrat near Veraval. The name of Somnath is kept in the name of the moon. It is believed that Moon was married to Daksha’s 27 daughters, but he favoured only one daughter of Dakha’s and ignored the other. So father Daksha cursed the moon to lose his entire lustre. Moon worshipped Lord Shiva to get rid of the curse given by Daksha. After getting blessings from Shiva moon regained his lustre so this town is also called Prabhas. since that time God’s moon resides there in the form of Lord Shiva.
Shree Somnath Jyotirlinga
There are myths about the temple that the original Somanath temple was built up of pure gold from the moon. Somnath temple was built by the moon in pure gold, then rejuvenated by Ravan into silver, sandalwood from Krishna and finally into stone by Bimadeba. since then the temple had been attacked by invaders over the centuries of the middle age. The last temple is made up of reddish yellow stone and was founded in 1951 by the first president of India.
Malikarjun Temple Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh
The second Jyotirlinga of Shiva is Mallikarjuna Swamy which is located in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh. It is also termed the “Kashi” of the south. Malikarjuna has located 215 km from Hyderabad in Nallmala hill forests along the bank of Krishna.
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According to legend Shiva and Parwati descended to this place to commemorate an upset Kartikeya because Ganesh had been before him as he was the brother of Kartikey. The huge fort-shaped complex enshrines Mallikarjun Swami and Balmaramba Devi as the main deities. Other important attractions in the area include Panchamatam, Istakmeshwari Temple, Sakshi Ganeth, Shikaram and Sri Siram Dam.
Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga
Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga is a famous jyotirlinga dedicated to Lord Shiva and one of 12 Jyotirlinga. It is located in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The temple is located on the shores of Rudra Sagar lake.
King Chandrasena of Ujjain was a great devotee of Lord Shiva and prayed to him unceasingly. Once as he was praying, his farmer’s son heard him. The boy wanted to pray with the king but was exiled by the palace soldiers and taken to the outskirts of Ujjain. The boy then heard Ujjain’s rival King Ripdamana and Sinhaditya talking about attacking the city. Priest Vridhi got the news and at the request of his children began praying to Lord Shiva on the banks of the Kshipra river.
Ripudamana and Sighaditya attacked Ujjain, plundered the city and attacked Shiva’s followers with the help of the demon Dushan. After hearing the pleas of the priest and his devotees, Lord Shiv appeared in the form of Mahakaal and defeated Ripudamana and Sighaditya. At the request of Shikhar and Vridhi, Lord Shiva agreed to stay in Ujjain to protect the city and his followers. From this day the lord Shiva resides in the lingam in the form of Mahakaal and whoever worships the lingam will be blessed by the Lord.
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