Devotional representation of the Hindu deity Shiva
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Location of the Jyotirlings.
A Jyotirlinga (Sanskrit: ज्योतिर्लिङ्ग, romanized: Jyotirliṅga, lit. 'lingam of light')[1] or Jyotirlingam is a devotional representation of the Hindu god Shiva. The word is a Sanskrit compound of jyotis ('radiance') and linga ('sign'). The Śiva Mahāpurāṇam (also Shiva Purana) mentions 64 original jyotirlinga shrines in India.
Hinduism
Legend
According to a Shiva legend from the Shiva Purana, once, Brahma (the god of creation) and Vishnu (the god of preservation) had an argument over their supremacy.[2] To settle the debate, Shiva 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 avatar to achieve this task, while Brahma rode a hamsa (swan).[3] 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.[4] 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.[5] The jyotirlinga shrines are regarded to be the temples where Shiva appeared as a fiery column of light.[6][7]
Original 64
Originally, there were believed to have been 64 jyotirlingas of which twelve are considered to be very auspicious and holy.[2] The twelve jyotirlinga sites take
the names of their respective presiding deity, and each is considered a different manifestation of Shiva.[8] At all these sites, the primary image is lingam, representing the beginningless and endless stambha (pillar), symbolising the infinite nature of Shiva.[8][9][10]
Sanskrit shlokas
The following shloka (द्वादश ज्योतिर्लिंग स्तोत्रम् Dvādaśa Jyotirliṅga Stotram) describes the 12 jyotirlingas:[11][12]
Twelve most sacred sites
The names and the locations of 12 jyotirlingas are mentioned in the Shiva Purana (Śatarudra Saṁhitā, Ch.42/2-4). The detailed stories are given in Kotirudra Saṁhitā, chapters 14 to 33. These temples (not in order) are:
References
Citations
- ^ Wisdom Library 2019
- ^ a b Venugopalam 2003, pp. 92–95
- ^ Pattanaik 2017, p. 126
- ^ Kumar 2003, p. 1645
- ^ Gangashetty 2019, p. 102
- ^ Eck 1999, p. 107
- ^ Gwynne 2009, section on Char Dham
- ^ a b Lochtefeld 2002, pp. 324–325
- ^ Harding 1998, pp. 158–158
- ^ Vivekananda, v. 4
- ^ Vaidika Vignanam n.d.
- ^ "Archived copy of Dvādaśa Jyotirliṅga Stotram" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
- ^ a b Chakravarti 1994, p. 140
Works cited
- Chakravarti, Mahadev (1994). The Concept of Rudra-Śiva Through The Ages (Second Revised ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 81-208-0053-2.
- Chaturvedi, B. K. (2006). Shiv Purana (First ed.). New Delhi: Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd. ISBN 81-7182-721-7.
- Eck, Diana L. (1999). Banaras, city of light (First ed.). New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-11447-8.
- Gangashetty, Ramesh (30 October 2019). Thirtha Yatra: A Guide to Holy Temples and Thirtha Kshetras in India. Notion Press. ISBN 978-1-68466-134-3.
- Gwynne, Paul (2009). World Religions in Practice: A Comparative Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell Publication. ISBN 978-1-4051-6702-4.
- Harding, Elizabeth U. (1998). "God, the Father". Kali: The Black Goddess of Dakshineswar. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 156–157. ISBN 978-81-208-1450-9.
- Kumar, Naresh (2003). Encyclopaedia of Folklore and Folktales of South Asia. Anmol Publications. ISBN 978-81-261-1400-9.
- Lochtefeld, James G. (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M. Rosen Publishing Group. p. 122. ISBN 0-8239-3179-X.
- Pattanaik, Devdutt (7 May 2017). Devlok 2: 2. Random House Publishers India Pvt. Limited. ISBN 978-93-86495-15-0.
- "Dwadasa Jyotirlinga Stotram". Vaidika Vignanam (in Sanskrit). n.d.
- Venugopalam, R. (2003). Meditation: Any Time Any Where (First ed.). Delhi: B. Jain Publishers (P) Ltd. ISBN 81-8056-373-1.
- Vivekananda, Swami. "The Paris Congress of the History of Religions". The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda. Vol. 4.
- "Jyotirlinga, Jyotirliṅga, Jyotis-linga, Jyotirlimga: 5 definitions". Wisdom Library. 28 December 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
External links
- Jyotirlingas on Google Maps
Media related to Jyotirlingas at Wikimedia Commons
Media related to Jyotirlingas at Wikimedia Commons
