The 12 Jyotirlingas are the most sacred shrines of Lord Shiva, where he is worshipped as a jyotirlinga, a "linga of light". They are spread across seven states, from Somnath on the Gujarat coast to Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and Kedarnath in the Himalaya. For UPSC and State PSC papers the list matters for two reasons: the location of each shrine (state, river, district), and the history and architecture linked to rulers such as Mahmud of Ghazni, Ahilyabai Holkar and Sardar Patel.
Quick Answer
Gujarat: Somnath, Nageshwar. Andhra Pradesh: Mallikarjuna (Srisailam). Madhya Pradesh: Mahakaleshwar (Ujjain), Omkareshwar. Uttarakhand: Kedarnath. Maharashtra: Bhimashankar, Trimbakeshwar, Grishneshwar. Uttar Pradesh: Kashi Vishwanath (Varanasi). Jharkhand: Baidyanath (Deoghar). Tamil Nadu: Rameswaram. Maharashtra has the most (3). Somnath is counted first; Mahakaleshwar is the only south-facing (dakshinamukhi) one.
List of 12 Jyotirlingas with Location
| No. | Jyotirlinga | Place | State | Notable fact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somnath | Prabhas Patan, Gir Somnath | Gujarat | First of the 12; rebuilt in 1951 |
| 2 | Mallikarjuna | Srisailam, Nandyal | Andhra Pradesh | On the Krishna; also a Shakti Peetha |
| 3 | Mahakaleshwar | Ujjain | Madhya Pradesh | Only south-facing linga; on the Shipra; Bhasma Aarti |
| 4 | Omkareshwar | Mandhata island, Khandwa | Madhya Pradesh | Island shaped like Om in the Narmada |
| 5 | Kedarnath | Rudraprayag | Uttarakhand | Near the Mandakini; part of the Char Dham; open only six months a year |
| 6 | Bhimashankar | Pune district | Maharashtra | Source of the Bhima river; in a wildlife sanctuary (Indian giant squirrel) |
| 7 | Kashi Vishwanath | Varanasi | Uttar Pradesh | On the Ganga; Kashi Vishwanath Corridor opened 2021 |
| 8 | Trimbakeshwar | Nashik | Maharashtra | Near the source of the Godavari (Brahmagiri hills); linga with three faces |
| 9 | Baidyanath (Vaidyanath) | Deoghar | Jharkhand | Shravani Mela; Parli Vaijnath (Maharashtra) also claims the title |
| 10 | Nageshwar | Near Dwarka | Gujarat | Aundha Nagnath (Maharashtra) and Jageshwar (Uttarakhand) also claim it |
| 11 | Rameshwaram (Ramanathaswamy) | Rameswaram island | Tamil Nadu | Longest temple corridor in India; Char Dham site |
| 12 | Grishneshwar | Verul, near Ellora caves | Maharashtra | Last of the 12; rebuilt by Ahilyabai Holkar |
The traditional sequence comes from the Dvadasha Jyotirlinga Stotram, attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, which begins with Saurashtre Somanatham.
Jyotirlingas by State
| State | Number | Jyotirlingas |
|---|---|---|
| Maharashtra | 3 | Bhimashankar, Trimbakeshwar, Grishneshwar |
| Gujarat | 2 | Somnath, Nageshwar |
| Madhya Pradesh | 2 | Mahakaleshwar, Omkareshwar |
| Andhra Pradesh | 1 | Mallikarjuna |
| Uttarakhand | 1 | Kedarnath |
| Uttar Pradesh | 1 | Kashi Vishwanath |
| Jharkhand | 1 | Baidyanath |
| Tamil Nadu | 1 | Rameswaram |
Jyotirlingas and Rivers
- Mallikarjuna: Krishna
- Mahakaleshwar: Shipra
- Omkareshwar: Narmada (island of Mandhata)
- Kedarnath: Mandakini
- Bhimashankar: source of the Bhima (a Krishna tributary)
- Kashi Vishwanath: Ganga
- Trimbakeshwar: source of the Godavari
History and Architecture
Somnath
Somnath was raided by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1025 CE and attacked again several times, including by Alauddin Khalji’s army (1299) and Aurangzeb. After Independence, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel led the effort to rebuild it, and President Rajendra Prasad consecrated the new temple on 11 May 1951. It is built in the Chaulukya (Maru-Gurjara) style.
Kashi Vishwanath
The present temple was built by Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore in 1780, after the earlier temple was demolished in 1669 under Aurangzeb. Maharaja Ranjit Singh gifted the gold plating on its spire. The Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, linking the temple to the Ganga ghats, was inaugurated in December 2021.
Mahakaleshwar
The linga is believed to be swayambhu (self-manifested). The temple was rebuilt by the Marathas (Ranoji Shinde) in the 18th century. The Shri Mahakal Lok corridor was inaugurated in October 2022.
Kedarnath
Tradition credits the Pandavas with the first shrine and Adi Shankaracharya with reviving it in the 8th century; his samadhi is behind the temple. The temple survived the 2013 Kedarnath floods, which destroyed much of the town, and the area has since been rebuilt.
Grishneshwar
Rebuilt in the 16th century by Maloji Bhosale, Shivaji’s grandfather, and again in the 18th century by Ahilyabai Holkar. It stands near the Ellora caves (Kailasa temple, Cave 16).
Rameswaram
The Ramanathaswamy temple, extended by the Sethupathi rulers of Ramnad, has India’s longest temple corridor, about 1,200 metres in total, lined with carved pillars in the Dravidian style.
For more on temple architecture, see our Art and Culture notes.
