List of Shiva temples in India


is a Hindu deity worshipped by Shaivaites in India as the destroyer of ignorance spread all across the universe. As one of the three main gods in the Hindu pantheon, there are temples dedicated to his worship in India. The most prominent of these are the Jyotirlinga temples and Mellacheruvu Swayabhu Shambhulingeshwara Swami. In Shaivism, Shiva is the god of all and is described as worshipped by all, including Devas like Brahma, vishnu and Indra, Asuras like Banasura and Ravana, humans like Adi Shankara and Nayanars, and creatures as diverse as Jatayu, an eagle, and Vali, an ape. Deities, rishis, and grahas worshipped Shiva and established Shivalingas in various places.

The 12 Jyotirlinga temples

The 12 Jyotirlinga temples as mentioned in the Shiva Purana are :-

Pancha Bootha Sthalas (Five Elemental Manifestations)

In South India, five temples of Shiva are held to be particularly important, as being manifestations of him in the five elemental substances.

Panchaaraama temples

The Pancharama Kshetras are five ancient Hindu temples of Lord Shiva situated in Andhra Pradesh. The Sivalingas at these temples are made from a single Sivalinga. As per the legend, this Sivalinga was owned by the demon king Tarakasura. No one could win over him due to the power of this Sivalinga. Finally, Lord Kumaraswamy, the son of Lord Shiva broke the Sivalinga into five pieces and killed Tarakasura. The five pieces of Sivalinga fell at five different places on earth namely,
, one of the Pancharama Kshetras
Arama NameSiva's NameConsort NameLocation
AmararamaAmaralingeswara SwamyBala Chamundika AmmavaruAmaravathi, Andhra Pradesh
DraksharamaBhimesvara SwamyManikyamba AmmavaruDraksharama, Andhra Pradesh
SomaramaSomeswara SwamySri Rajarajeswari AmmavaruBhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh
KsheeraramaKsheera Ramalingeswara SwamyParvati AmmavaruPalakol, Andhra Pradesh
BhimaramaKumara Bhimeswara SwamyBala Tripurasundari AmmavaruSamalkota, Andhra Pradesh

Sabha temples

The five temples located in Tamil Nadu where Shiva is believed to perform Bharata Natyam dance are:
SabhaTempleLocation
Pon SabhaNatarajar TempleChidambaram
Velli SabhaMeenakshi Sundareswarar TempleMadurai
Thamira SabhaNellaiappar TempleTirunelveli
Rathna SabhaSri Vadaranyeswarar TempleThiruvalangadu
Chitira SabhaKutraleeswar TempleKutralam

Shani Parihara Temples

SabhaTempleLocation
Sani Parihara SthalamSri Darbarneeswarar TempleThirunallaru, Tamil Nadu
Sani Parihara SthalamSri Darbarneeswarar Temple Devasthanam
Shani PariharaChenchadainathar Shiva TempleSayalkudi
Shani PariharaSri Mandeswara Swamy Vari Devasthanam-

Kashiswar Jiu temple

Kashiswar Jiu temple is in Andul of Howrah district near the Saraswati river, West Bengal in India. The presiding deity is a Banlinga which was recovered from the river in mid 17th century by Kashiswar Datta Chowdhury, a local zamindar. In 18th century a stone made yoni-like structure that symbolizes goddess Shakti has been attached with the Linga after Bargi attacked in 1741 AD. The deity is consider to be one of the oldest in the district.
DeitiesYear
Biseshwara1785 AD
Nakuleshwara19th century circa
Saurendra Mohaneshwara18th century circa

The temples are presently run by SrisriKashiswar Debottur Trust.

Notable temples

Andhra Pradesh

; Darbhanga District
; Madhubani District
; Muzaffarpur District