SHIVA is Parabrahma who is beyond contemplation; of unmanifested identity; Limitless and is embodied Nectar. SH + I + VA = SHIVA which means SH – denotes perennial pleasure of eternal bliss, I – denotes Supreme God SHIVA(which is known when one attains self-realization) and VA – denotes immortal nectar power - Para Shakthi. Lord Shiva is the bestower of auspiciousness and one who is the prime god – one who is the eternal God, one who is formless - one who is without attributes (nirguna) and from whom Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Maheswara are born and who is the basis for Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, and Maheswara.
Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple - Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh, India
This temple is referred to as one of the twelve Jyothirlingas of Lord Shiva and as one of the eighteen Shakti Peethas of goddess Parvati. It is the one of the only three temples in India in which both Jyotirlinga and Shaktipeeth is revered. To read more click the below link
Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple
Sri RamanathaSwamy Temple - Rameswaram, Ramanathapuram, Tamilnadu, India
Rama, the seventh avatar of the god Vishnu, built from sand and prayed to this Linga of Shiva to absolve him of the sin committed during his war against the king Ravana in Sri Lanka. To read more click the below link
Shri Kashi Vishwanatha Temple - Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
The jyotirlinga here is an ancient axis Mundi symbol representing the supreme formless (nirguna) reality at the core of creation, out of which the form (saguna) of Shiva appears. It has been destroyed and re-constructed a number of times in history. The last structure was demolished by Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal emperor who constructed the Gyanvapi Mosque on its site. To read more click the below link
Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple - Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India
The presiding deity, Lord Shiva in the lingam form is believed to be Swayambhu, deriving currents of power (Shakti) from within itself as against the other images and lingams that are ritually established and invested with mantra-shakti. To read more click the below link
Shree Baidyanath Temple - Shivganga Muhalla, Deoghar, Jharkhand, India
Ravana worshipped Shiva at the current site of the temple to get the boons that he later used to wreak havoc in the world. Ravana offered his ten heads one after another to Shiva as a sacrifice. Pleased with this, Shiva descended to cure Ravana who was injured. To read more click the below link
Shri Trimbakeshwar Temple - Trimbakeshwar, Nashik, Maharashtra, India
The extraordinary feature of the Jyotirlinga located here is its three faces embodying Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Rudra. Due to the excessive use of water, the linga has started to erode and is covered by a jeweled crown which is placed over the Gold Mask of Tridev which is said to be from the age of Pandavas and consists of diamonds, emeralds, and many precious stones. To read more click the below link
Shri Grishneshwar Temple - Ellora, Maharashtra, India
The Grishneshwar temple is an illustration of south Indian temple architectural style and structure. The temple, built of red rocks, is composed of a five-tier shikara. The temple was re-constructed by Maloji Bhosale of Verul, (grandfather of Shivaji) in the 16th century and later again by queen Ahilyabai Holkar in the 18th century. To read more click the below link
Shri Bhimashankar Temple - Bhimashankar, Pune, Maharashtra, India
The Bhimashankar temple is a composite of old and new structures in the Nagara style of architecture. It shows the excellency of the skills achieved by ancient Vishwakarma sculptors. The great Maratha ruler Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is said to have made endowments to this temple to facilitate worship services. To read more click the below link
Shri Nageshwar Temple - Darukavanam, Dwarka, Gujarat, India
A narrative in the Shiva Purana about the Nageshvara Jyotirlinga tells of a demon named Daaruka, who attacked a Shiva devotee named Supriya and imprisoned him along with many others here, thereafter Lord Shiva appeared and the demon was vanquished. To read more click the below link
Shree Somnath Temple - Prabhas Patan, Veraval, Gujarat, India
The site of Somnath has been a pilgrimage site from ancient times on account of being a triveni sangam. Soma, the Moon god, is believed to have lost his luster due to a curse, and he bathed in the Sarasvati River at this site to regain it. To read more click the below link
Shri Omkareshwar Temple - Mandhata, Madhya Pradesh, India
Vindya, the deity controlling the Vindhyachal mountain range, was worshipping Shiva to propitiate himself from the sins committed. He created a sacred geometrical diagram and a Lingam made of sand and clay. Shiva was pleased with the worship and believed to have appeared here in two forms. To read more click the below link
Kedarnath Temple - Kedarnath, Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand, India
The text Kashi Kedara Mahatmya states that it is so called because "the crop of liberation" grows here. After the Kurukshetra War, the Pandava brothers came here to meet Shiva on the advice of the sage Vyasa. To read more click the below link
Sri Kalahastheeswara Swamy Temple - Srikalahasti, Andhra Pradesh, India
The temple is famous for its Vayu linga and one of the Panchabhoota Sthalams, representing wind. also regarded as Rahu-Ketu kshetra and Dakshina Kailasam. The inner temple was constructed around the 5th century and the outer temple was constructed in the 12th century by the Chola kings and the Vijayanagara kings. To read more click the below link
Sri Kalahastheeswara Swamy Temple
Sri Ekambareswarar Temple - Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu, India
The temple has numerous shrines and halls with those of Ekambareswarar and Nilathingal Thundam Perumal being the most prominent and the most notable is the thousand-pillared hall built during the Vijayanagar period. To read more click the below link
Sri Arunachaleswarar Temple - Tiruvannamalai, Tamilnadu, India
Lord Shiva is worshiped as Arunachalesvara with his idol referred to as Agni lingam and his consort Parvati is depicted as Unnamalai Amman. The temple complex covers 10 hectares, and is one of the largest in India. To read more click the below link
Thillai Nataraja Temple - Chidambaram, Cuddalore, Tamilnadu, India
This is where Lord Shiva performs Tandava dance that triggers the carnal interests against "the wall, in the blessed hall of consciousness". The temple is one of the five elemental lingas in the Shaivism pilgrimage tradition, and considered the subtlest of all Shiva temples (Kovil) in Hinduism. To read more click the below link
Sri Jambukeswarar Temple - Thiruvanaikaval, Tiruchirappalli, Tamilnadu, India
Thiruvanaikal is one of the five major Shiva Temples of Tamil Nadu (Pancha Bhoota Stalam) representing the Mahābhūta; this temple represents the element of water, or neer in Tamil. The sanctum of Jambukeswara has an underground water stream and in spite of pumping water out, it is always filled with water. To read more click the below link
Sri Vadaranyeswarar Temple - Thiruvalangadu, Tamilnadu, India
Sri Vadaranyeswarar Temple is regarded as a sacred Shaivaite temple where Kali challenged the Lord for a dance battle, in that it is one of the 5 majestic cosmic dance halls (pancha sabhai) of Lord Shiva, known as "Ratna Sabai". To read more click the below link
Sri Thirukutralanathar Swamy Temple - Courtallam, Tamilnadu, India
Sri Thirukutralanathar Swamy Temple represents one of the five Pancha Sabhas of Nataraja - Chitra Sabhai. Sage Agastyar, is said to have created the Shiva Lingam here by shrinking an image of Vishnu to relieve the instability caused by the multitude of entities at Shiva's and Parvati's wedding in the Himalayas at Shiva's request. To read more click the below link
Sri Thirukutralanathar Swamy Temple
Sri Nellaiappar Temple - Tirunelveli, Tamilnadu, India
The temples where Shiva is believed to have performed the Cosmic Dance. This temple is called Tambra Sabha (copper hall) based on the dance pose of Nataraja. To read more click the below link
Sri Brihadeeswara Temple - Thanjavur, Tamilnadu, India
The Brihadeshwara temple plan and development utilizes the axial and symmetrical geometry rules. It is classified as Perunkoil (also called Madakkoil), a big temple built on a higher platform of natural or man-made mounds. The temple complex is a rectangle that is almost two stacked squares, covering 240.79 metres east to west, and 121.92 metres north to south. To read more click the below link
Lingaraj Temple - Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
The temple represents the quintessence of the Kalinga architecture and culminating the medieval stages of the architectural traditions. Temple was built in the Deula style that has four components namely, vimana, jagamohana , natamandira, and bhoga-mandapa, each increasing in height to its predecessor. To read more click the below link
Sri Vadukkunnathan Temple - Thrissur, Kerala, India
Parashurama exterminated Kshatriyas in twenty one cycles. In order to cleanse himself of the negative karma of these deeds he performed a yajna here at the end of which he gave away all the land to Brahmins as dakshina. Origins of the Vadakkumnathan Temple are briefly narrated in the Brahmanda Purana and these legends are referenced in some other works as well. To read more click the below link
Sri Mahabaleshwar Temple - Kumta, Gokarna, Karnataka, India
The temple deifies the Pranalinga ("the reality of God which can be captured by the mind") also called Atmalinga or Shiva Linga . In legend, it is said that the deity of the temple will bestow immense blessings to devotees, even to those who only glimpse it. To read more click the below link
Mahadeva Temple - Ettumanur, Kerala, India
Temple tradition has it that the Pandavas and the sage Vyasa had worshipped at this temple. The present temple building, with its gopuram and the fortress around it and has Dravidian mural paintings on the walls inside and outside of the main entrance. To read more click the below link
Sri Murudeshwara Temple - Bhatkal, Uttara Kannada (karwar), Karnataka, India
Ravana lost Atma-Linga to Sri Vinayaka and decided to destroy it. Finally he threw the cloth covering the Atma-Linga to a place called Mrideshwar and the temple is said to be built around that piece of linga. To read more click the below link
Sri Brihadeeswarar Temple - Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Ariyalur, Tamilnadu, India
The original courtyard is two squares stacked next to each other, all mandapas, the upapitham, the shrine plans, the garbha griha (sanctum) and the tower elements are all square shaped and incorporate circles and principles of geometric symmetry and is famous for its Sri Vimanam. To read more click the below link
Sri Uma Maheswara Temple - Yaganti, Andhra Pradesh, India
Here, Sage Agastya requested Lord Shiva to give the devotees a Parvathi Goddess as Lord Uma Maheswara in a single stone, which Shiva obliged. He originally intended to build a temple to Lord Venkateswara here which turned out tobe a Saivite temple. To read more click the below link
Sangameswara Temple - Sangameswara, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, India
The temple's wooden Lingam, Sangameshwaram, is believed to have been installed by Dharmaraja, the eldest of the Pandavas, after their visit to Srisailam Mallikarjuna temple and is considered a place of religious sanctity due to being built at the confluence of seven rivers and remain visible for two months. To read more click the below link
Hoysaleshwara Temple - Halebidu, Karnataka, India
Hoysaleshwara or Hoywalesvara temple, is a twin-temple, or dvikuta vimana (plan with two shrines and two superstructures). The two temples are of the same size, and their sanctums open to the east, facing sunrise. To read more click the below link
Mahadeva Temple - Chengannur, Alappuzha, Kerala, India
Sage Agastya, who could not witness the sacred marriage of Shiva and Parvathi was visited by the pair after the marriage. Since Parvathi was in her menstrual period, she waited for 28 days to give darshan to the sage. To read more click the below link
Shri Mallikarjuna Temple - Basaralu, Karnataka, India
The temple plan is that of a trikuta (three shrines) though only the middle one has a superstructure (tower or shikhara) and a sukhanasi (nose or tower over the vestibule). The three shrines are connected by a common hall (mantapa) which is unique in that it mixes characteristics of an open and a closed hall. To read more click the below link
Shore Temple - Mahabalipuram, Tamilnadu India
This is an architectural creation initiated by King Narasimhavarman II in mid 7th century starting with the Cave temples and the monolithic Rathas as seen in the Atiranachanda cave, the Pidari rathas and the Tiger cave. To read more click the below link