A Jyotirlinga or Jyotirling or Jyotirlingam (Sanskrit: ज्योतिर्लिङ्ग) are shrines where Lord Shiva, is worshipped in the form of a Jyotirlingam.

A Jyotirlinga or Jyotirling or Jyotirlingam (Sanskrit: ज्योतिर्लिङ्ग) are shrines where Lord Shiva, is worshipped in the form of a Jyotirlingam. 'Jyothi' means 'Radiance' and Lingam, the Shiva Lingam-'the mark or sign' of The Almighty or the pineal gland symbol. Jyotir Lingam means the The Radiant sign of The Almighty. There are twelve traditional Jyotirlinga shrines in India. It is believed that Lord Shiva first manifested himself as a Jyotirlinga on the night of the, Aridra Nakshatra thus the special reverence for the Jyotirlinga. There is nothing to distinguish the appearance, but it is believed that a person can see these lingas as columns of fire piercing through the earth after he reaches a higher level of spiritual attainment. There are twelve Jyotirlingas in India and they are spread all over India.

The twelve Jyotirlingas are-
1.Somnath at Prabhas Patan, Saurashtra, Gujarat.
2. Sri Mallikarjun in Srisailam, near Kurnool,Andhra Pradesh, on the banks of river Krishna.Adi Sankaracharya composed his Sivanandalahiri here.
3. Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain(Avanti), Madhya Pradesh.
4. Omkareshwar in Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh, this jyotirlinga is situated on an island in the course of the river Narmada.
5. Vaidyanath temple at Deogarh,Santal Parganas area of Bihar.
6. Bhimashankar in Dakini and located in the Sahyadri hills,near Pune, Maharashtra.
7. Ramalingeswar in Setubandanam, Tamil Nadu.This is situated on vast temple island of Rameswaram.It is the southernmost of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines of India.
8. Nageshwar in Jageshwar.
9. Vishwanath in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
10. Tryambakeswar Jyotirlinga shrine is intimately linked with the origin of the river Godavari near Nasik, Maharashtra.
11. Kedareswar in Kedarnath in Himalayas,Uttarakhand.
12. Ghrishneshwar in Devasrovar,near Ellora,Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

The photograph was taken at the jyotirlinga of nageshwar in jageshwar, Uttarakhand.

The main temple in the temple complex at 'Jageshwar Mahadev' is dedicated to ‘Bal Jageshwar’, or the Child Shiva. There is also a temple dedicated to Vridh Jageshwar, or Old Shiva, situated on the higher slopes. According to tradition, Lord Shiva came to meditate here, and when the women of the village came to know of this, they immediately left their household chores to have his darshan. When the men of the village heard of this, they were infuriated and came to see who is this sadhu who has captivated their women. Seeing the commotion, Shiva took the form of a child, which is why he is still worshipped in his child form here