what is the significance of Jyotirlinga .what is the difference between Jyotirlinga and Linga of the Lord Shiv

Answer 1

A Jyotirlinga or Jyotirling or Jyotirlingam is a shrine where Lord Shiva, an aspect of God in Hinduism is worshipped in the form of a Jyotirlingam or "Lingam of light." There are twelve traditional Jyotirlinga shrines in India.

It is believed that Shiva first manifested himself as a Jyotirlinga on the night of the Aridra Nakshatra, thus the special reverence for the Jyotirlinga.

The Puranas relate that, while Brahma and Vishnu were quarrelling, Shiva displayed his Jyotirlinga. That Shaft of Light was pure Rajas, comprising the entire spectrum of creative radiation, and arose directly from the dark Flood of the Void. As Hamsa, Brahma flew upwards; and as Varaha, Vishnu plumbed the depths; but neither could fathom the extent of Shiva’s mighty Linga.

Maheshvara declares that He will always be present within the bounds marked by His Jyotirlinga. The multifarious jewels of this legendary ‘Lost Ark’ are yet found in India, where they shine resplendent as the Twelve Jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva.

There is nothing to distinguish the appearance, but it is believed that a person can see these lingas as columns of fire piercing through the earth after he reaches a higher level of spiritual attainment.

The names and the locations of the 12 Jyotirlingas are mentioned in the Shiva Purana (Śatarudra Samhitā,Ch.42/2-4). These shrines are:

1) Somnath is the foremost of the twelve Jyotirlinga Shrines of Shiva. It is held in reverence throughout India and is rich in legend, tradition, and history. It is located at Prabhas Patan in Saurashtra in Gujarat.

2) Mallikārjuna, also called Śrīśaila, is the name of the pillar located on a mountain on the river Krishna. Srisailam, near Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh enshrines Mallikarjuna in an ancient temple that is architecturally and sculpturally rich. Adi Shankara composed his Sivananda Lahiri here.

3) Mahakal, Ujjain (or Avanti) in Madhya Pradesh is home to the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga temple. The Lingam at Mahakal is believed to be Swayambhu, the only one of the 12 Jyotirlingams to be so. It is also the only one facing south.

4) Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh on an island in the Narmada river is home to a Jyotirlinga shrine and the Amareshwar temple.

5) Kedarnath in Uttarakhand is the northernmost of the Jyotirlingas. Kedarnath, nestled in the snow-clad Himalayas, is an ancient shrine, rich in legend and tradition. It is accessible only by foot, and only for six months a year.

6) Bhimashankar, in the Sahyadri range of Maharashtra, contains a Jyotirlinga shrine associated with Shiva destroying the demon Tripurasura.

7) Varanasi (Benares) in Uttar Pradesh is home to the Vishwanath Jyotirling temple.

8) Trimbakeshwar, near Nashik in Maharashtra, has a Jyotirlinga shrine associated with the origin of the Godavari river.

9) Baidyanathdham in Deoghar, Jharkhand Vaidyanath Temple, also called Vaijnath Temple and Baidyanth Temple is located at Deogarh in the Santal Parganas region of Jharkhand in the south west of Keeul Station.

10) Nageshwar Temple, Dwarka in Gujarat is home to the Nageshwar Jyotirlinga temple. However, the term "daruka vane" in the shloka (religious verse) for Nageshwar has also been interpreted for Jageshwar, also situated in the Himalaya. Daruka vane means deodar forest.

11) Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu is home to the vast Ramalingeswarar Jyotirlinga temple and is revered as the southernmost of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of India. It enshrines the Rameśvara ("Lord of Rama") pillar.

12) Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga shrine, in Aurangabad Maharashtra, is located near the rock-cut temples of Ellora.

Dwadasa Jyotirlinga Stotra by Adi Shankaracharya:

(One who daily recites the names of these Twelve Jyotirlingas in the morning and evening, his sins of seven births becomes absolved by simply remembering them.)

"सौराष्ट्रे सोमनाथं च श्रीशैले मल्लिकार्जुनम् ।
उज्जयिन्यां महाकालमोकांरममलेश्वरम् ।
परल्यां वैद्यनाथं च डाकिन्यां भीमशंकरम् ।
सेतुबंधे तु रामेशं नागेशं दारूकावने ।
वाराणस्यां तु विश्वेशं त्रयंम्बकं गौतमीतटे ।
हिमालये तु केदारं घुश्मेशं च शिवालये ।
ऐतानि ज्योतिर्लिंगानि सायं प्रातः पठेन्नरः ।
सप्तजन्मकृतं पापं स्मरणेन विनश्यति ।"

'Saurashtre Somanaatham Cha Sree Saile Mallikarjunam
Ujjayinyaam Mahaakaalam Omkaare Mamaleswaram
Himalaye to Kedaram Daakinyaam Bhimashankaram
Vaaranaasyaam cha Viswesam Trayambakam Gowtameethate
Paralyaam Vaidyanaatham cha Naagesam Daarukaavane
Setubandhe Ramesham Grushnesam cha Shivaalaye ||'

Answer 2

a very good question and great answer by friend sanatan dharma., Most Gods and Goddesses within Hinduism are worshipped through the use of a sacred image, known as a murti. Every Deity has their particular image or icon that is used in puja. It is therefore common in temples to see a sacred image of Shiva along with His consort Parvati. But there is another sacred image of Shiva that is even more common than Shiva and Parvati seated beside each other and this is the Shiva Lingam. The Shiva Lingam is an aniconic form of Shiva because it has no specific features that could be recognized as Shiva if one did not already know what the form was. A Shalagram Shila, which a black fossil stone used in the worship of Vishnu, is a similar aniconic form. The antiquity of the Shiva Lingam is uncertain. There are some who claim that certain remains found within the Indus Valley Civilization are Shiva Lingams. This claim, however, is disputed and is far from being a universally accepted. In addition, there is no mention in the Rig Veda or any of the other Shruti Vedic texts of the Shiva Lingam. There are, however, many references to the Shiva Lingam throughout the later Smriti Vedas and so it is uncertain at what point the Shiva Lingam became popular within Hinduism. But popular it is! Virtually all temples and Hindu homes have a Shiva Lingam. Hinduism conceptualizes Brahman, the supreme power, as having three main roles: that of God the Creator, God the Preserver and God the Destroyer. This trinity is represented iconically by the deities Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva respectively. Thus, it is Shiva, the destructive form of the Almighty, who is represented by the Lingam or Phallus, which is manifestly the CREATIVE or generative power of Man. This points to an origin of the tradition of using the Lingam as a divine symbol that is utterly sublime in its philosophical underpinnings. The form of the Shiva Linga serves to further emphasize this inference. The base of the Lingam is the Yoni also known as 'Parashakti'. The upright portion of the Lingam is shown as being protuberant through the yoni, and the two form a unified structure. Thus, the Lingam represents the very instant of creation, or rather of regeneration, when the perishable and eventually destructible Old renews and regenerates itself in another form, the New that is to come. The Lingam (also, Linga, Shiva linga, Sanskrit liṅgaṃ, meaning "mark" or "sign") is a representation of the Hindu deity Shiva used for worship in temples. The origins and interpretations of the Lingam are a subject of intense debate. According to one tradition, the Lingam represents the beginning-less and end-less Stambha pillar, suggesting the infinite nature of Shiva. Hindu Puranas state that Shiva-Linga is the source of the universe. Skanda Purana reveres Shiva-Linga as the supreme being, in whom the universe originates and into whom it finally merges. edit: always good:you may pl keep the question open so that other learned friendsalso notice and have time to present their answers /views

Answer 3

12 Jyotirlinga Locations

Answer 4

Jyothirlinga represents the real nature of FORMLESS God Shiva.
On 14th day of PHALGUNA month Lord Shiva manifested himself as Linga sarira with YONI as base.