Omkareshwar and Mamleshwar, the sacred Jyotirlingams of Lord Shiva is on the banks of Narmada River on an island called Mandhata in Madhya Pradesh. It is believed that the island is in the shape of Hindu symbol ‘Om’. There are two temples here, one is Omkareshwar (means "Lord of Omkaara or the Lord of the OmSound") and other Amareshwar (whose name means "Immortal lord" or "lord of the Immortals or Devas"). But as per the sloka on dwadash jyotirligam in Shiva Maha Purana, Mamleshwar is the jyotirling, which is on other side of Narmada river. There is a bridge over Narmada river connecting Omkareshwar temple and Mamleshwar temple. One can also take boats and jetty to cross the river and reach Mamleshwar temple. One can observe the peaceful and soothing environment at this 4th Jyotirlingam among the 12 Jyotirlingam of Shiva. As per the scriptures, there are 3 legends behind the Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga. According to the first legend, ‘Vindhya Parbat’ performed a penance to please Lord Shiva; as a reward Lord Shiva appeared here and blessed the Vindhya Parbat with his wish of being greater then ‘Meru Parbat’. The linga which was worshipped by Vindhya Parbat was split into two parts ‘Omkareshwar’ and ‘Mamleshwar’ on request of gods and sages. According to a second story, King Mandhata along with his two sons performed penance. Seeing their devotion, Lord Shiva appeared as a Jyotirlinga. As per the third story, Lord Shiva, in the form of Omkareshwar, appeared to defeat Asuras during a violent war between Devas and Asuras!
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