12 Most Sacred Shiva Temples India

India, is one of the oldest civilizations in the world which is known world-wide for its diverse nature, ancient stories of man-kind, historical beliefs, culture and traditions, art and crafts, and many more stories about how this land was invaded by foreign invaders over the decades. Along with this, India is a land of religions where all the religions are practiced with the same dignity and respect. Being a land of Hindu, Hinduism is the most important religion in India which is followed and practiced by a major part of the population. Not only in India, however Hinduism is spread all over the world as it is one of the oldest religions in the world and many other religions follow the same beliefs, rituals and practices by another name.

According to Hinduism, there are three main gods who are responsible for the human lifecycle, Lord Bhrama – The Creator, Lord Vishnu – The Preserver and Lord Shiva – Destroyer of Evil. These three gods are the supreme gods of all and are present in multiple numbers of different faces or in many incarnation faces known by different names. Amongst these three, Lord Shiva is considered the most powerful and supreme god. India is a land of high religious values and we have many temples which tell us exciting stories about the history and the significance of these temples in our life.

In India, we have 12 main Jyotirlinga, which are considered one of the holiest manifestations of Lord Shiva. As the name suggests “Jyotir” means “Light” and “Linga” means “Source”, these Jyotirlingas as the ultimate source of light and power which are considered highly revered amongst Hindus. There are 64 Jyotirlingas present in India however, only 12 Jyotirlingas are considered as highly revered Shiva temples in India. These temples of Shiva are located all around India which attracts thousands of tourists from all over the globe.

Custom Tours India is here to arrange a customized private tour of India covering these famous Shiva temples in India along with other nearby tourist attractions. The temple tour of India is one of the best spiritual tours in the world through which you can feel the positivity and the power within yourself to live in this world with harmony. Here are the 12 Jyotirlingas in India which you may consider visiting while in India.

Kashi Vishwanath Temple - Kashi Vishwanath Temple is located in the oldest living city of the world - Varanasi and on the western ghats of the Holy River Ganges. This temple in India is one of the most visited jyotirlingas in India amongst the remaining 12 present in India. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva which is present here in the form of “Vishwaranatha” which means “Ruler of the Universe”. The main attraction of this temple is the 800 kgs of gold which is laid on the top of the main temple. In ancient times, the temple was attacked a number of times by Mughals and Mongol invaders; however, it still holds charm and attracts thousands of devotees daily from all over the world.

Timing - 3:00am to 11:00pm (Different Aarti’s “prayer” are performed between this time)

Weather - 34C

Rameshwaram Temple - Rameshwaram temple is one of the important jyotirlinga and Shiva temple in India out of 12 Jyotirlingas present in India which are dedicated to Lord Shiva. This temple is situated on Rameshwaram island in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This temple is an excellent example of Hindu architecture and spiritual significance where you can witness the world’s longest corridor with beautifully carved pillars. Lord Rama after killing the Brahmin demon king Ravana, constructed a small Shiva Lingam at this place in order to absolve his sins. Here, you can see two different lingams, firstly which is constructed by Lord Rama which is known as Ramalingam and the second which was brought by Lord Hanuman from Himalayas which is known as Vishwalingam.

Timing - 4:30 am to 8:30 pm

Weather - 29C

Kedarnath Temple - Kedarnath Temple is the most important Shiva temple in India and sacred shrine in the world which is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is located in the Himalayan range of Garhwal in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. This Shiva temple in India is situated at a height of 3,583 meters and surrounded by glaciers and snow-clad peaks. This temple was originally built by Pandavas thousands of years ago when they were searching for Lord Shiva to find Moksha after killing their cruel cousins. Later, the temple was rebuilt by Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century.

Timing - 4:00am - 9:00pm (Mid May - October)

Weather - 1C

Somnath Temple - Somnath Temple is one of the oldest Shiva temples in India which is located on the western coast of the Indian state of Gujarat. You can hear and read stories about this temple in the ancient texts like Rig-Vedas, Skand Purans, Shiva Purans and Shreemad Baghwat Geeta. Somnath is the first jyotirlinga in India out of the 12 which were constructed by Indian God of Moon, Soma who was curse by his father-in-law so that he loses his lustre and glory however, Soma worshiped Lord Shiva who cured his illness and gave the lustre and glory back. So, Somnath later built this temple to honour Lord Shiva. The temple was destroyed many times by Mughals however, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel finally re-constructed the temple in the year 1951. Along with this, the temple is situated at a point where three lakes meet and it is believed that Lord Krishna left his mortal body at this point. Secondly, the interesting thing is that there is no land in the straight line till Antarctica.

Timing - 6:00am to 7:00pm and 7:45pm (Light and Sound Show)

Weather - 24C

Mallikarjuna – Mallikarjuna temple is one of the greatest Shiva temples in India which is situated in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. This famous temple of Shiva is well-known as “Kailash of the South” and is one of most visited Shiva temples in South India. Here, this jyotirlingas temple is dedicated to Shiva who is present here in the form of “Mallika – Goddess Parvati” and “Arjuna – Lord Shiva”. As per Shiva Puran, the elder son, when Kartikeya came to know about his elder brother Ganesha's wedding prior to his. He became very upset and angry due to which he climbed the Kraunch Mountain in anger. After seeing the anger, all the Gods requested him to come down. Even Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati approached but could not change the state of Kartikeya. Later, due to this Lord Shiva turned himself into a Jyotirlinga. This is the only Shiva temple in India where Jyotirlinga and Shati Peeth are together. Local people believe that by the single glimpse of the mountain top of this temple one can make himself free from the cruel cycle of life and death.

Timing – 4:30 am to 10:00pm

Weather – 31C

Mahakaleshwar – Mahakaleshwar temple is situated on the banks of Kshipra River and is the most important pilgrimage site in Central India located in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. As per Shiva Puran, a 5-year boy named Shrikar was so much impressed by the devotion of King Chandrasen towards Lord Shiva that he wanted to worship Lord Shiva with him. However, being a common boy, he was asked to go to the Mahakal Forest to pray and perform his practice there. Later, the boy took a stone and worshipped the stone as Lord Shiva. By seeing this, local people tried to speak with the boy, however he was so much into his prayers that he kept on praying. Lord Shiva was so enthralled that he appeared as Jyotirlingas in front of the boy. This Shiva temple in India is one of the seven “Mukti Sthal” present in India where humans get liberated from the birth cycle.

Timing – 4:00am to 11:00pm

Weather – 20C in the winters and 45C in the summers.

Omkareshwara – Omkareshwar temple is one of the highly revered shrines of Lord Shiva present in the Indian State of Madhya Pradesh. This Shiva temple in India is located on Shivpuri Island in the Narmada River where Lord Shiva is present in the form of “Omkareshwar” which means “Lord of the OmKara” or “Lord of the Om Sound”. As per Hindu scriptures and legends, once upon a time there was a huge fight between the Devas “Gods” and the Davanas “Demons” in which the gods were on the urge to lose. By seeing this all the Gods started praying to Lord Shiva to put an end to this devastation. Later, Lord Shiva emerged as Jyotirlingas and defeated the demons. This famous Shiva temple of India is considered highly sacred by the Hindus.

Timing – 5:00am to 9:30pm

Weather – 35C

Bhimashankar – Bhimashankar is one the famous Shiva temple in India is situated on the banks of Bhima River in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Here, it is said that the Lord Shiva is the source of this river. As per legends and Shiva Puran, this temple is related to Bhima – son of Kumbhakaran. When Bhima came to know that his father was defeated and killed between the fight of Lord Rama and Ravana. He became angry and started punishing himself to please Lord Bhrahma. After seeing his dedication, Lord Bhrahma have immense powers to Bhima which led him into the destruction of everything and almost all the Gods. Later, when he did not come under control all the Gods prayed to Lord Shiva to come and fight with this demon. Later, Lord Shiva decided to descend on Earth and put an end on the demon Bhima. When the war was finished all the Gods requested to Lord Shiva to make this place as his abode. So, Lord Shiva manifested himself in the form of BhimaShankar Jyotirlinga. It is said that the sweat which was poured from Shiva’s body to the ground is what formed the Bhima River.

Timing – 5:00am to 9:30pm

Weather – 30C

Triambakeshwar Temple – Triambakeshwar Temple is one of the most worshipped Shiva temples in India which is situated in the India State of Maharashtra. The temple is the source of River Godavari which flows from this temple and a mountain nearby. The main attraction of this Shiva temple in India is the shrine which has three faced jyotirlinga. The three faces represent Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Maheshwar, another name of Lord Shiva. As per ancient novels and Shiva Puran, there was a saint named Gautam Rishi who received a bag full of grains when we worshipped Varuna. These crops were used to serve food to all the saints who visited Gautam Rishi. One day a crow entered the field which led into damaging the field and crops so the Rishi killed the cow. Later, Gautam Rishi prayed to Lord Shiva in order to wash the sin committed by him. Lord Shiva was impressed and led River Ganges flow through the field to make the field and saint free from him sins. Later, on saint’s request Lord Shiva remained at this place in the form of three faced Jyotirlingas. Locals believe that this temple has a charm which fulfils everyone's desires.

Timing – 5:30am to 9:00pm

Weather – 33C

Nageshwara Temple – Nageswara Temple is famous because of one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in India which is situated in the Indian State of Gujarat. Nagaeshwara Temple is one of the most famous Shiva temples in India which is dedicated to Lord Shiva who is present here in the form of “Nageshwar” which means “God of Serpents”. As per the legends in Shiva Purans there was a lady Supriya who was a strong devotee of Lord Shiva. When the demon, Daruka captured Supriya and the other fellow devotees to take them to her demon city named Daarukavana, a city under the sea surrounded by poisonous sea snakes. Supriya chanted Lord Shiva’s name who then appeared in front of Supriya in the manifestation of a Jyotirlinga saving the devotee and killing all the demons and sea-snakes. It is said that one who comes here and worships gets protection from all kinds of poison.

Timing – 6:00am to 12:30pm and then 5:00pm to 9:30pm.

Weather – 31C

Baidyanath Temple – Baidyanath Temple is one of the holiest shrines of Shiva and one of the important Shiva temples in India which is located in the Indian State of Jharkhand. It is also said, one who worships here gets relieved from his worries and anxiety. As per the legends in Shiva Purana, Demon King Ravanaaa worshipped Lord Shiva in order to get Mount Kailash shifted to SriLanka. Later, Lord Shiva appeared and rejected the request. Later, Lord Shiva asked the Ravana to take one Jyotirlinga with him however, Lord Shiva embedded a condition with it – saying that if you take the jyotirlinga out from your hand, the jyotirlinga will be rooted forever at that place. So, Demon King took this condition lightly and stopped to release the water leaving the Lingas without attention. Thus, this was that place in Deogarh where this jyotirlinga got rooted and now we have Baidyanath temple built over here attracting thousands of devotees from all over the world.

Timing – 4:00am to 9:30pm

Weather – 20C – 25C in winters and 40C in summers.

Grishneshwar Temple – Grishneshwara Temple is one of the 12 jyotirlingas in India and one of the most famous temples of Shiva in India which is located in the Indian state of Maharashtra, nearby the famous historical monument of India – The Ajanta and Ellora caves. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva who is present here in the form of “Grishneshwar” which means “Lord of Compassion”. As per the ancient novels and legends, there was a couple named Sudeha and Sudharm who didn’t have a child. Later, Sudeha requested her husband to get married with her sister, Ghusma. Later, happiness came to their doorsteps as Ghusma and Sudharm were blessed with a baby boy making Sudeha jealous. Due to this, Sudeha threw the baby boy in the lake nearby where Ghusma used to discharge 101 Lingams. By the devotion of Ghusma, Lord Shiva returned the baby boy to the couple and on Sudharm's request Lord Shiva resides there for lifetime in the form of Grishneshwar Jyotirlingam.

Timing – 5:30am to 9:00pm

Weather – 15-20C in winters and 31C during summers.

These are the main 12 Jyotirlingas in India which are well-known all over the world and witness thousands of devotees on a daily basis. These famous temples of Shiva will attract you through the wide and extremely beautiful architecture of ancient India. If you would like to cover any of these famous Shiva temples in India you can reach out to us and we would love to arrange a fully customized tour plan for you.