Nageshwar Jyotirlinga Signifies Protection From All Sorts Of Poisons

NAGESHWAR JYOTIRLINGA

AT

DWARAKA

Located on the route between Dwarka city and Beyt Dwarka Island on the coast of Saurashtra in Gujarat is this important Lord Shiva Temple. It is enshrined by one of the 12 swayambhu (self-existent) jyothirlingas in the world, in an underground sanctum.

 A 25 m tall statue of a sitting Lord Shiva and a large garden with a pond are major attractions of this rather serene place. Some archaeological excavations claim five earlier cities at the site.

 The Jyotirlinga enshrined in the Temple of Nagnath is known as Nageshwar Mahadev and attracts thousands of pilgrims all round the year. This powerful Jyotirlinga symbolizes protection from all poisons. It is said that those who pray to the Nageshwar Linga become free of poison. The Rudra Samhita sloka refers to Nageshwar with the phrase ‘Daarukaavane Naagesham.

This Sivalingam is facing South, with the Gomugam facing East. There is a story for this position. A devotee by name Naamdev was singing bhajans in front of the Lord. Other devotees asked him to stand aside and not hide the Lord.

To this Naamdev asked them to suggest one direction in which the Lord does not exist, so that he can stand there. The enraged devotees carried him and left him on the southside. To their astonishment, they found that the Linga was now facing South with the Gomugam facing east.

The Jyotirlinga 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.Giant statue of Lord Shiva allures the devotees with its aesthetic appeal. 

On the eve of Shivaratri, the temple premises witnesses huge turnout of devotee and which virtually changes the entire ambiance into a place of festivities.The Jyotirlinga situated in the temple is considered to protect everybody from all sort of poisons.

 

Skand Puran mentions that the King Raivat of Kushsthali was an avtaar of Takshak Nag and he ruled over this region. Interestingly, Dwarka is also known as Kushsthali in Hindu scriptures.

By Air

The closest domestic airport to Dwarka is located at Jamnagar, which is about 137 km away. There are regular flights from Jamnagar to Mumbai International Airport. Taxi cabs are available from Jamnagar airport to Dwarka, which charges about Rs.2000.

By Train

 Daily trains availabel to Dwarka from Mumbai and other cities. The nearest railway station to nageshwar jyotirlinga temple is Dwarka Train Station which is 0 km away from Nageshwar Jyotirlinga Temple. 

By Bus

Distance from Dwarka to Nageshwar is around 18 km.

The temple is open for darshan from 7:00 am to 12:30 pm in the morning and from 5:00 pm to 9:30 pm in the evening.