~~OM~~

The twelve Jyotirlingams are:

Please click here for a presentation of the Jyotirlingam mantras.

Somanatham

The Divine Mother took birth in Daksha’s house in the form of Sati and after performing tapasya, became Shiva’s wife, and went to live with him on Mount Kailash.

Sati’s twenty-seven sisters were given in marriage to Chandra, the moon, the son of Atri and Anasuya. Chandra was so deeply in love with Rohini, that he neglected his other wives, and so he was cursed by Daksha, their father, and became beset with disease. Both Chandra and Rohini performed tapasya for Lord Shiva, and with Shiva’s blessings he regained his health. Along with this blessing, Lord Shiva conferred his eternal light, which is the origin of the Somnath Jyotir Lingam.

Mallikarjunam

When the great demon named Tarakasura propitiatied Brahma, he gained the boon that only the son of Shiva would be able to slay him. Thereafter, the Divine Mother took birth in the home of Himalayas as Parvati, Daughter of the Mountain, and performed tapasya for Shiva to once again accept her as his wife. After many examinations, Shiva agreed to the marriage.

After many tribulations and much prayer by the Gods, the son of Shiva, Kartikeya, took birth from a ray of light which emanated from Shiva. The six Krittikas nurtured the infant child in the Satya Loka, and Ganga taught him wisdom.

At the appropriate time, the young Kartikeya slayed the wicked demon Tarakasura. Mother Parvati, desiring another child of her very own, brought forth Ganesh.

Ganesh’s head was cut by Shiva’s trishula, as he guarded the entrance to Parvati’s private chamber. Afterwards he was given the head of an elephant, for which he became known as the elephant headed God, Gajanan.

When Shiva and Parvati decided to find suitable brides for their sons, Ganesh and Kartikeya argued as to who is to get wedded first. Lord Shiva bade that the one who circumambulated the world first could get married first. By the time Kartikeya could go round the world, Ganesh went round his parents 7 times (for according to Sastras, circumambulating one's parents is equivalent to going round the world). Ganesh was married to Siddhi and Buddhi, the daughters of Viswaroopan.

Kartikeya on his return was enraged and went away to live on Shree Saila Mountain in South India. In order to bring him back to Kailash, Parvati took the form of Malli, a village girl, and Shiva became Arjuna, a tribal youth. At the time of their marriage, Malli and Arjuna showed their true forms as Shiva and Parvati, and Shiva bestowed his eternal light for the establishment of the Mallikarjuna Jyotir Lingam.

Mahakalam

The Brahmin Devavrata and the cow-herd boy Shreedhara prayed to Shiva for the destruction of the wicked demon asura Dushan, and when Shiva turned the asura to ashes, he bestowed his light, which is the origin of the Mahakaleswar Jyotir Lingam.

Omkareswaram

Situated on the banks of the Narmada, Omkareswar is one of the 12 revered Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva. It is located at a distance of about 12 miles from Mortakka in Madhya Pradesh. The river Narmada splits into two and forms an island named Mandhata or Shivapuri in the center. The shape of the island resembles that of the visual representation of the letter Om. There are two temples here, one of Omkareswar and one of Amareswar.

Legend has it that the Vindhya mountain prayed to Shiva - Omkareswara and was blessed here. Legend also has it that upon the request of the Devas, the Shivalinga split into two, one half being Omkareswara and the other Amaleswara or Amareswar. King Mandhatha of the Ishvaku clan worshiped Shiva here, and Lord Shiva was pleased and conferred his eternal light.

The Omkareswar temple is built in the North Indian style of architecture, with high spires. Devotees consider worship to Panchamuga Ganesha, also to be very auspicious.

Kedaranatham

Nara and Narayana offered so much devotion in their tapasya to Lord Shiva in the Himalayas, that Lord Shiva conferred his eternal light, which is the origin of the Kedarnath Jyotir Lingam.

Bhimasankaram

Kumbhakarna and his wife Karkati had a son named Bhimasura. Bhimasura attacked the virtuous king Sudakshin, a great devotee of Lord Shiva. To save his devotee, Lord Shiva turned Bhimasura to ashes and conferred his eternal light. That was the origin of the Bhimashankar Jyotir Lingam. In another story, Shiva took the form of Bhima, the Terrifying One, to slay the demon Tripurasura. The temple is located on the crest of the Sahyadri Hills, and the sweat that poured forth from his body after the battle is said to have formed the Bhimarathi river.

Visveswaram

At the beginning, Shiva burst through the earth as a fiery pillar of light at Kashi, which means to shine, the City of Light. This eternal light of Shiva from which Brahma and Vishnu were born, extended to the highest reaches of the heavens, and neither Brahma nor Vishnu could find its origin or termination. That was the origin of the Kashi Vishwanath Jyotir Lingam. Then Lord Shiva took the form of Rudra and went to live on Mount Kailash.

Tryambakam

Rishi Gautam and his wife Ahalya worshiped Lord Shiva to bring Ganga down to their hermitage. Pleased with their pure devotion Shiva requested Ganga to flow down and conferred his eternal light, which was established as the Tryambakeshwar Jyotir Lingam. Ganga became known as Godavari or Gautami in the South.

Baidyanatham

To humble the pride of the egotistical Ravana, Shiva bestowed his eternal light, which was established as the Baidyanath Jyotir Lingam, the destroyer of all disease and illness.

Nageswaram

To save his beloved devotee, Supriya, Lord Shiva destroyed the evil demon Daruk, and conferred his eternal light, which was the origin of the Nageswar Jyotir Lingam.

Rameswaram

Shiva blessed the incarnation of Vishnu, Rama, with victory over Lanka and the defeat of Ravana, and conferred his eternal light, which was the origin of the Rameswar Jyotir Lingam.

Ghusmeswaram

To answer the prayers of his beloved devotee Gushma, Shiva returned her child to life, and conferred his eternal light, which was the origin of the Gushmeshwar Jyotir Lingam.

~~OM~~

The Jyotirlingams are among the most revered holy places for the worship of Lord Shiva. The twelve Jyotirlingams are: Somanatham, Mallikarjunam, Mahakalam, Omkareswaram, Kedaranatham, Bhimasankaram, Visveswaram, Tryambakam, Baijanatham, Nageswaram, Ramesvaram, and Ghusmesvaram.

For a presentation of the Jyotirlingam mantras and their meanings please click here.

Click here to learn more about the Jyotirlingams.

We have just completed week 4 of the sankalpa and as a group we are at nearly a half million repetitions! A few new folks joined us this week and we hope for more to join in our heartfelt efforts to pray to Her to terminate all disturbances and rid us of hostility..

Here is a moving account from one of our participants, Wendy about how this sankalpa is already beginning to change her life and that of her son Sam.

"My first encounter with Shree Maa and Swamiji was last month, when my Gita study class was invited to visit the Devi Mandir. Before I left, I "signed on" to complete the Peace Sankalpa, and nothing has been the same since.

Once home, I started my recitations, sometimes silently and sometimes aloud. After a week or so, my 17 year old son started to imitate me – only he was saying sarvaa bgjklfda plkdj mdnkjm. In other words, he sounded out the first word and then just mumbled the rest. So I asked him if he wanted to learn the mantra, to which he responded enthusiastically -- yes. He memorized it, and the English translation, in less than 5 minutes. He was quickly able to recite it quite fast and clear. This might not seem that remarkable, however, my son is autistic. He is fairly high functioning, and has pretty good language skills, but I can assure you there is no way that I can get him to recite anything that he doesn't want to. I know, because I have tried!!

He now says the mantra every morning upon rising, and it is the last thing he says as he falls asleep at night. I have suggested that he pay attention, and if he hears it in his head, to let it come through naturally. I also suggested that, if he is moved to do so, he can say it before his meals. If this continues to grow, I am going to get him a hand counter so he can keep track of how many he says each day. That is something I think he might like.

Last month, Swamiji blessed him with the gift of a rudraksha bead for healing, which he happily (and seriously) wears around his neck all the time. He never stops talking about Maa. He listens to her sing, he wants to cook the recipes from her cookbook, sometimes he will sit next to me at the computer for the beginning of the Gita classes, and he keeps their picture in his room. Something magical is happening in my home, and to my son.

Last night, in Gita class, Swamiji answered my question about "those with small intelligence" and their ability to reach God. (Ch.7, v.23). He said that those with limited mental capacity often have a pureness about them that allows them to see/know things more easily than the rest of us, due in part, to not having the same distractions the rest of us deal with every day. And yes, they can reach God. (This is my feeble paraphrasing – forgive me for not properly quoting Swamiji).

My son is a very pure spirit, only seeing the good in others,assuming everyone loves him as much as he loves everyone, and now, he has connected to the loving energy of Maa. He has actually said to me – "Maa can see my soul all the way from California. I know she loves me."

He is so blessed. I am so blessed. We are all so blessed. Jai Maa "