12 Jyotirlinga In India Their History, Timings & Importance

Lord Shiva, one of the principal deities of Hinduism, is known by many names. Some call him the destroyer of evil while some believe him to be the genesis of the world. If you are a Hindu, then you must have come across the term “Jyotirlinga”. Lord Shiva Jyotirlinga in India is highly respected amongst Hindus. Jyotirlinga is believed to be the radiant sign of the almighty. There were actually 64 Jyotirlingas among which 12 are considered distinctly holy.

Here is the 12 Jyotirlinga in India:

1. Somnath Jyotirlinga, Gujarat

Out of all the Jyotirlingas, let’s start with the Somnath Temple, Gujarat. This Jyotirlinga is near Veraval town in Kathiawad District and is one of the most renowned in the country. According to Shiva Purana, it is believed that Daksha Prajapati married his 27 daughters to the moon but the moon loved Rohini the most.

So, when Daksha Prajapati saw the ignorance received by her other 26 daughters, he cursed Moon that he’ll lose all his glow. It is believed that after being cursed, Moon and Rohini came to Somnath and worshipped Lord Shiva and were blessed to regain all his power. Lord Shiva was requested to reside there after that and thereafter known as Somnath. But with changing times, the Somnath temple has been broken and re-molded numerous times during different kingdoms.

Timings- For darshan from 6.00 AM to 9.00 PM, Aarti at 7.00 AM, 12.00Noon and 7.00 PM, and Jay Somnath sound and light show from 8.00 pm to 9.00 pm.

2. Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga, Andhra Pradesh

The Mllikarjuna Jyotirlinga in India, is one of the famous Shiva temples in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Located on Shri Shaila mountain on the banks of the river Krishna. It is also one of the most worshiped deities in Andhra Pradesh and is also known as the “Kailash of the South”. Here Shiva is known as Mallikarjuna and Bramhadeva as Devi.

According to Shiva Purana, Lord Ganesha got married before his elder brother Kartikeya so he got angry and went to Kraunch mountain. All the Gods went there after him to cool him down but couldn’t succeed. So finally, his parents, Lord Shiva, and Goddess Parvati themselves came to console him but that also went in vain.

Seeing his son in such pain Lord Shiva was very hurt and assumed the form of a Jyotirlinga and resided on the mountain by the name of Mallikarujna. As told above Mallika is another name of the goddess Parvati and Shiva is lord Arjuna. There’s a belief if anyone sees the top of the mountain, he will be freed from all his sins in life.

Timings- The temple opens at 4:30 AM and closes at 10:00 PM every day. Darshan for devotees is allowed between 6:30 AM to 1:00 PM and 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM.

3. Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga, Madhya Pradesh

Mahakaleshwar temple is situated in the holy city of Ujjain on the banks of river Kshipra in between the Mahakal forest. The temple is one of the most worshiped temples in Central India. There are many mythological explanations about how this Jyotirlinga in India came into existence.

The most relevant one is of a five-year boy named Shrikar who was completely allured after seeing the devotion of King Chandrasena of Ujjain towards Lord Shiva. Shrikar then took a stone and started worshiping it as Shiva. Seeing this many people tried to stop him but instead of getting disheartened, he got more enthusiasm in his devotion towards Lord Shiva.

Pleased by his devotion to Lord Shiva, he took the form of Jyotirlinga and resided in the name of Mahakaleshwar in the Mahakal forest. This place is also renowned as one of the seven “Mukti-Sthal” where a human can extricate to moksha.

Timings- The temple opens at 4:00 AM and closes at 11:00 PM every day. Darshan for devotees is allowed between 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM, 10:30 AM to 5:00 PM, 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM, and 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM. Mahakaleshwar aarti at 7:00 PM or 7:30 PM.

4. Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga, Madhya Pradesh

This is another Jyotirlinga in India situated in the state of Madhya Pradesh. You can visit here by coming to an island named Shivapuri in the river Narmada. Omkareshwar means “Lord of Omkara” i.e. the Lord with Om. The mythological stories state that once there was a war between Devas and Danavas i.e. Gods and Demons resulting in Demons as winners.

With this Devas decided to pray to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva seeing this got pleased and emerged in the form of Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga and defeated the Danavas. So, he resided there and it became one of the most worshiped temples.

Timings- The temple opens at 5:00 AM and closes at 9:35 PM every day. Darshan for devotees is allowed between 5:30 AM to 12:20 PM, 1:14AM to 4:00PM and 4:00PM to 8:30PM. Mangal aarti and naivedya bhog at 5:00AM, Sayan aarti at 8:30PM.

5. Baidyanath Jyotirlinga, Jharkhand

You could’ve also heard it as Baidyanath or Vaijnath as it is the same temple. This Jyotirlinga in India is situated in Deoghar, Jharkhand. Devotees believe that all worries and fear disappear if someone truly prays here within. He attains his moksha i.e. salvation worshiping here with full determination. Once, the demon King Ravana meditated for Lord Shiva and asked him to come to reside in Sri Lanka which was his kingdom.

For this, he tried to take Kailash mountain with him, but Lord Shiva cursed it. Ravana asked for his prayers and in return was given the twelve Jyotirlingas with a condition that if any of the Jyotirling would be grounded anywhere would root there permanently. Demon Ravana got it and lifted the Jyotirlinga and moved it toward his kingdom.

On the way, Lord Varuna entered Ravana’s body and he felt the urgent need to relieve himself. Lord Vishnu appeared in the form of a young man and offered to help Ravana by holding the lingam in the meantime. However, Lord Vishnu placed the lingam on the ground and it got rooted there. Watching this, Ravana in anger, shred down his nine heads. Seeing this Lord Shiva came to him and joined his all nine heads as a Vaidya (one who practices Ayurvedic Medicines). Therefore, it is named Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga.

Timings- The temple opens from 4:00AM to 3:30PM and 6:00PM to 9:00PM every day for people. During religious occasions, the darshan timings are extended.

6. Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga, Maharashtra

You can visit this temple in the Sahyadri region of Pune, Maharastra. This Jyotirlinga in India is situated beside the banks of river Bhima and is also believed to be the source of this river. The story of this temple is related to the Kumbhakarna’s son Bhima. When Bhima got to know that he was the son of Demon Kubhakarana who was killed by Lord Vishnu in the form of Lord Rama, he decided to take revenge against Lord Vishnu.

He performed penance to highlight himself in front of Lord Brahma to get heavy powers from him. Seeing his prayers Lord Brahma fulfilled his wishes. Soon after getting all the powers, he started destruction on the earth. He also had a fight with Kamrupeshwar a devotee of Lord Shiva and put him behind the bars. This angered many Gods and they worshiped in front of Lord Shiva to finish this demon.

A war went on between the two and Lord Shiva dust him out. All Gods asked Lord Shiva to make this place his home. This made him get a new form known as Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga. It is also believed that the sweat from Lord Shiva which came out during the war is the Bhima river.

Timings- The temple opens at 4:30AM and closes at 9:30PM every day. Darshan starts at 5:00AM in the morning and continues till 9:30PM. During madhyan aarti at 3:00PM darshan is closed for 45 minutes. Kakada aarti at 4:30AM, madhyan aarti at 3:00PM and aarti at 7:30PM.

7. Rameshwar Jyotirlinga, Tamil Nadu

Rameshwar temple is one of the most famous in the world. This temple is the southernmost of all the Jyotirlinga in India. This temple is located on the island of Rameshwaram, off the Sethu Coast of Tamil Nadu. The temple is famous for its Architecture. Not only in Bollywood even Hollywood films have some glimpse of this temple in the movies.

Its long corridor and 36 theerthams are all filled with art which resembles the culture of South India. This art is even compared with that of Banaras temple. This temple is fully associated with Ramayana. Lord Rama while traveling towards Sri Lanka in search of his wife Sita rested at Rameshwaram and were drinking water near the seashore.

He heard the proclamation “How could you drink water without my permission?”. After listening to this Lord Rama made an idol with sand and worshiped it and asked for blessings so that he could defeat Ravana. He received blessings from Lord Shiva which then turned into a Jyotirlinga and resided in Rameshwaram.

Timings- Temple timing is between 5:00AM to 1:00AM and 3:00AM to 9:00PM. Darshan can be done till 8:00PM only.

8. Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga, Aurangabad, Maharashtra

The Grishneshwar temple is situated in the village of Verul, 20 km from Daulatabad, near Aurangabad in Maharastra. If Ajanta and Ellora caves are in your planned trip then you must visit this Jyotirlinga in India, as this temple is very near to the famous tourist spot. Ahilyabai Holkar, one of the famous artists who also rebuilt the famous Kashi Viswanath Temple in Varanasi used his hand in making this beautiful structure.

This temple is also known by Kusumeswarar or Grushmeswara or Grishneswara or Ghusmeswara as pronounced among natives. Shiva Purana states that there was a married couple, Sudharm and Sudeha, who lived on the Devnagari mountain. But they had no infants so Sudeha allowed Sudharm to marry her own sister Ghusma. Sudharm and Ghusma had a beautiful boy which made her parents proud and this happiness acted as a thorn in the eyes of Sudeha.

Without taking this further, Sudeha threw the baby into a lake. Sudharm used to discharge 101 lingams in the same lake. After getting to know about his missing child, he went to the lake and prayed to Lord Shiva to get his son back. After listening to his prayer Lord Shiva showed his presence with the baby Sudharm had lost. The Lord returned his child and disclosed Sudeha’s evil deeds to him. Hearing this instead of getting Sudeha punished, she prayed to God to release her. This pleased Lord Shiva for Sudharm’s generosity. Sudharm also requested God to reside there in the form of Jyotirlinga and named Ghushmeshwar.

Timings- Temple remains open from 5:30AM to 9:30PM daily. However during Shravan, temple starts early from 3:00AM in the morning and remains open till 11:00Pm in the night.

9. Nageshwar Jyotirlinga, Daarukavanam, Gujarat

The Nageshwar temple is well known as Nagnath Temple among the locals. This temple can be reached by taking the route toward Gomati Dwarka and Bait Dwarka. This Jyotirlinga in India is renowned for having a special boon of protection from all types of poison. History defines a devotee named Supriya who was captured by a demon name Daaruka.

He imprisoned Supriya in his kingdom known as Darukavana with many others behind the bars. She advised everyone present there to recite “Om Nama Shivaaya” with every breath. This information got out to the demon and he immediately ran towards the prison to kill Supriya. But, before he could do anything Lord Shiva appeared in between and killed the demon. This was made to the formation of Nageshwar Jyotirlinga.

Timings- Temple opens at 5:00AM and is closed at 9:00PM everyday. Devotees can go for darshan between 6:00AM to 12:30PM and 5:00PM to 9:00PM.

10. Kashi Vishwanath, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

The most prominent among all the other Jyotirlinga in India is the Kashi Viswanath Temple. Those who follow Hindu mythology would’ve surely visited or will visit here. This temple is situated near the bank of the river Ganga in the city of Banaras.

People believe that if a body is burnt here after death, his soul would be sent to heaven, that’s why the burning ghats never go out of fire. Many old age homes are situated beside the ghats where old people come and live after leaving their families to have their last breath in the holy city. So that they can leave this world in peace.

Timings- Temple opens at 2:30 AM after which Mangala Aarti is done from 3:00 AM to 4:00 AM. Then from 4:00 AM to 11:00 AM temple is open for darshan. Then bhog aarti is done from 11:15 AM to 12:20 PM and again the temple opens for devotees from 12:20 PM to 7:00 PM.

From 7:00 PM to 8:15 PM sapta rishi aarti is held after which darshan is again possible from 8:30 PM to 9:00 PM. Then from 9:00 PM to 10:15 PM, shringara aarti is done after that Darshan is possible only from outside. And at last shayana aarti starts at 10.30P.M. and the temple closes at 11P.M.

11. Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga, Nasik, Maharashtra

Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga in India is located at a distance of 30 kms from Nashik in Maharastra. This temple is believed to be the source of river Godavari also known as “Goutami Ganga”, the most sacred river in Southern India. According to Shiva Purana, it was a request from river Godavari, Gautam Rishi with many other Gods to reside with Lord Shiva here as Trimbakeshwar. Once, Gautam Rishi was given a boon from Lord Varuna with the power of an unlimited supply of food and grains.

This made the other gods feel jealous. So they decided to send a cow to his grain stock. Gautam Rishi on seeing the cow accidentally killed him. After realizing his mistake he went to Lord Shiva to clean his sins and purify the premises. Lord Shiva after hearing his prayer asked Ganga to flow through the land to clean all his sins and resided beside the river in the form of Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga.

Timings- Darshan can be done from 5:30 AM to 9:00 PM. Special pooja is held from 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM, madhyana pooja from 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM and golden crown of SHiva from 4:30 PM to 5:00 PM.

12. Kedarnath Jyotirlinga, Uttarakhand

Kedarnath Temple is one of the holiest pilgrimages located at a higher altitude of around 12000 ft in the Himalayan range on a mountain named Kedar. It is around 150 miles from the sacred place of Haridwar. Due to the high altitude and drastic changes in weather, this temple is open only for six months in a year.

Pilgrimage going to Kedarnath takes holy water from the Yamunotri and Gangotri and offers that to the lingam. According to the Puranas, having been pleased by Nara and Narayana, the two incarnations of Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva permanently resided in the mountain of Kedarnath in the form of Jyotirlinga. This Jyotirlinga in India is believed to be the permanent home of Lord Shiva.

Timings- Opening hours are from 4:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM.

Also read: 9 Fascinating Stories About Lord Shiva That You Cannot Miss To Read Today