Shree Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga

Location : Omkareshwar
Description : Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga is a Hindu temple dedicated to God Shiva. It is one of the 12 revered Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva. It is on an island called Mandhata or Shivapuri in the Narmada river; the shape of the island is said to be like the Hindu symbol. There are two temples here one to Omkareshwar (whose name means "Lord of Omkaara or the Lord of the Om Sound") and one to Amareshwar (whose name means "Immortal lord" or "lord of the Immortals or Devas"). But as per the sloka on dwadash jyotirligam Mamleshwar is the jyotirling which is on other side of Narmada river.\r\nOmkareshwar temple is the main attraction of the pilgrims. In fact the town owes its very existence to this temple. As to who constructed the temple and when is all shrouded in mystry.The sanctum sanctorum containing the Jyotirlinga seems to have been originally a small temple of the old construction style the dome being made of layers of stone slabs and not of circular cut stones. As this temple is too close to the precipitously deep bank of the Narmada to the south the great extension is of new construction style. This is the reason why the sanctum sanctorum and the main deity are neither in the front of the main door nor below the higher conspicuous Shikhar or the tower of later construction. Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga also has its own history and stories.Three of them are prominent. The first story is about Vindhya Parvat (Mount). Once upon a time Narada (son of Lord Brahma) known for his non-stop cosmic travel visited Vindhya parvat. In his spicy way Narad told Vindhya Parvat about the greatness of Mount Meru. This made Vindhya jealous of Meru and he decided to be bigger than Meru. Vindhya started worship of Lord Shiva to become greater than Meru. Vindhya Parvat practiced severe penance and worshipped parthivlinga (A linga made from physical material) along with Lord Omkareshwar for nearly six months. As a result Lord Shiva was pleased and blessed him with his desired boon. On a request of all the gods and the sages Lord Shiva made two parts of the lingas. One half is called Omkareshwara and the other Mamaleshwar or Amareshwar. Lord Shiva gave the boon of growing but took a promise that Vindhya will never be a problem to Shivas devotees. Vindhya began to grow but did not keep his promise. It even obstructed the sun and the moon. All deities approached sage Agastya for help. Agastya along with his wife came to Vindhya and convinced him that he would not grow until the sage and his wife returned. They never returned and Vindhya is there as it was when they left. The sage and his wife stayed in Srisailam which is regarded as Dakshina Kashi and one of the Dwadash Jyotirlinga.\r\nThe second story relates to Mandhata and his sons penance. King Mandhata of Ishvaku clan (an ancestor of Lord Ram) worshipped Lord Shiva here till the Lord manifested himself as a Jyotirlinga. Some scholars also narrate the story about Mandhatas sons-Ambarish and Mucchkund who had practiced severe penance and austerities here and pleased Lord Shiva. Because of this the mountain is named Mandhata.\r\nThe third story from Hindu scriptures says that once upon a time there was a great war between Devas and Danavas(demon) in which Danavas won. This was a major setback for Devas and hence Devas prayed to Lord Shiva. Pleased with their prayer Lord Shiva emerged in the form of Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga and defeated Danavas.
Nearest Stations :
   East : Vadodara:365 Km
   West : Betul:272 Km
   North : Indore:78.2 Km
   South : Aurangabad:347 Km