The 12 Jyotirlingas: The Full List, State by State
A plain list of the twelve Jyotirlingas with their towns and states, plus what sets each shrine apart, why the number is twelve, and how pilgrims group them into practical trips.
A plain list of the twelve Jyotirlingas with their towns and states, plus what sets each shrine apart, why the number is twelve, and how pilgrims group them into practical trips.
All twelve, with locations
There are twelve Jyotirlingas, spread across seven states. Somnath and Nageshwar in Gujarat, Mallikarjuna in Andhra Pradesh, Mahakaleshwar and Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh, Kedarnath in Uttarakhand, Bhimashankar, Trimbakeshwar, Grishneshwar and Vaidyanath at Parli in Maharashtra, Vishwanath in Varanasi, Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu. That is the standard list, the one recited in the Dwadasa Jyotirlinga Stotram attributed to Adi Shankara.
Each is a shrine where Shiva is said to have appeared as a pillar of light, a jyoti. Not an installed idol. A self-manifested lingam. That distinction is the whole point, and it is why these twelve sit above the thousands of other Shiva temples in India.
Two entries on the list are argued about. More on that below.
| # | Jyotirlinga | Town | State | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somnath | Prabhas Patan, Veraval | Gujarat | Rebuilt at least six times after raids; sea-facing |
| 2 | Mallikarjuna | Srisailam | Andhra Pradesh | Also a Shakti Peetha; on the Krishna river |
| 3 | Mahakaleshwar | Ujjain | Madhya Pradesh | Bhasma Aarti at dawn with sacred ash |
| 4 | Omkareshwar | Mandhata island | Madhya Pradesh | Island shaped like the Om symbol, on the Narmada |
| 5 | Kedarnath | Kedarnath, Rudraprayag dist. | Uttarakhand | 3,583 m; shut roughly Nov to Apr |
| 6 | Bhimashankar | Bhorgiri, Pune dist. | Maharashtra | Inside a wildlife sanctuary, Sahyadri hills |
| 7 | Vishwanath | Varanasi | Uttar Pradesh | Ganga ghats; corridor rebuilt and opened 2021 |
| 8 | Trimbakeshwar | Trimbak, Nashik dist. | Maharashtra | Source of the Godavari; Kumbh site |
| 9 | Vaidyanath | Parli (also claimed: Deoghar) | Maharashtra / Jharkhand | Linked with healing; disputed location |
| 10 | Nageshwar | Near Dwarka | Gujarat | 25 m Shiva statue at the site |
| 11 | Rameshwaram | Rameswaram island | Tamil Nadu | Longest temple corridor in India; 22 wells |
| 12 | Grishneshwar | Verul, near Ellora | Maharashtra | Walking distance from the Ellora caves |
Why twelve and not ten or a hundred
The Shiva Purana tells it this way. Shiva appeared as an endless column of light to settle an argument between Brahma and Vishnu about who was greater. Neither could find its end. That light later fixed itself at specific spots on earth, and those spots became Jyotirlingas.
Older texts count sixty-four. The twelve are the ones called maha, the great ones, and the Stotram locked the list in place for most Hindus. Once a verse gets memorised across a subcontinent, the list stops changing.
Here is the blunt part. The twelve were never picked by a committee. Different regions pushed their own shrine, and the ones that made the final list were mostly places with older cults, royal patronage, or a river. That is not a knock on them. It is just how the map got drawn.
The two disputes worth knowing about
Vaidyanath is the big one. Maharashtra says Parli in Beed district. Jharkhand says Baidyanath Dham in Deoghar, where lakhs of Kanwariyas walk from Sultanganj every Shravan carrying Ganga water. Both temples are ancient, both are packed, and no one is going to settle it. If you are building a route, most Maharashtra-based pilgrims do Parli because it fits with the other four in the state.
Nageshwar has a smaller quarrel. The Dwarka temple is the one almost everyone visits, but Aundha Nagnath in Hingoli, Maharashtra, and a site in Almora also claim the title. Dwarka wins on sheer footfall.
Don't let this stall you. Visit whichever claimant you can reach and stop treating the list as an audit.
How people actually cover all twelve
Nobody does twelve in one straight line. The geography refuses. Kedarnath sits in the Garhwal Himalaya and Rameshwaram is near Sri Lanka, roughly 3,000 km apart. So pilgrims break it into clusters.
The Maharashtra four are the easiest win. Grishneshwar near Aurangabad, Trimbakeshwar near Nashik, Bhimashankar near Pune, Parli in Beed. A car and five or six days does it, though Bhimashankar involves a hill road and a short climb.
Gujarat pairs neatly too. Somnath and Nageshwar are about 230 km apart and most people add Dwarka anyway. Madhya Pradesh gives you Ujjain and Omkareshwar in two days, under 140 km between them. Varanasi and Deoghar work as an eastern leg if you accept the Deoghar claim.
Kedarnath is the constraint. The temple opens around Akshaya Tritiya in late April or early May and closes near Bhai Dooj in early or mid November, exact dates announced each year. The last stretch is a 16 km walk from Gaurikund, or a helicopter from Phata or Sersi. Plan your whole yatra around this window, then fit the rest in.
Rameshwaram is the long haul, and the honest advice is to treat it as its own trip with Madurai attached. Twelve Jyotirlingas is not a checklist you finish in a fortnight. Most families take years, one cluster at a time, and that slower version tends to be the one people remember.
- Maharashtra cluster: Grishneshwar, Trimbakeshwar, Bhimashankar, Parli Vaidyanath
- Gujarat cluster: Somnath and Nageshwar, usually with Dwarka
- MP cluster: Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain and Omkareshwar
- North: Kedarnath (Apr to Nov only) and Kashi Vishwanath
- South: Mallikarjuna at Srisailam and Rameshwaram
FAQs
Which state has the most Jyotirlingas?
Maharashtra, with four or five depending on which claims you accept: Bhimashankar, Trimbakeshwar, Grishneshwar, Parli Vaidyanath, and Aundha Nagnath as a contested Nageshwar.
Which Jyotirlinga is the hardest to reach?
Kedarnath. It sits at 3,583 m, closes for winter from about November to April, and the final 16 km from Gaurikund is on foot, by pony, or by helicopter.
Is Kashi Vishwanath one of the 12 Jyotirlingas?
Yes. The temple in Varanasi is the seventh in the traditional order and is one of the few Jyotirlingas that is also a major city-centre temple, open through the year.
How much does a full 12 Jyotirlinga yatra cost?
There is no single figure, since most people do it in stages over years. Budget operators sell multi-week packages, but doing it yourself by train and shared car is usually cheaper, with Kedarnath the most expensive single leg because of the trek support or helicopter fare.
What is the difference between a Jyotirlinga and a Shakti Peetha?
A Jyotirlinga marks a place where Shiva is said to have appeared as a column of light. A Shakti Peetha marks where a part of Sati's body fell. Srisailam is both.
Do I have to visit all twelve in a fixed order?
No. The Stotram lists them in a set sequence starting with Somnath, but there is no rule requiring that order, and almost everyone travels by geography instead.