| Omkareshwar Temple | |
|---|---|
Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga | |
 Omkareshwar Mahadev Temple | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Khandwa district |
| Deity | Shiva |
| Location | |
| Location | Mandhata, nearKhandwa,Khandwa district, Madhya Pradesh |
| State | Madhya Pradesh |
| Country |  India |
  Location inMadhya Pradesh | |
| Coordinates | 22°14′44.1″N76°09′03.8″E / 22.245583°N 76.151056°E /22.245583; 76.151056 |
| Website | |
| www | |
| Part ofa series on |
| Shaivism |
|---|
 |
Scriptures and texts |
Philosophy
|
Schools
Saiddhantika Non - Saiddhantika
|
 Hinduism portal |
Omkareshwar Temple is aHindutemple dedicated toShiva, located inMandhata, nearbyKhandwa city inKhandwa district of theIndian state ofMadhya Pradesh. It is one of the 12 reveredJyotirlinga shrines of Shiva.[1] It is on an island called Mandhata, nearKhandwa city in theNarmada River at Khandwa district in Madhya Pradesh, India; the shape of the island is said to be like theDevanagariॐ symbol.
There are two main temples of Shiva here, one to Omkareshwar (whose name means "Lord ofOmkara or the Lord of theOm sound") located in the island and one to Mamleshwar (Amaleshwar) (whose name means "Immortal Lord" or "lord of the Immortals or Devas") located on the southern bank of the Narmada River on the mainland.[2]
Madhya Pradesh has twoJyotirlingas, the second one,Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga, is situated about 140 km north of Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga.
According to theShiva Purana, once,Brahma andVishnu had an argument in terms of supremacy of creation.[3] To test them,Shiva pierced the three worlds as a endless pillar of light, thejyotirlinga. Vishnu and Brahma split their ways to downwards and upwards respectively to find the end of the light in either directions. Brahma lied that he had discovered the end, while Vishnu conceded his defeat. Shiva appeared as the second pillar of light and cursed Brahma that he would have no place in ceremonies, while Vishnu would be worshipped until the end of eternity. Thejyotirlinga shrines are believed to be those places where Shiva appeared as a fiery column of light.[4][5] Originally, there were believed to be 64jyotirlingas of which 12 of them are considered to be the holiest.
Within the Omkareshwar Temple, the jyortlinga is described a "roundish black stone" representing the form of Shiva and near it is a white stone representing Shiva's consort, Parvati.[6]
The twelvejyotirlingas areSomnath atVeraval inGujarat,Mallikarjuna atSrisailam inAndhra Pradesh,Mahakaleshwar atUjjain inMadhya Pradesh,Omkareshwar inMadhya Pradesh,Kedarnath inHimalayas inUttrakhand State,Bhimashankar inMaharashtra,Kashi Viswanath atVaranasi inUttar Pradesh,Triambakeshwar inMaharashtra,Baidyanath Temple atDeoghar inJharkhand,Nageshwar atDwarka inGujarat,Rameshwara atRameswaram inTamil Nadu andGrishneshwar atSambhajinagar inMaharashtra.[3][7]
As per aHindu legend, Vindhya, the deity controlling the Vindhyachal mountain range was worshipping Shiva to propitiate himself from the sins committed. He created a sacred geometrical diagram and aLingam made of sand and clay. Shiva was pleased with the worship and believed to have appeared in two forms, namely Omkareshwar and Amaleswara. Since the mud mound appeared in the form ofOm, the island came to be known as Omkareswar. There is a shrine forParvati andGanapati in the temple.[8]
The second story relates to Mandhata and his son's penance.King Mandhata ofIkshvaku clan (an ancestor ofRam) worshippedShiva here until the Lord manifested himself as a Jyotirlinga.[6] Some scholars also narrate the story about Mandhata's sons-Ambarish andMuchukunda, who had practiced severe penance and austerities here and pleased Shiva. Because of this, the mountain is named Mandhata.
The third story from Hindu scriptures reveals that there was a great war between the Devas (gods) and Danavas (demons), in which the Danavas won. This was a major setback for Devas and hence Devas prayed to Shiva. Pleased with their prayer, Shiva emerged in the form of Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga and defeated Danavas.
Philosophy of Omkaar - Advait Matt saysOmkaar is composed of two words,Om (sound) andAkaar (srishti). Both are one not two since Advait means "not two". Ombeej mantra ofSrishti, itself is creator ofSrishti.
Adi Shankara's Cave – Omkareshwar is said to be the place whereAdi Sankara met his guruGovinda Bhagavatpada in a cave. This cave can be found even today just below the Shiva temple where an image ofAdi Shankara has been installed.[9]
The temple is said to have been built by the Paramara Kings of Malwa in the 11th century CE. After the Paramara kings, the administration of the temple was taken over by the Chauhan rulers. In the 13th century CE, the temple suffered destruction and loot by Muslim invaders starting withMahmud Ghazni. Nevertheless, the temple remained intact without complete destruction. The temple was under the Chauhan Kings during the entire Mughal rule, without much renovation. In the 18th century, the temple was rebuilt by the Holkar rulers. The construction of the same was started by the firstHolkar Queen,Gautama Bai Holkar, and later completed by her daughter-in-law DeviAhilyabai Holkar. The temple came under the British rule during the colonial era. After Independence in 1947, theArchaeological Survey of India (ASI) took over the responsibility of the temple with the help of the Khandwa administration.[10]
It is situated in theMandhata city (also known as Omkareshwar) inKhandwa district ofMadhya Pradesh state inIndia. It is about 16 km fromBarwaha in Madhya Pradesh. Omkareshwar is formed by the sacred river Narmada. This is one of the most sacred rivers in India and is now home to one of the world's largest solar power plant.[11] The temple is situated on Mandhata or Shivpuri island on the banks ofNarmada andKaveri river (a tributary of Narmada). The island is 4 KM long and 2.6 km2 (2,600,000 m2) in area and can be approached by boats and bridge.[8]
Nearest Airport:Indore
Nearest Railway Station:Khandwa Junction andMhow
| Deities |  | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texts | |||||||||||
| Mantra/Stotra | |||||||||||
| Traditions | |||||||||||
| Festivals and observances | |||||||||||
| Shiva temples |
| ||||||||||
| Related topics | |||||||||||
