Jyotirlinga temples are powerful places of energy and transformation if one is able to experience from within. These temples are located @ strategic points based on fusion of magnetic and energetic forces that people from our distant past were able to comprehend. It is best to visit these places with an open mind with no expectations and just experience as is.

My first visit to 12 Jyotirlinga temples in India started with my family when I was 7 years young. My parents used to take our family with friends on bus tours that lasted over a month every few years. As part of this trip, I visited couple of Jyotirlinga temples – the very first one was Rameshwaram temple in Tamil Nadu and second was Mallikarjuna Swamy temple in Andhra Pradesh. I have faint memories of the temple structure but not a lot about the temple nor the Shivalingam inside the main sanctum sanctorum from my childhood trip. However, I recently was blessed to visit Rameshwaram and several other Jyotirlinga temples & have shared my experiences below.

Rameshwaram Jyotirlinga Temple – Tamil Nadu:

Rameshwaram temple is a very ancient temple built by the erstwhile Pandya dynasty situated in the state of TamilNadu. This temple is ginormous and has long stretches of mandapams (corridors) with pillars lined geometrically in such precision that it is an incredible sight to see all the carvings and decipher stories depicted on the pillars and the adjoining walls. Also, one can take a deep breath walking along those long corridors or mandapams and imagine the grandeur that existed during those dynasties. It is truly a breathtaking experience. As you walk through any temple entrance be it North, South, East or West you will also be stopping by frequently to seek blessings from various deities in smaller shrines throughout the four directions leading to the main sanctum sanctorum. Decades ago these temples were all in their original color and were not painted but lately, they are all painted in bright colors as part of restoration and retention.

The number of wells that are active can vary in count by the day due to various factors. It is simply amazing to track the well waters before you are ready for the main temple darshan(view of the main shivalingam) Remember to carry change of clothes in water proof bags. The wells are shallow and water from the small pail is drawn by designated people standing on the perimeter of the protective wall and they pour a small portion of water drawn over your head and it is usually warm and so much fun that you feel like a little child running from well # 1 to well # 2 etc. These wells have designated names like Mahalakshmi, Saraswati, Ganga, Kaveri, Yamuna etc.  Take care while walking the well water track as it can be quite slippery. The final one in the series is all the more precious from which water drawn is primarily used to perform abishekam [used to anoint the main deity] so one can drink this and also get blessed with a light sprinkle also called prokshanam. After all the well water shower is done one can go to specific changing areas within the temple precincts [separate area for women and men] which are fairly clean to change into dry clothes – (donate your soiled clothes) and now you are ready to get darshan of Rameshwaram lingam.

These temples are places where you can invariably get a days worth of walk just by walking around the four corners of the temple as they are so vast. Once you are in the main sanctum, if you do get the opportunity get an early morning 5:00am dip in the ocean, change into dry clothes, try to head to the main sanctum for 5:30am spatikha linga darshanam. This sight of the spatika linga is only visible early hours once a day and if you are lucky you can even witness the milk abhishekam (abhishekam – process of anointing God with water, milk, curd/yougurt, honey, coconut water, mixed fruits, sugar, sandalwood paste,etc) of spatika lingam which is simply beautiful and very divine. Once this is completed you can get to see the main Rameshwaram lingam in the main sanctum placed right behind the spatika lingam and you can see the whole shivalingam during a beautiful aarati as there is no electric light in the main inner sanctum. (aarati – process of lighting cotton wick in ghee or oil or camphor and offering to God as part of ritual, several of ancient temples do not allow electricity in inner sanctum even to this day and one can only see the idol through this process).

You can get to complete the above in less than half a day. However, if you would like to see the 4 entrances in detail and study more then you would need ample time of more than a day or 2 to cover the whole temple. There are several other smaller shrines but would like to mention a couple viz., Sri MahaLakshmi temple which is beautiful and also a very ancient Hanuman temple that has been carved from a rock for Lord Hanuman all within the premises.

You also get to see few Sri Vaishnava divya desham temples while going around this temple complex. Once you are out of Rameshwaram main temple you may visit several other places including Sri Panchamukhi hanuman temple. Here you get to see the floating rocks that were used to build the bridge to Sri Lanka to rescue Sita. You can also visit Sri Kodandaramar temple en route Dhanushkodi. Here is where Vibhishana was crowned king after Rama slew Ravana and you can receive blessings from Sage Agastya rishi (idol) in this temple. This temple is situated at the end of a T road en route Dhanushkodi and is surrounded by vast Indian ocean. You get plenty of tender coconut water outside the temple and is a great scenic spot for pictures.

From here you can drive over to Dhanushkodi, the end of Rameshwaram or the last land point to get to SriLanka. This is where the bridge to Lanka was launched by Lord Rama and vanaras or monkeys and is also the meeting point of Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean. Lot of structures stand destroyed as of today due to Tsunami and have been washed away. You can park your cars and walk a short distance to the actual beach where the oceanic water is truly crystal clear and very clean. The waves and the scenic unending waters is immensely serene and you can sit here gazing at the enormous ocean listening to the beautiful sounds of waves being created and then receding in a continuum.

Rameshwaram has no direct access but you can easily take a 3.5 hr drive from Madurai airport via car. There are also several trains and tourism buses from major cities for a more comfortable transport. You may also take a longer drive by car if you are driving up from Kanyakumari. The highways are awesome and it is safe even for a night drive. There are several great hotels to stay with great food and easy access to temples.

Reach out to me for any questions on travel & hotels.

Mallikarjuna Swamy Jyotirlinga Temple – Andhra Pradesh:

This is another of the 12 Jyotirlinga temples situated in Srishailam, Andhra Pradesh state and is also categorized as Shakti peeth by few resources. This temple apparently was built by Chalukyas and Kakatiyas around 2nd century AD and obtained lot of patronage by Sri Krishnadevaraya who was renowned Souh Indian king famous for supporting art and culture all over India.

Following Jyotirlinga temples are ones I was fotunate to visit very recently.

Somnath Jyotirlinga Temple – Gujarat:

This is one more powerful temple of the 12 Jyotirlingas situated in Saurashtra, in the state of Gujarat. The old temple structures were destroyed umpteen times by several invaders and was reconstructed multiple times. The current structure is fairly new and is huge, one can see beautiful carvings and is an architectural wonder.

Somnath temple has the beautiful backdrop of the majestic Indian ocean and one can witness the waves surge against the temple walls. Parking for private cars is quite far from the main temple. One has to alight from the car at a good distance and walk, you cannot take cell phones or any purse, however, you can leave them in your car or in a locker near footwear stand and walk half a mile to get to the temple. Once inside the temple you are mesmerized by the large Shiva lingam wherein only few people are permitted to perform rituals. It is a very divine experience to witness the abhishekam, the flowers, decoration and the sounds of bells for aarati. We were able to see the midday aarati and it was wonderful. You can also sponsor several poojas in the temple as per your convenience. The magnanimity here is infinite, there is a beautiful calm feeling once you walk away from this temple.

Once you are back at the locker gate, there is a side track where you can actually find the old Somnath temple. You have to ask around to get to this temple as it is tricky but it is all within walking distance. You get to see the old actual shiva lingam in this temple but it is underground and advise people to be cautious to go down a narrow path to have darshan. This shivalingam was unearthed when the water receded and rituals are also performed here.

If you are keen on visiting nearby temples, you can take a 5 hour drive up North to Dwaraka en route Nageshwar Jyotirlinga temple.

You can read my upcoming blog on Dwaraka – Lord Krishna temple and its history…

Nageshwar Jyotirlinga Temple – Gujarat:

This is a temple that is considered as one of the 12 Jyotirlinga temples. Nageshwar temple is about an hour away from Dwaraka. We were able to visit this temple in the evening. It has a beautiful form of Lord Shiva that is about 20 feet tall that is very well illuminated. Inside the temple, the shivalinga is at a lower level and one can perform different rituals. As we were late from Somnath we performed a small pooja, the priest explained the importance of the temple and we enjoyed visiting this place.