The Twelve Jyotirlingas — Part 1

Somnath (Gujarat): The moon, Chandra, married twenty-seven daughters of Daksha but loved only Rohini. Hurt, Daksha cursed him to waste away. Chandra did tapasya to Shiv at Prabhas. Shiv balanced the curse: you will wane for fifteen days and wax for fifteen. As the lord (nath) of Soma, the moon, the place is called Somnath.

Mallikarjun (Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh): When Ganesh was married first, Kartikeya left in hurt and went to Mount Kraunch. Shiv and Parvati went there to see their son and settled there as light. Mallika means Parvati and Arjun means Shiv, so it is Mallikarjun.

Mahakaleshwar (Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh): In Ujjain lived a Brahmin family devoted to Shiv. A demon named Dushan came to torment them. Then Shiv burst out of the earth as Mahakal and ended the demon. At the devotees' request he stayed there. Its bhasma aarti, the ash aarti, is still famous.

Omkareshwar (Madhya Pradesh): In the middle of the Narmada is an island said to be shaped like Om. The Vindhya mountain did tapasya to Shiv here. Pleased, Shiv appeared at this place. By tradition, both Omkareshwar and Amaleshwar are worshipped here.

Kedarnath (Uttarakhand): In the Himalayas, two sages, Nar and Narayan, worshipped Shiv by making Shivlings of clay. Shiv was pleased and, at their request, settled for ever in the Kedar region. Another popular tradition also links this place to the Pandavs.

Bhimashankar (Maharashtra): Bhima, son of Kumbhakarna, won a boon and began tormenting everyone to avenge his father's death. He imprisoned King Sudakshin, a devotee of Shiv. When he swung his sword at the king's clay Shivling, Shiv appeared and ended him. Shiv stayed there as Bhimashankar.