A Jyotirlinga () or Jyotirlingam is a devotional representation of the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

god

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

. The word is a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

compound of ('radiance') and ('sign'). The Śiva Mahāpurāṇam (also ''Shiva Purana'') mentions 64 original ''jyotirlinga'' shrines in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Hinduism

Legend

According to a

legend from the Shiva Purana, once,

Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...

(the god of creation) and

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

(the god of preservation) had an argument over their supremacy. To settle the debate,

pierced the three worlds, appearing as a huge, infinite pillar of light, the ''jyotirlinga.'' Brahma and Vishnu decided to ascend and descend across a pillar of light respectively, to find the end of the light in either direction. According to some iterations, Vishnu assumed his

Varaha Varaha (, , "boar") is the avatar of the Hinduism, Hindu god Vishnu, in the form of a wild boar, boar. Varaha is generally listed as third in the Dashavatara, the ten principal avatars of Vishnu. In legend, when the demon Hiranyaksha steals ...

avatar to achieve this task, while Brahma rode a

hamsa The ''hamsa'' (, referring to images of 'the five fingers of the hand'),Zenner, 1988p. 284World Institute for Advanced Phenomenological Research and Learning (Belmont, Estados Unidos), 1991p. 219Drazin, 2009p. 268 also known as the hand of Fa ...

(swan). Brahma lied that he had discovered the end of the light, producing a ketakī flower as proof, while Vishnu admitted that he could not find the end of the light from his journey. The dishonesty of Brahma angered Shiva, causing him to curse the creator deity that he would not be worshipped; he also declared that Vishnu would be eternally worshipped for his honesty. The ''jyotirlinga'' shrines are regarded to be the temples where Shiva appeared as a fiery column of light.

Original 64

Originally, there were believed to have been 64 ''jyotirlingas'' of which 12 are considered to be very auspicious and holy. The twelve ''jyotirlinga'' sites take the names of their respective presiding deity, and each is considered a different manifestation of Shiva. At all these sites, the primary image is ''

lingam A lingam ( , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or Aniconism, aniconic representation of the Hinduism, Hindu Hindu deities, god Shiva in Shaivism. The word ''lingam'' is found in the Up ...

,'' representing the beginningless and endless ''

stambha A stambha () is a pillar or a column employed in Indian architecture. A stambha sometimes bears inscriptions and religious emblems. Religion In Hindu mythology, a stambha is believed to be a cosmic column that functions as a bond, joining h ...

'' (pillar), symbolising the infinite nature of Shiva.

Sanskrit shlokas

The following ''

shloka Shloka or śloka ( , from the root , Macdonell, Arthur A., ''A Sanskrit Grammar for Students'', Appendix II, p. 232 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927).) in a broader sense, according to Monier-Williams's dictionary, is "any verse or stan ...

'' (द्वादश ज्योतिर्लिंग स्तोत्रम् ''Dvādaśa Jyotirliṅga Stotram'') describes the 12 ''jyotirlingas'':

Twelve most sacred sites

The names and the locations of 12 ''jyotirlingas'' are mentioned in the

Shiva Purana The ''Shiva Purana'' (original Sanskrit title: Śivapurāṇa (शिवपुराण) and Śivamahāpurāṇa (शिवमहापुराण) is one of eighteen major texts of the '' Purana'' genre of Sanskrit texts in Hinduism, and part o ...

(, Ch.42/2-4). The detailed stories are given in Kotirudra Saṁhitā, chapters 14 to 33. These temples (not in order) are:

Hinduism

Legend

Original 64

Sanskrit shlokas

Twelve most sacred sites

References

Citations

Works cited

External links