In Shaivism, Shiva is the God of all and is worshipped by all, from Devas (gods) such as Brahma, Indra, by Asuras(demons) like Bana, Ravana, by humans like Adi Shankara, Nayanars, by creatures as diverse as Jatayu, an eagle, and Vali, an ape. Furthermore, people of different backgrounds and qualities worship Shiva with many temples having histories of even cranes, bees, elephants, (see Kalahasti), spiders, snakes, worshipping Shiva and getting blessed. It concludes that the Good Lord blesses anyone who worships him with sincere devotion as there is no discrimination based on the seeker. Although Lord Shiva loves His devotees equally and does not ignore the meditation even of demons such as the rakshasas and asuras, He always finds ways to protect righteousness and never allows any evil to triumph over good.
Major deities, rishis, planets, worshipped Shiva and established Shivalingas in various places. - Pashupatinath Lord of all living beings, located at Kathmandu, Nepal.
- Somnath located at Prabhas Patan in Saurashtra in Gujarat.
- Dwarka in Gujarat is home to the Nageshwar Jyotirlinga temple.
- Mahakal, Ujjain (or Avanti) in Madhya Pradesh is home to the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga temple.
- Srisailam - Srisailam near Kurnool enshrines Mallikarjuna in an ancient temple architecturally and sculpturally rich.
- Bhimashankar, in the Sahyadri range of Maharashtra, contains a Jyotirlinga shrine associated with Shiva destroying the demon Tripurasura.
- Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh is an island in the Narmada river, home to a Jyotirlinga shrine and the Amareshwar temple.
- Sukreswar Temple located on Sukreswar hill in Guwahati on the southern bank of Brahmaputra, with the ghat leading down to the river.
- Uma Nanda Temple located on the Peacock island in middle of River Brahmaputra in Guwahati.
- Kedarnath in Uttarakhand is the northernmost of the Jyotirlingas.
- Varanasi(Benares) in Uttar Pradesh is home to the Vishwanath Jyotirling temple.
- Trimbakeshwar, near Nashik in Maharashtra, has a Jyotirlinga shrine located associated with the origin of the Godavari river.
- Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga shrine, in Maharashtra, is located near the rock-cut temples of Ellora.
- Deoghar, in the Santhal Parganas region of Jharkhand, is home to the Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga temple.
- Ganesha worshipped Shiva at Pillayar patti (100 km from Madurai, India)
- The four Vedas worshipped Shiva at Thirumaraikaadu (i.e., Vedaaranyam near Tanjore)
- Skanda worshipped Shiva at Thiruchendur (200 km from Madurai, India)
- Rama (avatar of Vishnu) worshipped Shiva in Rameswaram(India)
- Vishnu worshipped Shiva atKanchipuram (Kachiswarar Temple)
- Parasurama (avatar of Vishnu) worshipped Shiva at Sreesailam, Karnataka and also at Chennai (Parasurama at Lingeshwara Temple, Iyanavaram)
- Goddess Lakshmi (wife of Vishnu) worshipped Shiva at Tirupachethi (50 km from Madurai).
- Surya worshipped Shiva at Srivilliputhur (Vaidhyanathaar Temple 100 km from Madurai)
- Brahma and Vishnu at Tiruvannamalai (180 km from Chennai)
- Brahma at Vrinchipuram (155 km from Chennai, 15 km from Vellore)
- Rahu and Ketu at Kaalahasthi (50 km from Tirupathi, Andhra Pradesh, India)
- Indra at Madurai (Soma Sundareeswar Temple)
- The Rishi Agastya at Papanasam (100 km from Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India)
- Goddess Parvati at Kancheepuram (Ekambeeswarar Temple, 70 km from Chennai, India)
- Shani at Thirnallar (near Kaaraikal, Pondicherry)
- Moongod at Thingalur (near Tanjore)
- Shiva and Sani at Thirvidaimaruthoor (near Kumbakonam)
- Brahma at Kumbakoonam (Kumbeeswarar, near Tanjore)
- Ujjain Jyotirlinga shrine, in Madhya Pradesh.
- Lord Shiva at Trilochan, is famous with name of Trilochan Mhadev Temple, 30 km from varanasi , india
- Manjunatha-Lord of mist at Dharmasthala this one famous pilgrim of Dakshina Kannada,Karnataka.
- Nanjundeshwara -One who has gulped nanju-pain or Halahala in his throat or SriKanteshwara at Nanjangud near Mysore,Karnataka
- AtmaLinga at Gokarna ,Karnataka.
- Panchalingeshwara-5 Linga all of which is covered with sand but opens up at specific dates at [Talakad]] ,Karnataka.
- Shivagange-Believed to be patalaGanga flowing by rishi Agastya worship. Bangalore, Karnataka.
- Murudeshwara in Uttara Kannada,Karnataka.
- Kudalasangama in Basavakalyana,Karnataka.
- By Lava and Kusha (sons of Rama) in Kurungaleeswar temple at Koyambedu Chennai.
- Bakreshwar and Tarakeshwar in West Bengal
In South India, five temples of Siva are held to be particularly important, as being manifestations of him in the five elemental substances: - Tiruvannamalai, as fire
- Chidambaram, as ether
- Srikalahasti, as air
- Tiruvanaikal, as water
- Conjeeveram, as earth
REFERENCES: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva |