सौराष्ट्रे सोमनाथं च श्रीशैले मल्लिकार्जुनम्
A yatra of the twelve Jyotirlingas
Scroll to travel from the shore of Somnath to the hills of Ellora, in the order the stotram recites them.
01 / 12
· Prabhas Patan · Gujarat
Where the moon regained its glow and the sea washes the shore of the first Jyotirlinga.
Somnath Temple stands on the Arabian Sea coast at Prabhas Patan near Veraval in Gujarat and is revered as the first of Lord Shiva's twelve Jyotirlingas. Its name means 'Lord of the Moon'. Attacked and rebuilt many times from 1026 onwards, the present temple was raised in the Kailash Mahameru Prasad style and consecrated on 11 May 1951.
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02 / 12
· Srisailam · Andhra Pradesh
A Jyotirlinga and a Shakti Peetha together, on the forested Srisailam hill above the Krishna.
The Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple at Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh is one of Lord Shiva's twelve Jyotirlingas and also houses Goddess Bhramaramba, revered as one of the Maha Shakti Peethas. It is honoured in the Tamil Shaiva canon as a Paadal Petra Sthalam, making it sacred to both Shaiva and Shakta devotees.
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03 / 12
· Ujjain · Madhya Pradesh
The south-facing Lord of Time, watching over the ancient city of Avantika on the banks of the Shipra.
Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, is one of Lord Shiva's twelve Jyotirlingas and stands near the sacred Shipra river. The linga is believed to be swayambhu (self-manifested) and is the only one of the twelve Jyotirlingas that faces south, as Dakshinamurti. For devotees, Mahakal is the presiding deity of Ujjain itself.
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04 / 12
· Mandhata (Omkareshwar) · Madhya Pradesh
A Jyotirlinga on an Om-shaped island in the holy Narmada.
Omkareshwar is the fourth of Lord Shiva's twelve Jyotirlingas in the traditional order, set on Mandhata island in the Narmada river in Khandwa district, Madhya Pradesh, about 77 km from Indore. The island is said to be shaped like the sacred symbol Om. Pilgrims worship both Omkareshwar on the island and Mamleshwar (Amareshwar) on the south bank of the river.
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05 / 12
· Kedarnath · Uttarakhand
The highest of the twelve Jyotirlingas, where Shiva dwells among the snows of the Garhwal Himalaya.
Kedarnath Temple stands at about 3,580 metres in the Garhwal Himalaya, near the head of the Mandakini River, and enshrines one of Lord Shiva's twelve Jyotirlingas — the highest of them all. It is one of the Char Dham shrines of Uttarakhand and the first of the Panch Kedar, reached by a trek of about 16–17 km from Gaurikund. Snow closes the valley every winter, so the temple opens only for a season of roughly six months, from late April or May until Bhai Dooj after Diwali; in the closed months Baba Kedar is worshipped at the Omkareshwar temple in Ukhimath.
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06 / 12
· Bhimashankar · Maharashtra
A black-stone Jyotirlinga in the forested Sahyadri, where the Bhima River is born.
Bhimashankar Temple, high on the crest of the Sahyadri (Western Ghats) about 110 km north-west of Pune, enshrines one of Lord Shiva's twelve Jyotirlingas. The Bhima River rises here, and the shrine sits inside the Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary, a forest of evergreen trees and mist-covered ridges. Its black-stone temple, reshaped under Maratha patronage in the 18th century, draws pilgrims, trekkers and nature lovers alike.
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07 / 12
· Vishwanath Gali · Uttar Pradesh
In the eternal city of Kashi, Baba Vishwanath — Lord of the Universe — awaits every seeker of liberation.
Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi enshrines Lord Shiva as Vishwanath or Vishweshwara, 'Lord of the Universe'. It is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas and among the holiest shrines in Hinduism. The present temple was built by Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore in 1780, and is known as the Golden Temple because of the gold given by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Since 2021 the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham has linked it directly to the Ganga, and Hindus believe that darshan here and a bath in the river open the way to moksha.
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08 / 12
· Trimbak · Maharashtra
At the source of the sacred Godavari, the three-faced Jyotirlinga of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh.
Trimbakeshwar Temple, in the town of Trimbak about 28 km from Nashik, is one of Lord Shiva's twelve Jyotirlingas. It stands at the foot of Brahmagiri, where the sacred Godavari River rises. Its Jyotirlinga is unique: a hollow in the sanctum holds three small lingas representing Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The black-stone temple was built under Peshwa Balaji Bajirao (Nanasaheb) in the mid-18th century. Trimbak is also a centre of Vedic ritual and one of the four venues of the Kumbh Mela.
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09 / 12
· Deoghar · Jharkhand
Where Ravana's lingam came to rest, and where Shravan resounds with 'Bol Bam'.
Baba Baidyanath Dham in Deoghar, Jharkhand, is revered as one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva and is also counted among the Shakti Peethas, where Sati's heart is believed to have fallen. The main shrine, crowned by a rare five-pointed panchshul, stands in a courtyard with 21 other temples. Every Shravan, lakhs of kanwariyas walk about 105 km from Sultanganj on the Ganga, carrying its water to pour on the lingam.
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10 / 12
· Nageshwar · Gujarat
The Lord of Serpents, who answered a devotee's chant in the forest of Daruka.
The Nageshvara temple, about 16–18 km from Dwarka on the road to Beyt Dwarka, is revered as the Nageshvara Jyotirlinga, the Shiva Purana's 'Nagesha in Darukavana'. Its underground sanctum and the giant seated Shiva statue in its grounds draw pilgrims on the Dwarka circuit. Aundha Nagnath in Maharashtra and Jageshwar in Uttarakhand also hold this tradition, and devotees honour all three.
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11 / 12
· Rameswaram · Tamil Nadu
Where Sri Rama worshipped Shiva by the sea, and the southernmost Jyotirlinga keeps watch over the waves.
The Arulmigu Ramanathaswamy Temple on Rameswaram island in Tamil Nadu is the southernmost of the twelve Jyotirlingas and one of the four Char Dham. Tradition holds that its lingam was worshipped by Sri Rama to seek Shiva's blessing in the war against Ravana. Spread over about 15 acres, the temple is famed for its 22 sacred theerthams and its pillared third corridor, among the longest of any Hindu temple.
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12 / 12
· Verul (Ellora) · Maharashtra
The twelfth Jyotirlinga, born of a mother's unshakable faith and forgiveness.
Grishneshwar, also called Ghushmeshwar, is a temple of Lord Shiva in Verul village, about 1.5 km from the Ellora Caves in Maharashtra, revered as the last of the twelve Jyotirlingas. Its red-stone temple, rebuilt under the Bhosales and then Ahilyabai Holkar, enshrines a lingam that devotees may touch with their own hands. Its legend of Ghushma, who forgave even the one who killed her son, makes it a shrine of devotion and compassion.
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