Omkareshwar Mahadev Temple Shivapuri

by Astro Ved Online Astrology Consultation

Omkareshwar is the Hindu temple where Lord Shiva is the prime deity. It is also well-known as being a part of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva. The temple is situated on an island called Shivpuri where the Narmada flows; it is in the Khandwa district, Madhya Pradesh, India. the specialty about the island is that it resembles the icon of “ॐ.”

Other than the temple Omkareshwar, there is one more temple here holding the same significance; it is known as “Mamleshwar,” which is at the south bank of the Narmada River.

Legends and History

There is more than one legend for the temple. One of them is about the deity named “Vindya” the keeper of the mountain range Vindyachal It is said that to please Lord Shiva and to purify himself from the sins committed, Vindya created a lingam of Shiva using sand and clay.

He regularly worshipped Shiva until one day when Shiva appeared in front of him as Omkareshwar and Amaleswara. The island was then named Omkareswar as the mud appeared in the form of Om. In the temple, there is a Shrine for Shiva’s beloved Parvati too as well as his Son Ganesha.

The second legend is about King Mandhata and his sons. The King was from the Ikshvaku clan (an ancestor of Lord Ram). It is believed that Mandhata worshipped Shiva here until Lord Shiva appeared in the form of Jyotirlinga. His sons Ambarish and Muchukunda also practiced severe penance here and pleased Lord Shiva; this is one reason why the mountain is known as Mandhata.

The third legend states that once there was a war between Gods and demons in which the demons won. This brought the Devas or the Gods in chaos, and hence they prayed to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva then appeared in the form of Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga Temple and defeated all the demons, establishing order and peace again.

How was the Jyotirlinga Formed?

As the Shiv Mahapuran states, once lord Brahma and Vishnu were arguing about who is supreme. The argument was going on, and it was not seeking any end. Then Lord Shiva came, and he formed a huge endless pillar of light. He then told the lords that whoever would find the beginning or end of this light would be considered supreme.

Brahma and Vishnu split their ways; Brahma went upward, and Vishnu went downward to search for the end. They both searched for a long time but couldn’t find any point. However, Brahma lied, saying that he found the point. Lord Shiva got to know about his lie and cursed him that he won’t be worshipped by any human being on the earth; hence there are no temples dedicated to Lord Brahma on Earth. Shiva also said that since Vishnu told the truth about not finding any point, he would be worshipped for eternities.

This fiery form of a pillar or the light that Shiva created is known as the Jyotirlinga. The places where Shiva appeared in the fiery form are known as the jyotirlingas. There were 64 of these; however, only 12 are considered to be the most auspicious and visited by the devotees. At each of these places, Shiva resides in a different form, and hence each of these places has got a different name denoting Lord Shiva.

These twelve Jyotirlingas are situated in different parts of India, namely: Somnath in Gujarat, Mallikarjuna at Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh, Mahakaleswar at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, Omkareshwar in Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh, Kedarnath in the Himalayas, in Uttrakhand state, Bhimashankar in Maharashtra, Viswanath at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Triambakeshwar near Nashik in Maharashtra, Baidyanath Temple, Deogarh in Jharkhand, Nageswar at Dwarka in Gujarat, Rameshwar at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and Grishneshwar near Aurangabad in Maharashtra.

The temple receives a huge crowd on every Maha Shivatri. This year the festivity will be celebrated on 11th March. Those who live nearby any jyotirlinga may visit the holy place of Shiva and receive his divine blessings.

To visit the Omkareshwar temple, you can take a train to Khandwa Junction. From there you can take any public transport like auto or taxi to reach the bank of Narmada and take pleasure in the mesmerizing views of the Jyotirlinga.