Omkareshwar Temple - The 4th Jyotirlinga
kaverikanarmadayoh pavitre samagame sajjanataranaya |
sadaiva mandhatripure vasantamonkaramisham shivamekamide ||
sadaiva mandhatripure vasantamonkaramisham shivamekamide ||
Omkareshwar is a city in Madhya Pradesh in India. It is about 80 km from Indore and nearest Jyotirlinga in Ujjain.
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| Omkareshwar Temple, Madhya Pradesh |
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| Omkareshwar Temple, Madhya Pradesh |
How To Reach
By Bus and Train
- 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).
- You find Buses from Indore central Bus Station. But these buses are small and congested. We should get down at checkpost of Omkareshwar and from there we get autos for transferring near to Narmada River.
- By bus, it takes 2.5 hrs from Khandwa railway station to Omkareshwar.
By Private Taxi
- Omkareshwar is connected to major towns and cities of Madhya Pradesh. There are regular bus services from Ujjain (133 km) , Indore (77 km), Khandwa (61 km.) and Omkareshwar Road (12 km).
Places To see
- Omkareshwar temple,
- Mamleshwar temple,
- Rinmukteshwar temple,
- Gauri Shankar temple,
- Triveni Ghat of Narmada river.
Shop
- Shivlings obtained from River Narmada have special significance. One must buy, if possible.
Eat
- Maharashtriyan Brahmin Padhit Bhojnalaya. It is a very good place to eat lunch or dinner. Rs 60 per plate.
Accommodation
- There is very good facility by Sant Gajanan Seva Sansthan of food and stay at very reasonable rate.
- Narmada resort, run by M.P. Tourism is a very good place to stay. The restaurant of this hotel provides good food as well.
- There is 'dharamsala' as you get down the Omkareshwar temple and walk straight for 100-200 metres. This is good for stay, as one can easily attend shayan aarti at night and safely get to this stay and rest.
Story of The Legend
Sthala Puranam
In the ancient times the Demons defeated the gods or divines.
Indra was worried. The Danavas or Demons have wrecked havoc in all the three
worlds, i.e., Trilokas. In order to empower the Devas once again, Lord Shiva
assumed the form of Jyotirmaya Omkararoop. He came out of the nether world or
Patala. Lord Shankar came out in the form of Linga on the banks of river
Narmada. The gods or Devas have worshipped the Linga which made them powerful
once again. This time they were able to destroy the demons and re-acquiesced
their empire in Heavens.
Brahma and Vishnu also lived in the same place as Omkar
Amaleshwar. That is why on the banks of Narmada Brahmapuri, Vishnupuri and
Rudrapuri are built which are known as Tripuri Kshetra. The Amareshwar
JyotiraLinga is situated in Rudrapuri.
Later on, in the mythological era or Purana Kala, Yavanaswa
Putra Mandhata came into power here with the blessings of Indra. He
served Lord Shankara with great devotion. Lord Shankara was pleased with him.
The waters of Narmada emanated from the Arghya (holy water) or Jalahari of the
Omkar JyotirLinga and flown through the mountains, downward and later on flow
unseen. Narmada joins the deep-water spring located near the Linga idol of
Omkareshwar. It flows there eternally. When some bubbles appear at the bottom
of this spring, it is said, that Lord Shankar is pleased.
King Mandhata made this holy place his capital. Therefore, this
place is also known as Omkar Mandhata. The descendents of Mandhata live here
even today. The Vindhya mountain also performed a severe penance and pleased
Omkar-Amareshwar. As a result of which, the whole place turned beautiful. Many
hermits like Agastya have performed severe penances and japas at
Omkar-Amaleshwaram JyotirLingam. They had built their hermitages.
This place of pilgrimage became famous in the historical times
too. In 1063 AD, Paramarking Udayaditya installed four stone inscriptions with
four Sanskrit Stotras and dedicated them to the Amaleshwar Temple.
Pushpadanta’s “Shiva Mahima Stotra” can also be seen as a stone inscription.
Initially aboriginals used to live here on Omkareshwar island as
a settlement. It belonged to Kalika devi. Devotees of this goddess were known
as Bhairavgan and used to harass pilgrims. They used to sacrifice them. After
sometime, a saint by the name Dariyayinath took charge of that place and
stopped the atrocities of the Bhairavgan. Since then, pilgrims started moving
there freely.
After that, Bhil reign began there. In 1195 AD, King Bharat
Singh Cahuhan won over the Bhils and improved the grandeur of the Omkar
Mandhata. Even today the palace ruins of Raja Bahrat Singh Chauhan can be seen.
The heirs of Bharat Singh Chauhan call themselves the ‘Kings’ of Omkar island,
even now staking their right.
The temple was renovated by Peshwa Baji Rao, the second. After
Peshwa, Punyashlok Ahilya Devi Holkar, has made several improvements in this
ancient shrine. She built strong, expansive and beautiful ghats. The important
one among there is the Kotilingarchana schedule.
