Mahashivratri Special: Do you know all about the 12 Jyotirlingas and their significance?

Since childhood we have been hearig and reading all mythological stories about Shiva and the 12 Jyotirlingas. But we bet there are many who don't know what these Jyotirlingas signify, right?

Mahashivratri Special: Do you know all about the 12 Jyotirlingas and their significance?

Shiva is one of the most favourite Indian Gods. Mostly because He's not the usual God and had his own rules and rituals.

Since childhood we have been hearig and reading all mythological stories about Shiva and the 12 Jyotirlingas.

But I bet there are many of us who don't know what these Jyotirlingas signify. In fact, some of you might not even know all their names.

The 12 Jyotirlingas are as follows: Somnath in Gujarat, Mallikarjuna at Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh, Mahakaleswar at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh, Kedarnath in Uttrakhand, Bhimashankar at Pune in Maharashtra, Viswanath at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Tryambakeshwar at Nashik in Maharashtra, Vaijyanath Temple in Deoghar District of Jharkhand, Aundha Nagnath at Aundha in Hingoli District in Maharashtra, Rameshwar at Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu and Grushneshwar at Ellora near Aurangabad, in Maharashtra.

On the occasion of Mahashivratri, we give you a tour of the 12 Jyotirlingas and their significance.

Click start slideshow to know more about them.

Mahakal or Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga, Ujjain

Situated in Ujjain, Mahakaleshwar or Mahakal is located on the banks of the Rudr Sagar lake.

The presiding deity, Lord Shiva in the lingam form is believed to be Swayambhu, deriving currents of power (Shakti) from within itself as against the other images and lingams that are ritually established and invested with mantra-shakti.

The idol of Mahakaleshwar is known to be dakshinamurti, which means that it is facing the south. This is a unique feature, upheld by the tantric shivnetra tradition to be found only in Mahakaleshwar among the 12 Jyotirlingas

Omkareshwar, Ujjain

The Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga is located on the Mandhata or Shivapuri island on the Narmada river. It is said that the shape of this island looks like the Hindu ॐ symbol.

There are two main Lord Shiva temples – Omkareshwar which literally means “Lord of Omkaara or the Lord of the Om Sound” and other is, Amareshwar which stands for “Immortal lord” or “lord of the Immortals or Devas”.

Trimbakeshwar, Nashik

Trimbakeshwar is situated in the town of Trimbak, in the Trimbakeshwar tehsil in Nashik, Maharashtra.

The holy Godavari river, the longest in india, originates from here. Kusavarta, a kunda (sacred pond) in the temple premises is the source of the Godavari River.

Nageshwara, Dwarka

Located in Dwarka, the Nageshwara Jyotirlinga is in the famous mythological forest, Darukavana as per the Shiv Purana.

Mythological scriptures say that it is the first known Jyotirlinga and Lord Krishna himself used to perform the Rudrabhishekam over here.

Mallikarjuna, Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh

Mallikarjuna is located at Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh and is the only Jyotirlinga where both Shiva and Shakti are present together.

Besides being one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, this temple is also one of the eighteen Shakti Peeths of Goddess Parvati.

Shiva is known as Mallikarjuna in the temple and Parvati is depicted as Brahmaramba.

Baidyanath Jyotirlinga, Jharkhand

Located in Deoghar, Jharkhand, this Jyotirlinga got its name after Lord Shiva cured the Ravana, his greatest devotee and a demon king at this place. Vaidya means doctor in Hindi.

Mythology says that Lord Shiva is worshipped significantly as shamsan vasin (meaning, residing in crematorium), sava bhasma bhushita (meaning, smearing body with ashes of burnt bodies) in this region.

Kedarnath, Uttarakhand

Located in the Himalayan range of Uttarakhand, Kedarnath Jyotirlinga opens between April to November due to extreme weather conditions there.

Lord Shiva is worshipped as Kedarnath over here or Lord of the Kedar Khand which is the historical name of the place.

This temple was build by the Pandavas while seeking penance for all the Brahmins they killed during the battle of Kurukshetra in the Kedar Khand.

Bhimashankar, Pune

The Bhimashanker Jyotirlinga is located in Pune and the place is the source of the river Bhima in the Khed Taluka.

Built in the Nagara style of architecture, this temple dates back to the 18th century.

According to the legend, it is believed that the ancient shrine was erected over a Swayambhu Linga or a Self Emanated Shiva Linga.

Kashi Vishwanath

Located on the western banks of the river Ganga, the Kashi Vishwanath temple has Shiva worshipped as "Vishwanath" or Ruler of the Universe.

A visit to the temple and a bath in the river Ganges is one of many methods believed to lead one on a path to Moksha (liberation).

Somnath Temple, Gujarat

First amongst the twelve Jyotirlingas, the Somnath temple is located in Prabhas Patan, Gujarat.

The temple is considered sacred due to the various legends connected to it. Somnath means Lord of the Soma, an epithet of Shiva.

Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu

Rameswaram is the place of the Ramanathaswamy Temple, dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva.

According to Hindu epic Ramayana, Rama, the seventh avatar of the god Vishnu, prayed to Shiva here to absolve any sins that he might have committed during his war against the demon-king Ravana in Sri Lanka.

Grishneshwar, Maharashtra

Grishneshwar temple, also known as Ghrneshwar Jyotirlinga or Dhushmeshwar temple, is situated near the Ellora caves, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. Lord Shiva is worshipped as "lord of compassion" here.

This is the last or the twelfth Jyotirlinga of Shiva.