List of Shiva temples in India

(Redirected from Mahadeva Temple)

Shiva is a Hindu deity. As one of the Trimurti (supreme trinity) in the Hindu pantheon among Brahma and Vishnu, there are a number of temples dedicated to his worship in India and abroad. In Hinduism, Shiva is the supreme being regarded to perform the functions of creation, preservation, as well as the destruction of the universe.[1] Hindu texts describe the worship of Shiva and the establishment of temples and shrines throughout the Indian subcontinent, commonly in the aniconic form of a lingam. The most prominent of these are the Jyotirlinga temples.[2]

The 12 Jyotirlinga temples

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The 12 Jyotirlinga temples as mentioned in the Shiva Purana are :-[3]

# Jyotirlinga Location
1 Somnath   Prabhas Patan, Veraval, Gujarat
2 Mallikarjuna Swamy   Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh
3 Mahakaleshwar   Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
4 Omkareshwar   near Indore, Madhya Pradesh
5 Kedarnath   Kedarnath, Uttarakhand
6 Bhimashankar   Pune, Maharashtra
7 Kashi Vishwanath Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
8 Trimbakeshwar   Trimbak, near Nashik, Maharashtra
9 Baidyanath   Deoghar, Jharkhand
10 Nageshwar   Dwarka, Gujarat
11 Ramanathaswamy   Rameswaram ,Tamil Nadu
12 Grishneshwar   Ellora, Maharashtra

Pancha Bhuta Sthalams (Five Elemental Manifestations)

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In South India, five temples of Shiva are held to be particularly important, as being manifestations of him in the five elemental substances.

Deity Manifestation Location
Jambukeswarar   Water Thiruvanaikaval, Tamil Nadu
Arunachaleswarar   Fire Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu
Kalahastheeswarar Air Srikalahasti, Andhra Pradesh
Ekambareswarar   Earth Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu
Natarajar   Sky Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu

Pancharama temples

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The Pancharama Kshetras (or the Pancharamas) are five ancient Hindu temples of Shiva situated in Andhra Pradesh. The lingams at these temples are made from a single lingam. As per the legend, this lingam was owned by the demon king Tarakasura. No one could win over him due to the power of this lingam. Finally, Kartikeya, the son of Shiva broke the lingam into five pieces and killed Tarakasura. The five pieces of lingam fell at five different places on earth namely,

 
Bhimesvara Swamy Temple in Draksharama, one of the Pancharama Kshetras
Arama Name Shiva's Name Consort Name Location
Amararama Amaralingeswara Swamy Bala Chamundika Ammavaru Amaravathi village, Andhra Pradesh
Draksharama Bhimesvara Swamy Manikyamba Ammavaru Draksharama, Andhra Pradesh
Somarama Someswara Swamy Sri Rajarajeswari Ammavaru Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh
Ksheerarama Ksheera Ramalingeswara Swamy Parvati Ammavaru Palakollu, Andhra Pradesh
Bhimarama Kumara Bhimeswara Swamy Bala Tripurasundari Ammavaru Samalkota, Andhra Pradesh

Pancha Sabhai

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The five temples located in Tamil Nadu where Shiva is believed to perform the tandava dance are:

Sabha Temple Location
Pon (Gold) Sabha Natarajar Temple Chidambaram
Velli (Silver) Sabha Meenakshi Temple Madurai
Thamira (Copper) Sabha Nellaiappar Temple Tirunelveli
Rathna (Gem) Sabha Sri Vadaranyeswarar Temple Thiruvalangadu
Chitira (Picture) Sabha Kutraleeswar Temple Kutralam

Ashta Veeratta Temples

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Temple Deity Commemorates Location
Veerateeswarar Temple, Thirukovilur Veerateeswarar Shiva slaying Andhakasura in the form of Andhakasuramurti Tirukoilur
Veerateeswarar Temple, Thiruvathigai Veerateeswarar Shiva killing Tripurasura and destroying the three cities in the form of Tripurantaka Panruti
Veerateeswarar Temple, Korukkai Veerateeswarar Shiva burning Kamadeva with his third eye in the form of Kamari Mayiladuthurai
Kandeeswarar Temple, Kandiyur Brahmasirakandeeswarar Shiva decapitating the fifth head of Brahma in the form of Bhairava Thanjavur
Amritaghateswarar-Abirami Temple, Thirukkadaiyur Amritaghateswarar Shiva defeating Yama and blessing Markandeya to remain a youth of 16 in the form of Kalantaka Thirukkadaiyur
Veerateeswarar Temple, Thirupariyalur Veerateeswarar Shiva beheading Daksha and destroyed Daksha Yajna in the form of Virabhadra Mayiladuthurai
Veerateeswarar Temple, Vazhuvur Veerateeswarar Shiva killing Gajasura in the form of Gajasurasamhara Mayiladuthurai
Veerateeswarar Temple, Thiruvirkudi Veerateeswarar Shiva killing Jalandhara in the form of Jalandharari Mayiladuthurai

Shani Parihara Temples

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Sabha Temple Location
Sani Parihara Sthalam Tirunallar Saniswaran Temple Thirunallaru, Puducherry
Sani Parihara Sthalam Sri Darbarneeswarar Temple Devasthanam
Shani Parihara Chenchadainathar Shiva Temple Sayalkudi, Tamil Nadu
Shani Parihara Sri Mandeswara Swamy Vari Devasthanam East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh|-

Kashiswar Jiu temple

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The deity Kashiswar Jiu with the gauripatta in the temple.

Kashiswar Jiu temple is in Andul of Howrah district near the Saraswati river, West Bengal in India. The presiding deity is a Banlinga which was recovered from the river in mid 17th century by Kashiswar Datta Chowdhury, a local zamindar. In 18th century a stone made yoni-like structure (Gauripatta) that symbolizes goddess Shakti has been attached with the lingam after Bargi attacked in 1741 AD. The deity is considered to be one of the oldest in the district.

Other deities with Kashiswar Jiu
Deities Year
Biseshwara 1785 AD
Nakuleshwara 19th century circa
Saurendra Mohaneshwara 18th century circa

The temples are presently run by SrisriKashiswar Debottur Trust.

Notable temples

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Andhra Pradesh

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Assam

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Bihar

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Chhattisgarh

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Gujarat

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Jammu and Kashmir

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Karnataka

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Kerala

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Madhya Pradesh

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Maharashtra

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Shiv Mandir, Ambarnath

Odisha

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Punjab

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Rajasthan

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Sikkim

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Tamil Nadu

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Telangana

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Uttarakhand

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Uttar Pradesh

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West Bengal

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References

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  1. ^ Dalal, Roshen (2014-04-18). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin UK. p. 1119. ISBN 978-81-8475-277-9.
  2. ^ Butler, Richard; Suntikul, Wantanee (2018-01-30). Tourism and Religion: Issues and Implications. Channel View Publications. p. 98. ISBN 978-1-84541-647-8.
  3. ^ B. K. Chaturvedi (2004). Shiv Purana. Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd. pp. 58–72. ISBN 8171827217. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
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