The twelve Jyotirlingas of India – Seats of Silence for the World
A Jyotirlingam ( Sanskrit : ज्योतिरिनगम ) is a focal point, or seat, of silence, and represents the great deity Shiva , the embodiment of silence. Jyoti means 'radiance' and lingam the 'mark or sign' of Shiva, or a symbol of the pineal gland ; Jyotir Lingam thus means the The Radiant sign of The Almighty . There are twelve traditional Jyotirlinga shrines in India . It is believed that Lord Shiva first manifested himself as a Jyotirlinga on the night of the Ardra Nakshatra . It is assumed that a person who reaches a higher level of spiritual attainment can see these lingas as columns of fire piercing through the earth. Vedic Literature on Jyotirlingas According to Śiva Mahāpurāṇa , once Brahma and Vishnu had an argument over their relative supremacy. To test them, Shiva pierced the three worlds as a huge endless pillar of light, the jyotirlinga . Vishnu and Brahma split their ways to downwards and upwards respectively to find the end of the light in eithe