12 Jyotirlingas
Jyotirlingas are sacred shrines of Lord Shiva; it is believed that Lord Shiva himself visited these places and hence they have a special place in the hearts of devotees. There are 12 of them in India.
Jyotirlinga means column or pillar of light
. The stambha
symbol represents that there is no beginning or end.
When Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu had an argument about who was the supreme god, Lord Shiva appeared as a column of light and asked each one to find the ends. Neither could do it. It is believed that the places where these columns of light fell is where the jyotirlingas are located.
सौराष्ट्रे सोमनाथं च श्रीशैले मल्लिकार्जुनम् ।उज्जयिन्यां महाकालमोंकारं ममलेश्वरम् ॥ १ ॥
परल्यां वैजनाथं च डाकियन्यां भीमशंकरम् ।सेतुबन्धे तु रामेशं नागेशं दारुकावने ॥ २ ॥
वारणस्यां तु विश्वेशं त्र्यम्बकं गौतमी तटे ।हिमालये तु केदारं घुश्मेशं च शिवालये ॥ ३ ॥
एतानि ज्योतिर्लिंगानि सायं प्रातः पठेन्नरः ।सप्तजन्मकृतं पापं स्मरेण विनश्यति ॥ ४ ॥
