The twelve Jyotirlinga temples are the principal Shiva shrines in the Hindu sacred geography, identified in the Shiva Mahapurana as the places where Shiva manifested as a pillar of light (jyoti). The twelve are spread across seven Indian states from Gujarat in the west to Tamil Nadu in the south, Uttarakhand in the north and Jharkhand in the east. The standard list is given in the Dwadasha Jyotirlinga Stotra attributed to Adi Shankara. This article covers the canonical list, the location of each shrine, the principal feature of each temple and how the twelve fit into a complete pilgrimage circuit.
The canonical list
- 1. Somnath: Prabhas Patan, Gir Somnath district, Gujarat
- 2. Mallikarjuna: Srisailam, Nandyal district, Andhra Pradesh
- 3. Mahakaleshwar: Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
- 4. Omkareshwar: Mandhata Island, Khandwa district, Madhya Pradesh
- 5. Kedarnath: Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand
- 6. Bhimashankar: Pune district, Maharashtra
- 7. Kashi Vishwanath: Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
- 8. Trimbakeshwar: Nashik, Maharashtra
- 9. Vaidyanath (Baidyanath): Deoghar, Jharkhand (also claimed by Parli, Maharashtra)
- 10. Nageshwar: Near Dwarka, Devbhumi Dwarka district, Gujarat
- 11. Rameshwaram: Rameswaram island, Tamil Nadu
- 12. Grishneshwar: Verul, Aurangabad district, Maharashtra (near Ellora caves)
The Vaidyanath identification is the principal point of disagreement in the traditional list: Deoghar in Jharkhand and Parli Vaijnath in Maharashtra both claim to be the original site. Most modern pilgrim circuits visit Deoghar; some pilgrims visit both for full liturgical satisfaction.
What makes a Jyotirlinga
The Shiva Mahapurana account is that Shiva appeared as a pillar of light at twelve locations to settle a dispute about the supremacy of Brahma and Vishnu. The pillar was endless; neither Brahma nor Vishnu could find its end. The twelve sites where the pillar’s light remained are the Jyotirlinga sites. Each location has its own puranic story explaining the particular form of the lord at that site, the patron rishi, and the temple’s founding.
The Dwadasha Jyotirlinga Stotra (twelve-jyotirlinga hymn), traditionally attributed to Adi Shankara, lists the twelve in a recitable verse form and is recited daily by many Shaiva pilgrims. The recitation itself is held to confer the merit of visiting each shrine.
The principal feature of each shrine
- Somnath: the first in the list; reconstructed in 1947–1951 by Sardar Patel. Sea-coast temple in the Chaulukya style.
- Mallikarjuna: set on the Nallamala hills above the Krishna river. Paired with the Bhramaramba Shakti Peetha in the same complex.
- Mahakaleshwar: the only south-facing (Dakshinamurti) jyotirlinga. Famous for the Bhasma Aarti at 4:00 AM.
- Omkareshwar: situated on an island shaped like the Sanskrit syllable Om in the Narmada.
- Kedarnath: highest of the twelve; at 3,580 m. Linga is in the unusual conical form, said to be the back of Shiva (the bull).
- Bhimashankar: Shahyadri hill temple, surrounded by a wildlife sanctuary.
- Kashi Vishwanath: at Varanasi on the Ganga. Reconstructed in 1780 by Ahilyabai Holkar.
- Trimbakeshwar: source of the Godavari. Triambaka (three-faced) linga.
- Vaidyanath: the healer-lord. Deoghar is the principal pilgrimage site.
- Nageshwar: coastal temple near Dwarka; the lord of serpents.
- Rameshwaram: consecrated by Rama after the Lanka campaign; the longest corridor of any Indian temple.
- Grishneshwar: 18th-century reconstruction by Ahilyabai Holkar; near the Ellora caves.
A practical pilgrimage circuit
The traditional Hindu practice is the Yatra of all twelve, undertaken in a single extended journey of two to four weeks. Most modern pilgrims break the twelve into regional clusters and visit them across several trips:
- Western cluster: Somnath, Nageshwar (Gujarat). Combined visit possible in 2–3 days, often with Dwarka.
- Central cluster: Mahakaleshwar, Omkareshwar (Madhya Pradesh). 2–3 days from Ujjain or Indore.
- Maharashtra cluster: Bhimashankar, Trimbakeshwar, Grishneshwar. 4–5 days from Mumbai or Pune.
- Southern cluster: Mallikarjuna (AP), Rameshwaram (TN). Requires separate planning; the two are 1,000 km apart.
- Northern shrines: Kedarnath (with the Char Dham), Kashi Vishwanath (Varanasi). Kedarnath is seasonal; Varanasi is year-round.
- Eastern shrine: Vaidyanath at Deoghar. Best combined with a Gaya-Jharkhand visit.
An opinion on the sequence
For what it’s worth, the traditional clockwise sequence (starting at Somnath, ending at Grishneshwar) is rarely practical today. A pilgrim with three years of planning can take it one cluster at a time and complete the twelve naturally, with each cluster paired with the wider regional pilgrim circuit (Somnath with Dwarka, Mallikarjuna with Tirupati, Kedarnath with the full Char Dham, Kashi with the Panchakroshi Yatra). The Pancha-Bhuta Sthalams of Shaiva Tamil Nadu are a parallel circuit that overlaps with Rameshwaram at one end. Treating the Jyotirlinga visit as a multi-year practice, rather than a single trip, is the more sustainable form for most working pilgrims.
Common questions
Is Vaidyanath at Deoghar or at Parli?
The traditional list and most Hindi-speaking pilgrim communities identify Vaidyanath with Baidyanath Dham at Deoghar in Jharkhand. The Maharashtrian tradition identifies it with Parli Vaijnath in Marathwada. Both sites have continuous worship and an active temple. Pilgrims who want to be on the safe side visit both. The Deoghar site is the more heavily attended, with major surges during the Shravan Mela in July–August when pilgrims carry water from the Ganga at Sultanganj to Deoghar.
Are all twelve open year-round?
Eleven of the twelve are open year-round. Kedarnath is the exception: the temple is closed from late October or early November until the following Akshaya Tritiya in late April or May. During the closed season, the utsava deity is taken to Ukhimath, where worship continues. Pilgrims who want all twelve in a single trip must plan around the Kedarnath season.
Is there a fee at the Jyotirlinga temples?
General darshan is free at all twelve. Reserved sevas (abhishekam, archana, special darshan) are ticketed, with fees set by each temple administration. The fees vary widely: from ₹100 at smaller temples to several thousand rupees for inner-sanctum sevas at the major shrines. Each temple has its own booking surface; some operate official online portals (Mahakaleshwar, Somnath, Srisailam), others rely on counter sales.
One limitation worth noting
The twelve shrines run independent administrations, and their timings, fees, festivals and seva schedules vary in detail. The list above is the canonical Hindu identification; for any specific shrine and any specific date, the temple’s own administration is the authoritative source. The Vaidyanath identification is genuinely contested in the tradition; pilgrims following one or the other line are both within the recognised practice. The clockwise sequence is one tradition; the temple-by-temple cluster approach used by most pilgrims today is equally accepted.
For background, see Jyotirlinga on Wikipedia and the Dwadasha Jyotirlinga Stotra entry on Wikipedia.
