Why shivling is prayed

In a desperate bid to survive, Vedic priests, the Brahmins, did something more: they consciously assimilated the trend into the Vedic fold. In their speculation they concluded and advertised the idea that godhead was nothing but the embodiment of brahman, the mystic force invoked by the chanting of Vedic hymns and the performance of Vedic rituals.

Adoration of this godhead through pooja, a rite that involved offering food, water, flowers, lamp and incense, was no different from the yagna. Vedanta metaphysics was allegorised so that paramatma was not just an abstract concept; it was personified in godhead. In the Shvetavastra Upanishad, Shiva is without doubt Brahman, the cosmic consciousness.

With this association, Vedism transformed into what is now known as classical Hinduism. It was a transformation that ensured that Vedic ideology survived the Buddhist and Jain onslaught. The Vedic gods, such as Indra and Agni, were sidelined. All attention was given to Shiva and Vishnu, forms of godhead, whose story was told and retold and finally compiled in Sanskrit chronicles known as the Puranas. The middle ages saw great rivalry between Shiva-worshippers and Vishnu-worshippers.

The theme is reversed in the Vishnu Purana and the Matysa Purana. So great was the rivalry that Vishnu-worshippers wore vertical caste marks while Shiva-worshippers wore horizontal caste marks; Vishnu-worshippers painted their house with vertical strokes while Shiva-worshippers painted their houses with horizontal strokes; Vishnu-worshippers kept the Tulsi in their house while Shiva-worshippers kept the Bilva plant.

People who worshipped Vishnu refused to marry or dine with those who worshipped Shiva. There were, of course, many attempts at reconciliation such as the cult of Hari-Hara, the simultaneous worship of Vishnu and Shiva, that become popular around the fifteenth century. Even the sixteenth-century classic, Tulsi Ramayana, makes an overt attempt to show that Shiva and Vishnu are one and the same Godhead that cares for humanity.

Today, the rivalry between Shiva-worshippers and Vishnu-worshippers is not very evident except perhaps in the temple complexes of Tamil Nadu and in the traditions of the Iyers and the Iyengars. The concept of Shiva constructed by sacred stories, symbols and rituals is quite different from the idea of Vishnu. Shiva is always a reluctant groom whom the goddess has to force into marriage.

Vishnu, on the other hand, is surrounded by women. As Rama, he protects them. As Krishna, he flirts with them. While Shiva is associated with snow-capped mountains and caves and crematoriums, Vishnu is associated with meadows and rivers and battlefields. Whereas Shiva surrounds himself with dogs, bulls, ashes, skulls, animal skins and narcotics, Vishnu is found amid cows, horses, silks, flowers, pearls, gold and sandal paste.

Shiva does not want to be part of society; Vishnu, on the other hand, establishes the code of conduct for society. In temples, Vishnu is visualised as a king. His anthropomorphic image is bedecked with gold and devotees can see him only from afar. Shiva, on the other hand, is enshrined in open temples. Devotees are free to walk in and pour water on the oval stone or cylinder that represents him. Vishnu is offered butter and sweets, Shiva is given only raw milk.

Clearly, Shiva is associated with ascetic ideals while Vishnu is associated with worldly thoughts. Disdain for the material world is a dominant theme in philosophical schools that consider Shiva their patron deity.

This disdain manifests in two ways: asceticism and alchemy. The former seeks to outgrow all things material and reunite with Shiva.

The latter seeks to control the material world and make it do its bidding. Omkareshwar jyotirlinga is situated at the Mandhata island on Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh. This island is named so as King Mandhata had performed penance here to win the favor of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva had then manifested before him in the form of this jyotirlinga. The Mandhata island is in the shape of Om and this jyotirlinga became known as Omkareshwar. He is the Lord of Omkar Om vibration. Kedarnath jyotirlinga is located high up in the Himalayas in Uttarakhand.

After the Mahabharata war, the Pandavas had performed penance to please Lord Shiva and seek his pardon for the wrongdoings committed during the war. The Lord assumed the form of a bull and hid beneath the field, under the ground. He eventually only gave a glimpse of himself at a spot where a jyotirlinga was later installed by the Pandava brothers. Kedar means field and this jyotirlinga was called Kedarnath as Lord Shiva had hidden himself in the field.

He is the Lord nath of the field. Bhimashankar jyotirlinga is located at Bhorgiri village, near Pune,in Maharashtra. The demon began wreaking havoc all across the world. Meanwhile, Kamrupeshwar, an ardent Shiva devotee, was worshipping a Shiva linga.

When Bhima attempted to destroy this linga, the Lord manifested from the linga and reduced Bhima to ashes. The gods and the sages then requested Lord Shiva to manifest himself as a jyotirlinga at the place where he had vanquished Bhima which came to be known as Bhimashankar.

Vishwanath jyotirlinga is located in Kashi, Uttar Pradesh. He was then hailed as the Lord of the universe Vishwanath by all the celestials. A jyotirlinga was installed at the spot where Lord Shiva had revealed his glory. There are many other legends associated with this jyotirlinga. Trimbakeshwar jyotirlinga is situated near Nasik in Maharashtra. Sage Gautama and his wife resided here once upon a time.

He had been graced by Lord Varuna with a bottomless pit, with inexhaustible supply of food grains. They made an illusory cow perish at his ashram and pinned the blame on Gautama to defame him. Gautama then propitiated Lord Shiva to bring Ganga to his ashram to purify the place. Lord Shiva manifested before the rishi and requested Ganga to flow by his ashram. This is the Godavari river. On the request of Gautama rishi and others, Lord Shiva manifested himself as a jyotirlinga with the name Trimbakeshwar, by the river.

He is the three eyed Lord trimbaka. Vaidyanath jyotirlinga is located at Deoghar district in Jharkhand. On the way to Lanka from Kailash, Ravana felt a little drowsy and wanted to rest. He gave the linga to a small boy nearby to hold for a few minutes.

It stuck to the ground forever as Ravana was unable to lift it again. This linga became the Vaidyanath jyotirlinga. He is the Lord of physicians vaidya. Nageshwar jyotirlinga is located in Dwarka district of Gujarat.

A demon by the name Daruka had imprisoned Supriya, a Shiva devotee in a city under the sea which was inhabited by sea serpents. In the prison, Supriya and other devotees called upon Lord Shiva by chanting his mantra continuously. Lord Shiva appeared there and vanquished the demon, rescuing all his devotees. He then installed himself on the seaside at Dwarka as Nageshwar jyotirlinga.

He is the lord of all serpents naga. Rameshwaram jyotirlinga is located near the southern tip of India in Tamil Nadu. This linga was installed by Lord Rama himself, seeking the blessings of Lord Shiva in his battle against Ravana.

He is the Lord revered by Rama. Grishneshwar jyotirlinga is situated in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. Kusuma was a very pious woman devoted to Lord Shiva. She used to worship her Lord everyday by immersing the shiva linga in a pond, as part of the daily ritual. Her husband had another wife who became jealous of Kusuma due to her increasing reputation in the society. Kusuma became really depressed on hearing that her son had been murdered, but continued to offer worship to Lord Shiva.

Lord Shiva was immensely pleased by her equanimous devotion and as soon as Kusuma immersed the shivalinga in water, her son came back to life. Lord Shiva then showed himself to Kusuma and the villagers. The people of India speak different languages. Lord Mahadev appears as a small column of fire between them which goes on extending both upwards and downwards. A heavenly voice is then heard stating the wisest would find its end, for which both Brahma and Vishnu rushes to either tip of that column of fire.

While Brahma rides to top on his swan, Vishnu goes to the bottom where after a while he finds out that it has no end and accepts his defeat. Whereas Brahma lies that he saw the tip of the column and gets punished for that lie. Well, that column of fire, which ensembles the entire universe and which is a symbol of divine knowledge is worshipped as Shiva Linga, which holds the divine cosmic energy. Though all the other idols are worshipped in their human forms, the Lord Mahadev is worshipped in the form of Shiva Linga which represents the divine energy.