Ancient Indian traditions maintain a close relationship of Somnath with release of Chandra (Moon God) from the curse of his father-in-law Daksha Prajapati. Moon was married to Twenty-Seven daughters of Daksha. However, he favored Rohini and neglected other queens. The aggrieved Daksha cursed Moon and the Moon lost power of light. With the advice of Prajapita Brahma, Moon arrived at the Prabhas Teerth and worshipped Bhagvan Shiva. Pleased with the great penance and devotion of Moon, Bhagvan Shiva blessed him and relieved him from the curse of darkness. Pauranic traditions maintain that Moon had built a golden temple, followed by a silver temple by Ravana, Bhagvan Shree Krishna is believed to have built Somnath temple with Sandalwood.

The research based on ancient Indian classical texts show that first Somnath Jyotirling Pran-Pratistha was done on the auspicious third day of brighter half of Shravan month during the tenth Treta yug of Vaivswat Manvantar. Swami Shri Gajananand Saraswatiji, Chairman of Shrimad Aadhya Jagadguru Shankaracharya Vedic Shodh Sansthan, Varanasi suggested that the said first temple was built 7,99,25,105 years ago as derived from the traditions of Prabhas Khand of Skand Puran. Thus, this temple is a perennial source of inspiration for millions of Hindus since time immemorial.

The Moon God is said to have been relieved from the curse of his father-in-law Daksha Prajapati by the blessings of Bhagvan Somnath. In the Shiva Purana and Nandi Upapurana, Shiva said, `I am always present everywhere but specially in 12 forms and places as the Jyotirlingas`. Somnath is one of these 12 holy places. This is the first among the twelve holy Shiva Jyotirlings.

The later sources of history account for several desecrations by Muslims invaders during eleventh to eighteen century A.D. The temple was rebuilt every time with the reconstructive spirit of the people. The modern temple was reconstructed with the resolve of Sardar Patel who visited the ruins of Somnath temple on November 13 1947. Then President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, did the Pran-Pratistha at the existing temple on 11 May 1951.

Other spots in the temple are Shri Kapardi Vinayak and Shri Hanuman Temple in addition to Vallabhghat. Vallabhghat is a beautiful sunset point. The temple is illuminated every evening. Similarly, the Sound & Light Show “Jay Somnath” is also displayed every night during 8.00 to 9.00, which allows the pilgrims an ethereal experience in the backdrop of grand Somnath temple and the holy wave sounds of the Ocean.

Ahalyabai temple is also close by, which was built by the queen mother Shri Ahalyabai Holker during 1782. This temple maintained the Pooja Parampara of Bhagvan Shiva during the hostile political conditions.

Sri Somnath temple is located in Prabhas Patan near Veraval, Saurashtra on the western coast of Gujarat, India and is believed to be the first among the 12 jyotirlinga temples of Lord Shiva.

According to the story of Nageshvara temple, there are two stories behind this Jyotirlinga. The two legends are linked to the existence of this numinous temple. The first story goes back a hundred years in the Shiva Purana, about a couple of demons called Daruka and Daruki.

Now known as Dwarka, the city got its name from the Asura couple and was called “Darukavana”. Daruka’s wife, Daruki, was a follower of the goddess Parvati. But, Daruka was a cruel demon who found the joy of disturbing the people around him.

One day, Daruka imprisoned Supriya an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva, along with several others. Daruka abused the blessings bestowed on him and continued to plague the local population in one way or another. In captivity, Supriya advised everyone to chant the mantra “Om Namaha Shivaye” aloud.

Supriya told the villagers that this mantra is powerful enough to protect them all from the demon King. When Daruka found out, he became furious and went to kill her. It was then that Lord Shiva appeared in the form of Linga on earth. Shiva could not kill the demon because of the blessing granted by his wife, Parvati. Therefore, he assured Supriya and everyone else that he would protect them all in the form of Jyotirlinga.

The Nageshwar temple, also known as the Nageshvara temple, is located on the coast of Saurashtra in Gujarat. The presiding deity is Lord Shiva and is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines mentioned in Shiva Purana. The Jyotirlinga is in an underground sanctuary. The is a meters statue of Lord Shiva near the temple with large garden and a pond surrounding the statue.

Here the Shiva Lingam is an oval Rudraksha with three faces. Rudrakhsa is said to be the tears of Lord Shiva. The importance of the Nageshwar temple is that this powerful Jyotirlinga protects the devotees from all kinds of poison. Devotees also believe that whoever prays to the Lord is freed from poison, that is, from the negative energy. The Nageshwar lingam is unique because it consists of a stone known as Dwarka stone.

Nageshwar Mahadev Sivalingam is oriented to the south, while Gomugam is oriented to the east. There is a story behind this position. There was once a devotee named, Naamdev. He was a ardent saint who used to dedicate songs to Lord Shiva.

One day, while he was singing bhajans before the Lord, the other devotees asked him to leave and not to hide from the Lord. For this, Naamdev asked them to suggest a direction in which the Lord does not exist, so that he can stay there. Enraged devotees took him and left him in the south. To their amazement, they discovered that the Linga was now facing south and the Gomugam was facing east.

If you want to view the temple in all its splendor, you can visit it on full moon nights. Maha Shivaratri also sees many special activities in the temple for which the temple remains open all day and night. This is the best time to visit Nageshwar and offer Puja after Darshan.

Second Story:

According to another legend, a group of dwarf sages called “Balakhilyas” worshiped Lord Shiva in Darukavana for a long time. To prove their perseverance and dedication, Lord Shiva went to them naked using only nagas, ie, snakes on his body.

All the wives of the sages were drawn to him and went after him, leaving their husbands behind. This action angered all the sages and they cursed Shiva for losing his linga. Therefore, Shiva Linga fell to the earth and the whole earth trembled.

Then Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma appeared and asked Shiva to save the planet from destruction and recover his linga. After comforting the sages, Lord Shiva resumed his linga and forever promised his divine presence in the form of Jyotirlinga in Darukavana.

Bhimashankar temple is a famous ancient temple located on the hills of Sahyadri in Maharashtra and is one among the twelve jyotirlinga temple. Bhimashankar temple is in the village of Bhorgiri, 50 km north-west of Khed, near Pune. Bhimashankar is also a popular destination for trekkers. Bhīmashankar is also the source of the river Bhima, which flows southeast and merges with the Krishna river near Raichur.

In recent times, Bhimashankar has acquired enormous importance since it was declared “SANCTUARY OF THE WILD LIFE”. This sanctuary is part of the Western Ghats, so it is rich in floral and fauna diversity. You can see a variety of birds, animals, insects and plants. In the deep forest you can find a malabar giant squirrel locally called “Shekaru”.

The Bhimashankar temple is a compound of old and new structures ans is constructed in Nagara style architecture. It shows the excellence of the skills acquired by the ancient sculptors of Vishwakarma. It is a modest but elegant temple and dates from the 13th century, Sabhamandap was built in the 18th century by Nana Phadnavis. The shikhara was constructed by Nana Phadnavis. It is said that the great sovereign Maratha Shivaji made donations to this temple to facilitate worship. Chimaji Appa collected five large bells after winning a war against the Portuguese at Fort Vasai. He offered one bell in Bhimashankar.

Legend has it that the name Bhimashankar came from the Bhima River, which evaporated due to the generation between the war of Lord Shiva and the demon Tripurasura.

According to legend, Tripurasura demon did penance in the Bhimashankar jungle years ago to please Lord Shiva. He hoped that by pleasing the Lord, he would be given immortality. The Lord, pleased with the devotion of Tripurasara, blesses him with immortality provided that Tripurasara uses his blessing for the well-being of the local populations and helps them. If Tripurasara forgets his vow, the Lord would have the right to demand it in any way he sees fit.

Over time, Tripurasara forgot all his promise and started to harass the local population and other deities. Confused peoples and deities approached the Lord to help them. The Lord prayed to Parvati Devi to help him. Together, in the form of “ardh-narya-nateshwar”, On Kartik Poornima day, they killed Tripurasara and the day is now known as Tripurasara Poornima.

After Tripurasara’s death, his wives Dakini and Shakini approached Shiva, questioning their existence without Tripurasara. The Lord has blessed both with immortality.

Bhimashankar Temple Regular Poojas:

1) Abhishek
2) Rudrabhishek
3) Mahapuja
4) Mahapuja-MahaNaivedya
5) Laghurudra
6) Laghurudra-MahaNaivedya
7) Laghurudra-MahaNaivedya-Bhrahman Bhojan

Bhimashankar Temple Yearly Poojas:

Prati Somvar
Prati Pradosh
Prati shivratri
Prati Amavasya
Shravan Somvar
Somavati Amavasya
Mahashivratri
Shavan Mass Pratidin

Bhimashankar Temple Shashvat Poojas:

Rudrabhishek
Mahapuja
Mahapooja + Mahanaivedya
Shravan Monday & Mahashivratra
Laghurudra
Laghurudra with Mahanaivedya
Laghurudra with ‘Brahman Bhojan’

Bhimashankar Temple Yearly Accommodation:

Private rooms are available near Bhimashankar Temple, and nearby Bhimashankar bus stop.

How to Reach Bhimashankar Temple:

By Air

Pune International Airport is the nearest airport which is 125 km away from the temple.

By Train

The nearest railway station is at Bhimashankar. Direct trains available from Pune, Mumbai, Nashik to Bhimashankar at regular intervals.

By Road

Direct buess are available from Pune to Bhimashankar Temple at regular intervals. The first bus starts at 5:30 AM and the last bus is at 4:00 PM.
From Kalyan bus station, the bus starts at 9:00 AM and Ghatkopar from bus station at 11:00 AM.

There are two stories related to the Trimbakeshwar temple. This is a story from Padma Puran. According to the story, after the ocean churning, the gods occupied the immortal nectar of demons by cheating them. When the demons heard about it, they fought with the gods for Amritakumbha. In the process, drops of Amrit fell in four places: Haridwar, Prayag, Ujjain and Trimbakeshwar. And from that moment on, Trimbakeshwar is considered the holiest place on earth along with Haridwar, Prayag and Ujjain. Therefore, Kumbha Mela takes place in these areas every 12 years.

According to another story, Sage Gautam lived in the mountainous region of Bramhagiri. Once, there was a miserable drought for 24 years. To save people, the sage Gautam worshiped Lord Varun/Rain and the god was pleased. And he blessed the sages with the gift of plenty of rains in the region. But it made the other sages jealous. They sent a cow to destroy Gautam’s granary. When Gautam tried to scare the cow, it got injured and died. By seeing this, other saints accused the sin of killed the cow. Gautam did a difficult penance to please Lord Shiva, who in turn asked Ganga to go to Gautam’s place. Sage Gautam and Ganga prayed to Lord Shiva to come here with Parvati and stay with them. And Shiva was pleased with the prayer and settled. Here, the Ganges appeared in the form of the Godavari river. Therefore, outside the temple, you can see some cows that eat grass or you can feed them with grass.

Trayambakeshwar Temple is a Shiva Temple is located in the town of Trimbak which is 28 kms from Nashik in Maharashtra. Trayambakeshwar Temple  lies in the foothill of Bramhagiri mountain which is the origin of river Godavari, the longest river in south India. River Godavari is originates from Bramhagiri mountains and meets the sea at Rajahmudry. The temple was built by Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao in 1755-1786 AD . It is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas.

As per Shiva puranam, once Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu were arguing about supremacy of their creations. To humble them Lord Shiva pierced the three worlds with an endless pillar of light (Jyotirlinga), whose end neither could find.

The Jyotirlinga at the Trayambakeshwar Temple has three faces symbolizing Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Rudra. All three resides in a hallow space within the Shiva lingam.

The temple is built with black stone and the Shiva lingam is said to be emerged naturally. The temple is bordered with around 20-25 stone feet wall in height.

The way to the main temple passes through the Nandi temple. The Nandi temple is built in front of lord Shiva temple, Nandi will be facing Lord Shiva lingam. After crossing the Nandi temple we step in to Lord Shiva temple . The sanctum is not big and houses the main Shiva lingam and three lings residing in hollow structure.

Whoever comes here obtains salvation from all sins. People worship Godavari while Ganga and Lord Shiva reside here in the form of Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga. It would be a good chance for a person to come and worship here.

Grishneshwar Temple or Ghrneshwar or Dhushmeshwar Temple is one of the Jyotirlinga Temple in Ellora, Aurangabad, Maharastra. This shrines is dedicated to Lord Shiva that is referenced in the Shiva Purana. Ghrneshwara means “lord of compassion”. Grishneshwar Temple is located in Ellora also known as Verul, which is less than a km from Ellora Caves (an UNESCO World Heritage site). It is about 30 kilometres north-west of the city of Aurangabad, and about 300 kilometres east-northeast from Mumbai.

The Grishneshwar Temple is one of the 5 Jyotirlingas in Maharashtra. The other 4 are Parli Vaidyanath Temple in Parli, Trimbakeshwar Temple near Nasik, Aundha Nagnath Temple in Hingoli, Bhimashankar Temple near Pune.

The temple was destroyed by the Delhi Sultanate in 13th and 14th centuries. The temple underwent several phases of reconstruction followed by further destruction during the Mughal-Maratha conflict. Indore Queen Ahilyabai Holkar has rebuilt the current temple in 18th century.

The importance of the temple is that Devotees believe that by visiting this Grishneshwar temple, one can reap the benefits of the worship of the 12 Jyotirlingas. It is also said that the temple of Grishneshwar is a classic example of prehistoric architectural style and has beautiful sculptures.

The Devotees can see the scene of the marriage of the Lord and his wife in the murals and sculptures of the temple. The Grishneshwar temple also houses a well that sprouts holy water.

Grishneshwar Shiva Temple History:

The story of the Grishneshwar Shiva temple speaks of Maloji Bhosle, an ardent devotee and the chief of Verul village. He constructed the temple in the 16th century after finding a hidden treasure in an anthill. In 17th century Maratha Malwa queen Rani Ahilyabai Holker renovated the temple.

According to Shiva Purana, several stories are associated with this ancient Temple they are

Shivalay Story:

The story of Shivalay tells that during his hunting journeys, the king of Verul killed animals that lived in the Rishis ashram. This angered the Rishis who cursed the king and the insects swarmed all his body. The king wandered through the forest and found a hole with water flowing from it.

By the time he started drinking water, the insects miraculously disappeared from his body. The overwhelmed king did severe penance there. Satisfied with the kings penance, Lord Brahma blessed the him and created a lake which became to be known as Shiva temple.

Kumkumeshwar Story:

Lord Shiva and his wife Parvathi resided in the Sahyadri range, near Shiva temple. One day when the goddess was about to apply Kumkum, water mixed with Shivalay. The Kumkum has transformed into Linga, emitting a ray of radiant light.

Since Linga emerged from kumkum, this Jyotirlinga was originally called Kumkumeshwar. But the goddess called him Grishneshwar because she believed that the Linga came from the action of rubbing, and the word Grish means friction.

Ghushmeswar Story:

Brahmavetta Sudharm is a great Brahmin scholar, he and his wife, Sudeha, lived in the southern mountain of Devagiri. They had no children, and an worried Sudeha told her sister Ghushma to marry Sudharm so that they could have a child.

Finally, Ghushma and Sudharm had a son who is the envy of Sudeha. The boy grew up to be a handsome young man and in time married. Unable to cope with feelings of jealousy, Sudeha killed the boy while he was sleeping and threw the body into a lake.

A deeply worried Gushma continued her routine. During her morning ritual of visiting the lake where she regularly make and worship a hundred lingas, she saw her son come out of the lake. Then Lord Shiva appeared before her and told her that Sudeha had killed her son. Pleased with Gushma’s devotion, he returned her son and also gave her a blessing. Ghushma then requested the Lord to forgive her sister and stay in the place. The Lord accepted her request and continued to reside there in the form of Jyotirlinga. Therefore, he took the name Ghushmeswar in honor of Gushma.

Grishneshwar Temple Festivals:

Mahashivratri
Ganesh Chaturthi
Navaratri
Diwali

Temples Near Grishneshwar Temple:

Ellora Caves
Bhadra Maruti Temple, Khuldabad
Aundha Nagnath Jyotirlinga Temple
Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga Temple
Parli Vaijnath Jyotirlinga Temple
Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga Temple

Ravanasura is the king of Lanka (Cylone) now Srilanka, is a great ruler and scholar, was one of the greatest devotees of Lord Shiva of all time. Although he is a great scholar, he is considered very arrogant and stubborn. Although he is a demon, but with his incredible ability to rule the world, it is also said that he almost ruled the three worlds and he made some gods as his slaves.

Finally, Shiva was happy and allowed him to take his lingam with him to Lanka. Lord Shiva told ravana not to place or transfer this lingam to anyone. There should be no break during your trip to Lanka. If you deposit lingam anywhere on earth, during your journey, it will remain fixed there forever. Ravana was happy when he returned to Lanka. The other gods opposed this plan; If Shiva went to Lanka with Ravana, then Ravana would become invincible and his evil and anti-Vedic acts would threaten the world.

On the way to lanka from Mount Kailash, it was time for Ravana to perform sandya vandana and he could not perform sandya-vandha with Shiva linga in his hand and, therefore, he looked for someone who could hold it for him. Vishnu then appeared as a shepherd who raised sheep nearby. Ravana asked Ganesh to pretend as a shepherd to hold the linga while completing sandya-vandana and also told him not to place the linga on the ground.

Ganesha warned Ravana about leaving the linga on the bank of the river and walking away if he doesn’t return soon. Vishnu, pretending to be vexed by Ravena’s delay, set the linga down on earth. The moment linga was kept down, it got fixed to the ground. When Ravana after returning from Sandya-vandana tried to move the linga, but he could not. Ravan failed miserably in his attempt to uproot the linga. The Gods were happy with Shiva linga not reaching Ravana’s place.

The Temple will open at 5:00 AM and closed at 9:30 PM.

Morning: From 5.00 AM to 3:50 PM
Break: 3:50 PM to 4:15 PM
Evening: From 4:15 PM to 9:30 PM

Shri Omkareshwar temple is one of Jyotirlinga Temple in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Primary deity is Omkareshwar, Lord Shiva in the form of linga. This is an ancient shiva temple in India. The “Shiva Mahima Stotra” was written on the stone slab by the ancient poet Pushpadanta.

The Temple will open at 5:00 AM and closed at 9:30 PM.

Morning: From 5.00 AM to 3:50 PM
Break: 3:50 PM to 4:15 PM
Evening: From 4:15 PM to 9:30 PM

Shri Omkareshwar temple is one of Jyotirlinga Temple in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Primary deity is Omkareshwar, Lord Shiva in the form of linga. This is an ancient shiva temple in India. The “Shiva Mahima Stotra” was written on the stone slab by the ancient poet Pushpadanta.

Rudrabhishek Timings: 4:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Rudrabhishek (1 shastri)
Rudrabhishek (5 shastri)
Rudrabhishek (11 shastri)
Laghu Rudra (11 shastri)
Maharudra (11 shastri) 11 Days