Jageshwar Dham - A Pious Photolog
Jageshwar Jyotirlinga
Jageshwar Dham temple is one of the biggest groups of temples located in a single complex in the world.
It is a Lord Shiva temple and is located on the side of river Jata Ganga at a height of 1870 meters in Almora Uttarakhand.
Jageshwar Dham is known as one of Jyotirlinga (Astham Jyotirlingas – Nagesham Darukavane).
In many traditional scriptures, it is revered as one of twelve original Jyotirlingams.
It is one of the Dhams (pilgrimage region) in the Shaivism tradition. The site is protected under Indian laws, and managed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Jageshwar Dham is also referred to as Jageshwar Temples, Jageswar Temples or Jageshwar Valley Temples.
They predominantly illustrate the North Indian Nagara style of architecture with a few exceptions that show South and Central Indian style designs.
The vital artists of this holy shrine were the Kings from the Katyuri dynasty. Generally, the Katyuri Kings were used to work at night and most of the projects were completed by them only in a single night.
So, no one can see them while working and their procedure & style. The architecture and style of Katyuri Kings can be seen here at about 400 temples situated in Almora.
On the way to Jageshwar Dham
How To Reach Jageshwar Dham Almora Uttarakhand?
Reaching the Jageshwar Dham is never a difficult task as it remains quite well connected via rail and road routes. You can also plan to reach Jageshwar by air.
Reach Jageshwar By Air
People can reach Pantnagar airport as it is the nearest airport to the city. It is just 150 kilometres away from Jageshwar. Luxury buses, taxis and shared cars are easily available to Jageshwar from Pantnagar Airport.
Reach Jageshwar By Train
The closest railway station to reach Jageshwar is Kathgodam. The railway station is at a distance of 125 kilometres from Jageshwar town.
Kathgodam railway is well integrated with many important destinations around the country including Delhi, Howrah and Lucknow.
Reach Jageshwar By Road
Jageshwar has a good connection with many Uttarakhand cities by well-maintained motorable roads. Jageshwar is well-linked with destinations like Haldwani, Pithogarh, Almora and so on.
Government buses operate on a regular basis from these places to Jageshwar. Costs may vary depending on the distance. Jageshwar is just 37 kilometres away from Almora from where one can easily reach Dham.
Apart from buses, taxis are also available from the Kumaon region.
In the Jageshwar Dham Temple Complex
One of Lord Shiva's Abode - Jageshwar Dham
Many of these temples are dedicated to god Shiva, while others in the immediate vicinity are dedicated to the god Vishnu, Shakti goddesses and Surya traditions of Hinduism.
It is also known as the Valley of Gods & dates back from the 7th to 14th centuries in its different forms of reconstruction.
The main temple of Lord Shiva is surrounded by 125 small ancient temples of different gods.
According to Skandha Purana and Linga Purana, the worship of lord Shiva was started from Jageshwar and the 8th Shiva Jyotirlinga originated here.
It is believed that Adi Sankaracharya visited Jageshwar Dham and renovated, and reestablished many temples before leaving for Kedarnath Dham.
Rudrabhishek puja is a Vedic Hindu Ritual where Lord Shiva is worshipped in his Rudra form and given a sacred bath, along with flowers and holy materials, while his 108 names are chanted.
The ceremony is performed to please the deity and eliminate evil forces and bring prosperity to the house.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has also set up a Museum near the temple which is a must-see.
The image of Uma-Maheshwar has flying celestials while one can also see a beautiful sculpture of a fully ornamented Surya holding a lotus in both hands.
The first of the two galleries of the museum has a four feet high bronze statue of Pona Raja, a local ruler.
Rudrabhishek at Jageshwar Dham
How to worship the Gods at Jageshwar Dham?
As per tradition, the pilgrims need to worship the Gods in the temples inside the Jageshwar Dham complex in the following order.
- After having a Snana or ritual bath at Brahm Kund near the Temple,
- Pilgrims should first visit the main Jyotirlingam,
- followed by Dakshin Mukhi Hanuman Neelkanth Temple, Surya Temple, Navgraha Temple, Pushti Mata Temple (Shakti Peeth as per Devi Bhagwat at 83 nos), Mrityunjaya Temple, Hawan Kunda, Lakulisha Temple, Tarkeshwar Temple, Kedarnath Temple, Navdurga Temple.
After this, Pilgrim comes back again to Jyotirlingam, then Batuk Bhairav Temple and Kuber Temple that stands near the Brahma Kund.
Pilgrims after visiting Jageshwar Dham may also visit Pandukeshwar Temple, at a distance of 5 Km and on the same route.
Pandukeshwar temple is believed to have been constructed in the same time period as the Jageshwar Dham temple.
Photos Clicked while Exiting
The Story about Jageshwar Dham
Think Before You Curse Someone
We all know how heartbroken Lord Shiva was after the death of Goddess Sati.
The story goes that when Daksha-Prajapati refused to invite Shiva to his yagna, Sati flew into such a rage that she burnt herself to death in protest and disrupted the entire ceremony.
A great confrontation followed where Lord Shiva got enraged, his rage had shaken the world but when he realized the destruction from his tandava, he settled in Vridh Jageshwar (the other name of Jageshwar Dham) for meditation.
With the mesmerizing environs, the swinging Deodars and Lord Shiva meditating, the picture comes out majestic even in imagination.
So when the wives of Saptrishis came to the forest to take wood for fire they were charmed by his divine aura and fell unconscious near him.
There are 7 disciples of Shiva who have been considered the early Saptarshi. These sages propagated the knowledge of Shiva throughout the earth, due to which different religions and cultures originated.
When the seven wives of the Saptarshi didn’t return in the evening they came looking for them. Seeing them unconscious near Shiva their eyes seethed with exasperation.
The Saptarshi roared with fury and cursed him for their plight. But as they had acted in haste without knowing the truth, Lord Shiva cursed them for blinking like stars (7 Stars) in the sky forever.
The shivlinga in Shri Mahamrityunjaya is considered as the first Shivalinga of the earth. Shivlinga’s worship started from here.
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