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Jyotirlingas

Jyotirlingas are a group of sacred shrines dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. The term jyotirlinga combines jyoti, meaning light, and linga, meaning sign or emblem, signaling Shiva as a fiery column of light. In Shaivism, Shiva is believed to have manifested as a radiant pillar at twelve legendary sites, making these temples among the most revered in the tradition. The concept is described in ancient Shaiva texts such as the Linga Purana and the Padma Purana, and the twelve are widely recognized across regional Hindu traditions.

The twelve jyotirlingas and their traditional locations are: Somnath in Gujarat; Mallikarjuna at Srisailam in Andhra

Pilgrims often undertake a yatra to visit all twelve, a journey regarded as a significant spiritual pursuit

Pradesh;
Mahakaleshwar
in
Ujjain,
Madhya
Pradesh;
Omkareshwar
in
Omkareshwar,
Madhya
Pradesh;
Kedarnath
in
Kedarnath,
Uttarakhand;
Bhimashankar
in
Maharashtra;
Kashi
Vishwanath
in
Varanasi,
Uttar
Pradesh;
Trimbakeshwar
in
Nashik,
Maharashtra;
Vaidyanath
in
Deoghar,
Jharkhand;
Ramanathaswamy
in
Rameswaram,
Tamil
Nadu;
Grishneshwar
near
Ellora,
Maharashtra;
and
Nageshwar
in
Dwarka,
Gujarat.
within
Hinduism.
The
jyotir
lingas
thus
function
as
a
canon
of
sacred
Shiva
shrines
that
illustrate
the
geographic
and
devotional
landscape
of
Shaivism
in
India.