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A devotee of Shiva named Supriya was tormented by an asura Daruka. When the demon was about to kill Supriya, Shiva emerged from the Jyotirlinga and killed Daruka.
Nageshwar is one of the Dwadasa Jyotirlingas. It is located near the holy city of Dwarka in Gujarat. Krishna the King of Dwarka worshipped at this shrine. Nageshwar is the Lord of the Cobras. This refers to the cobra that is permanently ensconced around Shiva’s neck. Therefore, not surprisingly, this Jyotirlinga offers protection from all poisons and praying at the Nageshwar Linga leads to a poison-free mind and body. Normally lingams are made from black stone and resemble pillars rounded at the top. The lingam at Nageshwar is, however, unique. It is made from a stone known popularly as Dwarka Stone, which has small wheel imprints on it. The lingam is shaped like a three-faced oval Rudraksha, which literally means the tears of Shiva. The lingam has a “gomugam”, which collects the milk and water ablutions and canalizes them away. Usually the lingam and gomugam face in the same direction, but not so in the Nageshwar temple. Initially both faced east according to legend. Once a devotee named Namdev was singing hymns in front of the lingam. The other devotees were obstructed and asked him to move aside. Namdev then stood to the south of the lingam. To the astonishment of everyone only the lingam turned south to face Namdev, while the gomugam continued to point eastwards. The LegendIn the Rudra Samhita of the Shiva Purana, Nageshwar is addressed as “DarukavaneNagesham”. This refers to the legend of Supriya. Supriya was a devotee of Shiva who was attacked by the asura Daruka, while she was traveling in a boat. Supriya was then imprisoned by the demon along with many other captives in his capital city of Darukavana. Daruka wanted to get additional powers from Shiva and so he asked Supriya to teach him the correct way to worship Shiva. Supriya knew that Daruka was a tyrant and would use the powers for destructive purposes so she refused to help. This enraged Daruka and he decided to kill Supriya. In order to rescue his devotee Shiva appeared in the form of a Jyotirlinga and killed the demon with his Pashupatastra. Daruka’s wife Daruki, however, continued to torment Supriya. Therefore Shiva emerged again from the Jyotirlinga to kill Daruki as well. It is this Jyotirlinga that is worshipped as Nageshwar. Another legend is associated with the Pandavas, who lived in this region for a part of their exile. Their cows would daily go to a river to drink water. After that milk would flow automatically from their udders into the river. It seemed that the cows were offering the milk in prayer. Bhim happened to see this and immediately reported it to his elder brother Yuddhishthir. Yuddhishthir reasoned that there must be some shrine in the river. The Pandavas entered the river to locate the shrine. They found that at the center the river was boiling. Bhim threatened to destroy the river with his mace. The river then parted revealing the Jyotirlinga. The HistoryAurangazeb, the Mughal emperor, was notorious for destroying Hindu temples. He tried to have the Nageshwar temple destroyed as well. Thousands of bees emerged from the temple forcing Aurangazeb to leave the demolition work midway. The devotees later rebuilt the broken temple. Please check my course on Hindu Mythology Please check my articles on Mythology from India
The copyright of the article Nageshwar Jyotirlinga in Hinduism is owned by Harsh Nevatia. Permission to republish Nageshwar Jyotirlinga in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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