Horoscope
Temples
Nageshwar Jyotirlinga Temple
Deity: Lord Shiva
Locality: Dwarka
State/Country: Gujarat
History & Architecture
Legend
Nageshwar was believed to be known as ‘Darukavana’, which is an ancient epic name of a forest in India. Below are two well-known legends attached to this mystical temple:
According to legend, there was a group of dwarves, the balakhilyas, who lived in Darukvana. They were devouts of Lord Shiv. To test their devotion, the Lord came to Darukavana disguised as a naked ascetic, wearing nothing but serpents on his body. The wives of the sages were drawn towards him and left their husbands. Enraged, the sages cursed the ascetic so that his ling (phallus) would fall off. The Shiv Ling then fell on the earth and the entire earth shuddered. Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma pleaded with Lord Shiva to take his ling back before the world was destroyed. Pacified, the Lord took back his linga but left a symbol of the linga that would remain there forever.
The second legend is that according to the Shiv Purana, hundreds of years ago two demons Daruka and Daruki lived in Darukavan. Daruka was blessed by Goddess Parvati. However, he misused the blessings and terrorized the local folks. One such time, he imprisoned a local woman, Supriya. Supriya told her fellow inmates to take the name of the Lord Shiva and no harm would come to them. When Daruka heard this, he was enraged. He rushed to kill her but Lord Shiv appeared to protect her. As Daruka was blessed by his own wife, the Lord could not kill him so instead he took the form of a lingam and promised to protect Supriya and the local folks forever in Dwarka.
Structure of Temple
Nageshwar jyotirling faces the South while the Gomugam faces east. There is a story to explain this position. There was once a devotee Namdev who was singing bhajans in front of the Lord. The other devotees asked him to move as he was obstructing the lord’s view. To this, Namdev asked them to point a direction where the Lord was not present. Enraged, the devotees took him away and left him facing south. When they returned, to their amazement, the statue was also facing south whereas the Gomugam now faced east.
