The Twelve Jyotirlingas

About this circuit

The twelve Jyotirliṅgas are the most revered circuit of Śaiva pilgrimage: sites where, per the Koṭirudra Saṃhitā of the Śiva Purāṇa, Śiva manifested as a column of light. The enumeration and kṣetra names here follow the Koṭirudra Saṃhitā's listing; the popular Dvādaśa Jyotirliṅga Stotram carries the same twelve with variations in order and in readings — notably 'Paralyāṃ Vaidyanāthaṃ', the reading behind the Parli tradition. For two of the twelve (Vaidyanātha and Nāgeśvara), different living traditions identify different temples with the kṣetra; MandirPal presents each claim side by side and does not adjudicate.