The linga of light (see Shivalinga).
There are believed to be 12 such lingas, the first to have appeared on earth, although
their location is not consistently identified. Shiva is supposed to have first manifested
himself as a jyotirlinga (lingodbhava) on the night of the Arudra nakshatra (see Panchanga). The jyotirlingas look like any other linga.
However, it is believed that a person who has attained a certain degree of spirituality
sees these lingas as columns of fire piercing through the earth. There are six definitely
agreed-upon jyotirlingas: Kedar in the Himalayas;
Bhimashankara at Dakini (Maharashtra); Tryambak on the banks of the River Gautami in Nasik (Maharashtra); Somnath at Saurashtra (Gujarat); Mahakala at Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh); Rameshvara at Jyotirlinga at Somnath.Setubandhana (Tamil Nadu). The other six commonly accepted jyotirlingas are Vishvanath at Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh); Amareshvara at Omkara; Vaidyanath at Parali (Maharashtra); Nagesh at Darukavan (Maharashtra); Ghushmesh at Shivalaya near Ellora (Maharashtra); Mallikarjuna at Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh).
