Shiva is one of the principal deities in Hinduism and is considered part of the Trimurti alongside Brahma and Vishnu. Numerous temples dedicated to Shiva exist across India and beyond, often featuring lingams as representations of the deity. Hindu scriptures describe the worship of Shiva and the establishment of temples and shrines across the Indian subcontinent. Among these, the Jyotirlinga temples are considered particularly significant.
The 12 Jyotirlinga temples
The 12 Jyotirlinga temples as mentioned in the Shiva Purana are :-
Pancha Bhuta Sthalams (Five Elemental Manifestations)
In South India, five temples of Shiva are held to be particularly important, as being manifestations of him in the five elemental substances.
Pancharama temples
The Pancharama Kshetras (or the Pancharamas) are five ancient Hindu temples of Shiva situated in Andhra Pradesh. The lingams at these temples are made from a single lingam. As per the legend, this lingam was owned by the demon king Tarakasura. No one could win over him due to the power of this lingam. Finally, Kartikeya, the son of Shiva broke the lingam into five pieces and killed Tarakasura. The five pieces of lingam fell at five different places on earth namely,
Pancha Sabhai
The five temples located in Tamil Nadu where Shiva is believed to perform the tandava dance are:
Ashta Veeratta Temples
Shani Parihara Temples
Kashiswar Jiu temple
Kashiswar Jiu temple is in Andul of Howrah district near the Saraswati river, West Bengal in India. The presiding deity is a Banlinga which was recovered from the river in mid 17th century by Kashiswar Datta Chowdhury, a local zamindar. In 18th century a stone made yoni-like structure (Gauripatta) that symbolizes goddess Shakti has been attached with the lingam after Bargi attacked in 1741 AD. The deity is considered to be one of the oldest in the district.
The temples are presently run by SrisriKashiswar Debottur Trust.
Notable temples
Andhra Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chhattisgarh
Goa
Gujarat
Jammu and Kashmir
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Shiv Mandir, Ambarnath
Odisha
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Telangana
Uttarakhand
Uttar Pradesh
West Bengal
See also
- 108 Shiva Temples
References
External links
- List of Shiva temples in India at The Divine India
