saurashtre somanaatham cha shreeshaile mallikarjunam
ii ujjayinyam mahakalam omkare amareshwaram ii
paralyaam vaidyanaatham cha daakinyam bhimashankaram
ii sethu bandhe tu raamesham naagesham daarukavane ii
vaaraanasyaanthu vishvesham tryambakam gauthameethate
ii himalaye tu kedaaram ghrushnesham cha shivalaye ii
etaani jyotirlingaani saayam praatah pathennaraha ii
saptha janma kritam paapam smaranena vinasyathi ii
ii ujjayinyam mahakalam omkare amareshwaram ii
paralyaam vaidyanaatham cha daakinyam bhimashankaram
ii sethu bandhe tu raamesham naagesham daarukavane ii
vaaraanasyaanthu vishvesham tryambakam gauthameethate
ii himalaye tu kedaaram ghrushnesham cha shivalaye ii
etaani jyotirlingaani saayam praatah pathennaraha ii
saptha janma kritam paapam smaranena vinasyathi ii
1 Somnath in Saurashtra (Kathiawad), Gujarat
2 Mallikarjun in Shrishailam or Srisailam AP (also listed as a Shakti Pitha site).
3 Mahakal in Ujjain OR Mahakalaswar at Ujjain, MP state.
4 Omkar in Mammaleshwaram (at Omkareshwar on the river Narmada, MP)
5 Vaijnath in Parli (Vaidyanath at Deogarh, Bihar)
6 Bhima Shankar in Dakini northwest of Poona, in Dhakini, Maharashtra
7 Rameshwaram in Setubandha, TamilNadu
8 Nagesh, Naganath/Nageshwar, in Darukavana, Maharaashtra
9 Vishweshwar/ Viswanath in Banaras/Varanasi , UP
10 Trimbakeshwar near Nasik on the banks of river Gautami/Godavari , Maharashtra
11 Kedarnath/Kedareshwar in Utterkhand Himalayas, UP
12 Ghurmeshwar in Shivalaya OR Grineshwar in Visalakam, near Ellora caves, Mah
2 Mallikarjun in Shrishailam or Srisailam AP (also listed as a Shakti Pitha site).
3 Mahakal in Ujjain OR Mahakalaswar at Ujjain, MP state.
4 Omkar in Mammaleshwaram (at Omkareshwar on the river Narmada, MP)
5 Vaijnath in Parli (Vaidyanath at Deogarh, Bihar)
6 Bhima Shankar in Dakini northwest of Poona, in Dhakini, Maharashtra
7 Rameshwaram in Setubandha, TamilNadu
8 Nagesh, Naganath/Nageshwar, in Darukavana, Maharaashtra
9 Vishweshwar/ Viswanath in Banaras/Varanasi , UP
10 Trimbakeshwar near Nasik on the banks of river Gautami/Godavari , Maharashtra
11 Kedarnath/Kedareshwar in Utterkhand Himalayas, UP
12 Ghurmeshwar in Shivalaya OR Grineshwar in Visalakam, near Ellora caves, Mah
One who recites these 12 names regularly in the morning and evening washes all the sins committed
in the previous 7 births and attains all the powers and Siddhis.
in the previous 7 births and attains all the powers and Siddhis.
Chandra Devan worshipped Siva at this spot to rid himself of the curse of Daksha.
Chandra Devan is considered to have built this temple & hence the name Somanathar to the Lord. Chandran fell in love with Rohini, one of the daughters of Dakshan. But Dakshan wanted to give all his daughters in marraige to one able & loving person, who would treat all his daughters equally. Chandran got married to all, but his love for Rohini was too great & the other daughters complained to their father. Dakshan cursed Chandran to dwindle in power & beauty. When Chandran begged forgiveness, Dakshan said that only prayers to Lord Siva, could free him of the curse.
Chandran came to Somanath & prayed to Lord Siva, doing penance for about 4,000 years. Lord Siva appeared & said that he could not fully absolve him of the curse. Instead, he would wane in 15 days, but would grow again. This is the story said for the waxing & waning of the moon, producing new moon & full moon.
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Sthala Puranam :
When Siva and Parvathi decided to find suitable brides for their sons, Ganesha and Muruga argued as to who is to get wedded first. Lord Siva bade that the one who goes round the world in Pradakshinam could get married first. By the time Lord Muruga could go round the world on his vahana, Lord Ganesha went round his parents 7 times (for according to Sastras, going in pradakshinam round one's parents is equivalent to going once round the world (Boopradakshinam). Lord Siva got Siddhi & Buddhi, the daughtersof Viswaroopan married to Lord Ganesha. Muruga on his return was enraged and went away to stay alone on Mount Kravunja in the name of Kumarabrahmachari. On seeing his father coming over to pacfy him, he tried to move to another place, but on the request of the Devas, stayed closeby. The place where Lord Siva and Parvathi stayed came to be known as Sri Sailam. Lord Siva visits Lord Muruga on Amavasai day & Parvathi Devi on Pournami.
When Siva and Parvathi decided to find suitable brides for their sons, Ganesha and Muruga argued as to who is to get wedded first. Lord Siva bade that the one who goes round the world in Pradakshinam could get married first. By the time Lord Muruga could go round the world on his vahana, Lord Ganesha went round his parents 7 times (for according to Sastras, going in pradakshinam round one's parents is equivalent to going once round the world (Boopradakshinam). Lord Siva got Siddhi & Buddhi, the daughtersof Viswaroopan married to Lord Ganesha. Muruga on his return was enraged and went away to stay alone on Mount Kravunja in the name of Kumarabrahmachari. On seeing his father coming over to pacfy him, he tried to move to another place, but on the request of the Devas, stayed closeby. The place where Lord Siva and Parvathi stayed came to be known as Sri Sailam. Lord Siva visits Lord Muruga on Amavasai day & Parvathi Devi on Pournami.
The temple is situated facing East. The centre mandapam has sveral pillars, with a huge idol of Nadikeswarar
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The theertam opposite the Mahakaleshwarar temple is known as Koditheertham & it is said that the colour of the waters of this theertham keeps changing. The Moola lingam is very small & is located underground. The lingam in the top level is called Ongareshwarar. The Kali Devi who gave darshan to Vikramaditya is known by the name Harasiddhi Matha.
There once lived a brahmin in Avanti, who had four sons, who were great devotees of Lord Siva. Dushanan, a demon was giving trouble, disturbing all good & religious activities. The brahmins from all over the land gathered with the four sons & performed pooja to Lord Siva. The spot where they had taken mud to make the Lingam, had become a huge pond. When Dushanan came to disturb their pooja, Lord Siva rose from this pond as Mahakaleshwarar & destoryed Dushanan. On the request of the brahmins, Lord Siva gave darshan to devotees at this sthalam, one of the Jyotir Linga sthalams.
Mandhata was a great Emperor of the Ishvaku clan who ruled this land. He did great penance in this land & there is an ashram called Mandhata ashram here.
This spiritual and all powerful jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva is at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. There Lord Shiva came in the form of Mahakal out of the linga that split and killed the demon. Therefore all those who pray to this linga will never fear death and if their faith is true they will be out of the chakra of life and death.
The Omkareshawar temple is built in the North Inidan style of architecture, with high spires. Devotees consider worship to Panchamuga Ganesha, to be very auspicious. There is a shrine for Annapoorani.
Siva Lingas of various sizes are sold in great numbers in this place. It is said that once, sage Naradar during his visit to the Vindyas, sang the praise of mount Meru to Mount Vindhya. On hearing this, Mount Vindhya prayed to Lord Siva to gain in importance. Lord Siva blessed him & appeared here as Omkareshwarar & Amaleshwarar and gave the boon of grwoing, but without hindering Siva devotees.. But the Vindhyas did not stop growing, and even obstructed the sun and the moon. Sage Agasthyar subdued its growth by saying it should not grow till he gets back there. He never went back & hence the growth was arrested. Omkareshwar is situated on the Mandhata hills in Madhya Pradesh, known in ancient times as Shivpuri. The temple dates back to the Krita Yuga. River Narmada flows here around the Mandhata hill in the form of an Om (Omkaram).
Siva Lingas of various sizes are sold in great numbers in this place. It is said that once, sage Naradar during his visit to the Vindyas, sang the praise of mount Meru to Mount Vindhya. On hearing this, Mount Vindhya prayed to Lord Siva to gain in importance. Lord Siva blessed him & appeared here as Omkareshwarar & Amaleshwarar and gave the boon of grwoing, but without hindering Siva devotees.. But the Vindhyas did not stop growing, and even obstructed the sun and the moon. Sage Agasthyar subdued its growth by saying it should not grow till he gets back there. He never went back & hence the growth was arrested. Omkareshwar is situated on the Mandhata hills in Madhya Pradesh, known in ancient times as Shivpuri. The temple dates back to the Krita Yuga. River Narmada flows here around the Mandhata hill in the form of an Om (Omkaram).
BAIDYANATH DHAM / VAIDYANATHAM :
The legend of Vaidyanathan goes something like this. The demon lord from the Ramayan, the devout Ravana meditated hard in order to invoke Lord Shiva, and requested him to come over to Sri Lanka, in order that his capital may become invincible. It is said that he attempted to lift the holy mountain, Lord Shiva's abode, Mount Kailash and take it with him to his capital; however Shiva crushed him with his finger, and Ravana prayed to him and sought his mercy, after which Shiva gave him one of the twelve Jyotirlingams with the condition that if it was placed on the ground it would take root immediately and hence Ravana had to carry it back on his trek to his capital. Varuna the God of water, entered Ravana's belly, and caused him to feel the need to relieve himself.
Vishnu then came down in the form of a lad and volunteered to hold the Jyotirlingam as he relieved himself. But before Ravana could return, the young lad placed the jyotirlingam on the ground to which it became rooted. A disappointed Ravana offered severe penances to Shiva here, and cut off nine of his heads as a part of his repentance. Shiva revived him and joined the heads to the body, like a Vaidya or a physician, hence this Jyotirlingam goes by the name Vaidyanath. The same legend holds at Gokarnam in Karnataka.
