The 12 Jyotirlingas: Shiva's Pillars of Light

A jyotirlinga is a shrine where Shiva is worshipped as a pillar of infinite light. The Shiva Purana names twelve, spread across the length and breadth of India, and pilgrims have travelled between them for centuries.

Somnath in Gujarat is honoured as the first. Destroyed and rebuilt many times, it stands on the Arabian Sea as a symbol of resilience.

Nageshwar, near Dwarka in Gujarat, is known for its towering statue of Shiva seated in meditation.

Mallikarjuna sits on Srisailam hill in Andhra Pradesh, where Shiva and Parvati are worshipped together.

Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, is famous across India for its dawn bhasma aarti.

Omkareshwar rests on an island in the Narmada shaped like the sacred syllable Om.

Kedarnath, the highest of the twelve, stands amid Himalayan snows and opens only in the warmer months.

Bhimashankar rises in the Sahyadri hills of Maharashtra, at the source of the Bhima river.

Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi is the heart of one of the world's oldest living cities. A single darshan here is said to carry the merit of every tirth.

Trimbakeshwar, near Nashik in Maharashtra, marks the source of the Godavari river.

Vaidyanath in Deoghar, Jharkhand, is Shiva worshipped as the divine healer.

Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu is linked with Shree Ram's worship of Shiva at the bridge to Lanka.

Grishneshwar, beside the Ellora caves in Maharashtra, completes the twelve.

As most pilgrims reckon them, two of the twelve stand in Gujarat, so the yatra begins right at home. Har Har Mahadev!