12 Jyothirlinga Temples of India

 Lard Shiva is always considered to be the one who creates, saves and destroys not just the physical form but also the various illness both mental and physical that any human being has. In most parts of India, the Lord Shiva is worshipped in the form of Shiva Linga.

Legend says - that once there was a fight between Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu as to who is the supreme one and to settle the debate Lord Shiva appeared as a very huge pillar of light and asked them to find the tip of his head and toe. That light later cooled down and became the holy hill of Arunachala - in Tamilnadu. 

Both Brahma and Vishnu then split themselves to the upper and the lower world to find the tip of the head and feet respectively and when Brahma returned and lied that he saw the tip of Shiva's head The story goes that the fragrant screw pine flower - Thazhampoo in Tamil was falling down from Shiva's head and when Brahma saw that he requested the flower to lie to Shiva that he took it from his head and as the flower did so, both Brahma and the flower were cursed by Lord Shiva. That the flower will not be used for Shiva's pooja any more and that Lord Brahma though the creator of the world will not have physical temples to worship.  

Jyothirlingas are the 12 Shivalinga moorthis of Lord Shiva strategically placed across the country in 12 different locations. The word Jyothi means the light. The Shiva Purana mentions 64 Jyothirlingas but amongst them 12 are more sacred and they are called Maha Jyothirlingas. 

The places where Lord Shiva appeared in the form of light are regarded as the Jyothirlinga temple sites. The primary idol in all these temples are Shivalinga representing the beginningless and the endless sthamba - the pillar which represents the infinite nature of Lord Shiva. 

The 12 Maha Jyothirlingas are located in the following places:

1. Somnath, Veeruval, Gujarat

2. Rameshwar, Rameshwaram, Tamilnadu

3. Kedarnath, Kedarnath, Uttarakhand

4. Nageshwar, Near Dwaraka, Gujarat

5. Mahakaleshwar, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh

6. Mallikarjuna, Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh

7. Omkareshwar, Khandwa, Madhyapradesh

8. Viswanath, Kasi, Uttarpradesh

9. Bhimshankar, Pune, Maharashtra

10. Triambakeshwar, Nashik, Maharashtra

11. Baidhyanath, Deoghar, Jharkhand

12. Grishneshwar, Aurangabad, Maharashtra

Though these 12 places of worship of Lord Shiva are Jyothirlinga sites, still there are no individual significant marking to give these places a special reverence. 

Srisailam

Article by Mr. Shankara Narayanan


Srisailam , is one of the Jothirlinga stalam and is the abode of Mallikarjunaswamy. The accompanying deity is Bharamambal.

This place is located at 250 Kms south of Hyderabad, in the district of Kurnool on the southern banks River Krishna.

A very quite and peaceful place, with very little crowd.
The origins of this temple have been lost in antiquity. The Skanda Purana has a chapter called Srisaila Kandam dedicated to it, which points to the ancient origin. This is confirmed by the fact that saints of the past millennia have sung its praises. It is said that Adi Sankara visited this temple and at that time he composed his Sivananda Lahiri.
Srisailam is referenced in the ancient Hindu Puranas, and the epic Mahabharata.
Shiva's sacred bull Nandi is said to have performed penance at the Mahakali temple till Shiva and Parvati appeared before him as Mallikarjuna and Brahmaramba. The temple is one of the 12 hallowed Jyotirlingas; Lord Rama himself installed the Sahasralinga, while the Pandavas lodged the Panchapandava lingas in the temple courtyard.
Heroic legends from the Mahabharata and Ramayana are sculpted in stone on the temple walls and the Mahabharata epic refers to Srisailam as Sri Parvata — the blessed hill. You can hear the buzzing of a bee through a tiny hole in the Brahmaramba temple, where Parvati, in the form of a bee, slew the demon Mahisasura.
It gained prominence in the twelfth century due to the Sharana movement and Vachana Sahitya headed by Basavanna. According to legends one of the Srisailam caves is said to be the place where the most famous poet and social reformer Akka Mahadevi achieved salvation.

How to reach Srisailam.

The best way to go to Srisailam, is from Hyderabad.

Frequent busses are available from Hyderabad. the journey takes about 6 Hrs by delux bus and about 7 Hrs by Normal express Bus. The first  70 Kms is in plateau , and the remaining is in thick forests of Nallamala. This nallamala forest is the home of  a Tiger Sanctury.

Traffic thru nallamala forest is allowed from 6 Am to 7Pm.Travelling  after darkness is Not advised.

The best possible way to visit Srisailam and return back to Hyderabad, on the same day is by your won Vehicle.
If you leave Hyderabad , by early Morning say by 0600 hrs, you would reach Srisailam around 1030 Hrs( in a leisurely manner), You can have halts at Amangal, and Dindi.

On a normal day it would take less than one hour to have darshan.
 You can have lunch at Srisailam town itself, good No of restaurants are available, and you should start your return journey latest by 1500 Hrs. While returning , do drop in at the Museum and have a Glimpse of Sisailam Dam, an engineering marvel. You can comfortably reach Hyd by 2000 hrs.

While at Srisailam , be careful of cheats,- Do Not engage any one for any kind of services.
 Precautions- While travelling to Srisailam do not wear jewllery, or carry high amount of cash. Remember you are passing thru Nallamala forest which is the haven for Naxalites. Though they do not disturb civilians, there were cases of robbery have been reported.

Do carry plenty of water and Easily digestible food,.Make sure yuou have mosquito
repellents , it is better to apply prior to entering in to Nallamala Forest.


Should you wish to stay overnight , there is plenty of accommodation available at Srisailam, , The room rents vary from Rs 50 to 500, and depending on season. Some of the Charitable trust provide you excellent and clean accommodation , but you have abide by their rules and regulation like , no smoking , drinking etc.