OMKARESHWAR TOURIST PLACE

 OMKARESHWAR TOURIST PLACE-

 Omkareshwar is a Hindu temple dedicated to God Shiva. It is one of the 12 revered Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva.

These are the twelve ancient pilgrimage centers reference of which is found in the Shiv Purana. They are called jyotirlingas because Lord Shiva is said to have revealed himself to his devotees in the form of Jyoti   light. Even today devotees are said to have got his darshan in the form of jyoti at these places. These tweve jyotirlingas are

Kedarnath

 

Temple of Lord Kedarnath is situated on the banks of River Mandakini which is on the west side of Kedar mountain in Himalayas. This place is reached by road via Rishikesh, from where it is more than 200 kms. The last phase is completed by a steep walk of about 3-4 hours. 

Viswanath

 

Temple of Lord Viswanath is situated in Varanasi. While it is a highly revered place some Muslim rulers had destroyed & desecrated it, and built a mosque next ot it. The place has been renovated by later kings. 

Somnath

 

Temple of Lord Somnath is situated near the town of Veraval in Western part of Gujarat. Veraval is reached from Rajkot. The present Temple is a great imposing structure and is situated just on the sea shore.

Mahakaleswar

 

 Temple of Bhagwan Mahakal is situated in the town of Ujjain. Ujjain is near Indore, and is reached by train via Ratlam or Bhopal. 

Omkareshwar

 

The Temple of Lord Omkareshwar is situated on the banks of River Narmada, in between Indore & Khandwa. The temple is situated on an island, which is encircled by the NarmadaRiver. 

Rameshwar

 

 The consecration of the temple of Lord Rameshwar was done by none other than Lord Rama himself, and thus this name. It is situated in a large island surrounded by sea in the southern side of India. It is approached from Madurai, which by itslf is well connected by all means of transportation. 

Mallikarjuna

 

The temple of Lord Mallikarjuna is situated in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The temple is situated in the town of Srisailam on the banks of River Patalganga Krishna. Srisailam mountain is looked upon reverentially as the Kailash of South.  

Trayambakeshwar

 

 Lord Trayambakeshwar resides in a beautiful locale about 20 kms from the city of Nashik. It is a wel connected place and can also be reached from Bombay in about 4-5 hours. 

Bhimashankar

 

Temple of Lord Bhimashankar is situated in a Forest Reserve about 3 hours drive from Pune. The place is hilly with beautiful greenery all around.  

Nageshwar

 

Temple of Lord Nageshwar is situated in Gujarat, and is about 12 kms on way from Gomti-Dwarka to Bhet-Dwarka. 

Baijnath

 

The Temple of Lord Baijnath is situated in Bihar. On the rail route from Patna to Kolkata is a place called Kiul. About 100 kms south-east of this place is Devghar – where this ancientTemple is situated.  

Grishneshwar

 

 The Temple of Lord Grishneshwar is situated just adjacent to the famous ElloraCaves.  

It is on an island called Mandhata or Shivapuri in the Narmada river; the shape of the island is said to be like the Hindu symbol.

There are two temples here, one to Omkareshwar (whose name means "Lord of Omkaara or the Lord of the Om Sound") and one to Amareshwar (whose name means "Immortal lord" or "lord of the Immortals or Devas").

But as per the sloka on dwadash jyotirligam, Mamleshwar is the jyotirling, which is on other side of Narmada river.

     

Legends & history of Omkareshwar 

Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga also has its own history and stories.Three are them are prominent. The first story is about Vindhya Parvat (Mount). Once upon a time Narada (son of Lord Brahma), known for his non-stop cosmic travel, visited Vindhya parvat. In his spicy way Narad told Vindhya Parvat about the greatness of MountMeru. This made Vindhya jealous of Meru and he decided to be bigger than Meru. Vindhya started worship of Lord Shiva to become greater than Meru. Vindhya Parvat practiced severe penance and worshipped parthivlinga (A linga made from physical material) along with Lord Omkareshwar for nearly six months. As a result Lord Shiva was pleased and blessed him with his desired boon. On a request of all the gods and the sages Lord Shiva made two parts of the lingas. One half is called Omkareshwara and the other Mamaleshwar or Amareshwar. Lord Shiva gave the boon of growing, but took a promise that Vindhya will never be a problem to Shiva's devotees. Vindhya began to grow, but did not keep his promise. It even obstructed the sun and the moon. All deities approached sage Agastya for help. Agastya along with his wife came to Vindhya, and convinced him that he would not grow until the sage and his wife returned. They never returned and Vindhya is there as it was when they left. The sage and his wife stayed in Srisailam which is regarded as Dakshina Kashi and one of the Dwadash Jyotirlinga. 

The second story relates to Mandhata and his son's penance. King Mandhata of Ishvaku clan (an ancestor of Lord Ram) worshipped Lord Shiva here till the Lord manifested himself as a Jyotirlinga. Some scholars also narrate the story about Mandhata's sons-Ambarish and Mucchkund, who had practiced severe penance and austerities here and pleased Lord Shiva. Because of this the mountain is named Mandhata.

The third story from Hindu scriptures says that once upon a time there was a great war between Devas and Danavas(demon), in which Danavas won. This was a major setback for Devas and hence Devas prayed to Lord Shiva. Pleased with their prayer, Lord Shiva emerged in the form of Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga and defeated Danavas. 

Omkareshwar under lights 

 Location 

It is situated in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh state in India. It is about 12 miles (20 km) from Mortakka in Madhya Pradesh.

Omkareshwar is formed by the sacred river Narmada. This is one of the most sacred of rivers inIndia and is now home to one of the world's biggest dam projects.

Transport

There are steamboats across the Narmada river and also two connecting bridges to reach the temple.

Air : The Airports close to Omkareshwar are at Indore (77 km) and Ujjain (133 km).

Rail : Nearest Railway Station is at Omkareshwar Road (12 km) on the Ratlam-Khandwa section of the Western Railway which is not a mainline. The other nearest railway station connected to Delhi and Mumbai is at Indore (77 km).

Road : Omkareshwar is connected to major towns and cities of Madhya Pradesh. There are regular bus services from Indore (77 km), Ujjain (133 km) Khandwa (61 km.) and Omkareshwar Road (12 km). By bus, it takes 2.5 hrs from Khandwa railway station to Omkareshwar.

While traveling from Khandwa to Omkareshwar, on the left side of road in the outskirts of Khandwa you can see the memorial to the celebrated singer, Kishore Kumar