mystery of 7 ancient shiva temples in india: Shocking Facts!

In the history of the spiritual center “Bharat” (India) lies a whisper of a divine vibration which is often chanted by the Shiva Bhakta – “OM”. In this blog, we’ll start a spiritual journey from the North to the South of this sacred land. People in India visit temples for inner peace. We are privileged to live on a land where inner peace can be attained by visiting these spiritual places which we call, “Mandir”.There are more than 700,000 temples in India. Different temples are dedicated to different deities, have different architecture, beliefs, practices, center of attraction and are unique in their own way. But we will talk about the Mystery of 7 Ancient Shiva Temples in India dedicated to Lord Shiva.
The supreme deity – Mahadev. And these 7 temples hold a separate significance among the 700,000 temples. Reading about them will fascinate you. So, take a deep breath and summon Shiva and start this journey of exploring the mystery of 7 ancient Shiva temples. 

A Geographical Marvel

In this blog, we will read about 7 Shiva temples which are geographically in a straight line. And by straight, I mean straight! You can find it on the maps also. But don’t worry the Google Maps image is below: 

See, how magnificent, isn’t it! 7 shiva temples in a straight line. Without GPS during that period, how did they manage to put it in a straight line? And this is no coincidence though. Each of these 7 temples have their own magnificent story reflecting their significance in the hindu culture.  

Pancha Bhoota Stalam 

Also, out of these 7 temples, there are 5 temples which represent the 5 fundamental elements. These are: 

• Thiruvanaikaval : The temple of Water 
• Thiruvanamalai : The temple of Fire 
• Srikalahasti : Temple of Air
• Kanchipuram : The temple of Earth 
• Chidambaram : The temple of Space/ Sky

Collectively, these temples are known as, “Pancha Bhoota Stalam”. Because the Shiv Lingas of these groups of 5 temples represent five elements. 

All these temples are thousands of years old. Ancient Yogic Science built these temples. This shows how highly advanced our ancient Yogic Science was.

you must visit these mysterious 7 ancient shiva temples in india

As per the sequence, below mentioned are the 7 most famous mysterious Shiva Temples in India. 

• Kedarnath (79.0669°)

• Kaleshwaram Mukteshwara Swamy (79.9067°)

• Srikalahasti (79.6984°)

• Ekambareswarar Kanchi (79.6997°)

• Thiruvannamalai (79.0669°)

• Chidambaram/ Nataraja (79.0676°)

• Rameshwara (79.3174°)

Kedarnath 

Kedarnath is situated at the RudraPrayag district of Uttra Khand. According to Hindu scriptures, Shiva appeared in the form of Jyotirlinga at 12 places in India. People worship the Shiva Lingas located at these 12 places as Jyotirlingas. Kedarnath is one of these. 

It is also one of the Char Dhams and Panch Kedar. Panch Kedar temples represents the five organs of Lord Shiva, and these temples are as follows:

• Kedarnath – Hump.
• Rudranath – Face.
• Kalpeshwar – Hairs or Jata 
• Madheshwar – Navel
• Tungnath – Arms 

The doors of Kedarnath remain open for the devotees only for 6 months. And later this route is closed due to heavy snowfall in winters. 

Fascinating Facts 

• One of the most fascinating thing about this temple is that it is surrounded by three mountains, these are: 
  • Kharch Kund – 21,066 ft.
  • Kedarnath – 22,000 ft. 
  • Bharat Kund – 22,000 ft.

• Another beautiful thing about this temple is that there are five rivers near this temple. Out of them only one is visible and the other fours are mythical, but it does exist. The names of these 5  rivers are: 
  • Mandakini (which is visible)
  • Maduganga 
  • Kheerganga 
  • Saraswati 
  • Swarna Gauri 
• There are a lot of stories about, “who built this temple”. But the most popular story says that it was built by Pandavas.

Pandavas in Search of  Shiva 

Let’s have a look at what happened after Mahabharata and why Pandavas built this temple. As we know what happened during Mahabharata but we are unaware of what happened after that. So let’s see. 

After the Kurukshetra battle, the Pandavas were accused of fratricide, a sin of killing family members. Shiva, angered by their actions, decided to meditate at Kedar. With determination, the Pandavas followed Shiva, disguised as a bull, and hid in a herd of animals. Bhima, a giant bull, attacked Shiva, forcing him to sink under the ground. Lord Shiva freed the Pandavas from sin and established himself in a bull’s back form, later worshiped as Kedarnath.

This is the reason why, Panch Kedaram represents the different body parts of Shiva. 

Now, let’s get over the next temple. 

Kaleshwaram Mukteswara Swamy

In Telangana, India exists a holy temple of Shiva at the Mahadevpur Mandal village, near the river Godavari. It is well known as Srikaleshwaram Mukteswara Swamy temple.  There are two Shiva Lingas on the same platform. Reflecting the dual impact of the energy of Shiva. 

Understanding the meaning of the name, Kaleshwaram or Kala means the one who takes life or Yama. Whereas, Mukteswara or Eshwara is the one who gives life, means Shiva. 

Collectively the name becomes Kaleshwaram Mukteswaram Swamy Temple. 

Fascinating Facts 

Here are some fascinating things about the temple:

• There’s an underground passage under the temple that reaches straight to Godavri. 
• This temple depicts the unique combination of life and death. 
• It represents that life and death are not distinct, they are the same. 

SriKalahasti 

Among the Pancha Bhoota Stalam, this temple represents the air element. Situated in the holy town of Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, this temple stands. It is 40 km away from the Tirupati Balaji Temple. 

According to the ancient beliefs, Lord Shiva was pleased by the devotion of a spider, a snake, and an elephant. So he placed himself here as a Jyotirlinga. This is why this temple is named so. 

Sri means spider, Kala means snake, and Hasti means elephant. 

Amazing Facts

Let’s see what’s amazing about this temple: 

• The priests of this temple never touch the Shiva Linga. 
• The Shiva Linga here takes a square shape.
• This is the only temple which never closes during eclipses. 
• Usually, devotees come here to offer prayers to Rahu and Ketu. So, it is also called “Rahu Temple”. 
• Rahu and Ketu are the planets responsible for the eclipse and they are worshiped here, which is the reason that this temple never closes on eclipse. 
• Another amazing thing about this temple is, the darshana of the Shiva linga is always observed only under the light of a lamp or deepak. 

Read our blog on  :-  Ancient Indian Culture for Modern Time

Ekambareswarar (Kanchipuram) 

Ekambareswarar or Kanchipuram temple is situated in the Kanchipuram town of Tamil Nadu. They made the Shiv Linga in this temple out of sand. It is believed that it was made by Goddess Parvat to perform penance to Lord Shiva hence it is also called Prithvi Lingam. This jyotirlinga represents the earth element. 

Fun Facts 

• They do not offer water to the Shiv Linga at this temple.
• They anoint Shiva here with Jasmine flowers.
• The rulers of the Pallava dynasty built it, but the story associates it with Shiva and Parvati.
• Inside the temple premises stands a mango tree believed to be more than 3500 years old.
• The devotees worship the trunk of the tree preserved in a silver frame.
• Another speciality of this temple is that there are 1008 shiva lingam inside the premises of the temple. 
• The special thing is that they made all the Shiva lingas from the same rock.
• It is the largest temple of Kanchipuram, spreading across a vast area of 20 acres. 
• It is also called “Thousand Pillar Temple” as there are 1000 temples in the hall of this temple.
• They carved 100 temples over each temple.
• It also has an entrance arc or Gopuram, 58 m long.

Thiruvannamalai 

Thiruvannamalai temple, also known as the Arunachaleshwarar , is a renowned Hindu temple located in a town, Tiruvannamalai of Tamil Nadu. It is a significant pilgrimage site for Shaivites. This temple associates with the fire element.

Shiva’s fiery contest 

Apart from the divinity of this temple, there’s a legend associated with. Let’s have a look at it: 

• Once lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu got into an argument about who was the supreme deity. 
• The argument escalated later, so Lord Shiva had to intervene to settle this conflict. 
• He proposed a contest where the one who could spot Shiva’s feet and crown will be the winner and attain the title of supreme hindu deity. 
• Shiva transformed himself into a massie column of fire that stretched beyond the heavens and reached the depths of earth. 
• Brahma took the form of a swan and flew above while Vishnu became a boar and started digging deep into the earth. 
• After a long search Vishnu surrendered but Brahma didn’t. 
• Brahma has the power of creation, so he creates a flower (Thazhambu), which recedes over Shiva’s crown. 
• He lied that he brought the flower from the crown of Shiva.
• Shiva got furious (that flower takes 40,000 years to reach ground after falling from Shiva’s head) and he cursed Brahma that the flower and Brahma will never be worshiped. 

Chidambaram

The Chidambaram or Nataraja temple dedicates itself to the Nataraja form of Lord Shiva. Situated in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu. The Shiva Lingam in this temple associates with the element of air. Still undiscovered, this temple holds numerous secrets.c  They call the innermost sanctum of the temple the “Chidambaram Rahasyam.”

Chidambaram Rahasya

A curtain hides this secret, and the public never opens it. This secret includes: 

• The thumb of the idol of Lord Shiva points towards the center point of the world’s magnetic equator. Even NASA has proved this too. 
• This temple dedicates itself to three forms of Shiva: Nataraja Swami, Spatikalingam, and Formless Brahmaroop.
• The credit to build this temple goes to Chola and Pallava kings. 
• They made the Mandapa of 21,600 gold layers, representing the total number of times a human being inhales and exhales.
• They used 72,000 nails to hold these gold layers together, representing the Nadis in the human body.

Rameshwaram

Rameshwaram temple is one of the most sacred pilgrimages of hindus. Situated in the Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu. The Shiva lingam in this temple is one out of 12 Jyotirlingas. The temple of Rameshwaram is a wonderful example of Indian construction and craftsmanship.

Amazing Facts 

• When observed from above, the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal surround this temple, giving it the appearance of a cone-shaped island.
• Once connected, huge ocean waves separated it from Indian land.
• Lord Rama had built a stone bridge here before his invasion of Lanka.
• Later, on the request of Vibhishana, Ram broke this bridge at Dhanushkoti salt place, the remains of which are still there.
• This temple holds the world’s longest corridor which is more than 400 feet long.   
• Another strange fact about the temple is that there are no mountains near the temple and there is no sufficient material available to build such an enormous structure. 

So, whenever you worship Shiva, just recall these temples. People do not worship through devotion and dedication, but rather through rules and regulations. Because: 

इस संसार में जो कुछ भी है वह शिव का है

और जो कुछ भी शिव का है वह शिव है।

This statement means that nothing is impure. Because everything belongs to shiva. There is no compulsion to go to the temple to worship Shiva; one can worship Shiva anytime, anywhere.

 Also, Shiva says: में हूँ पर में नहीं हूँ और जो नहीं है में वही हूँ 

FAQs

What is the sacred meridian in india which highlights mystery of 7 ancient shiva temples ?

This angle is thought to represent a hypothetical line linking the center of the Earth and the universe that passes through the temple.

Which five temples comes under Pancha Bhoota Stalam?

The Pancha Bhoota Stalam temples are Thiruvanaikaval, Thiruvanamalai, Srikalahasti, Kanchipuram, and Chidambaram, where each temple represents one of five fundamental elements. 

which ancient shiva temples are in straight lines?

The 7 temples situated on a straight line are as follows:

• Kedarnath 
• Kaleshwaram Mukteshwara Swamy 
• Srikalahasti 
• Ekambareswarar Kanchi
• Thiruvannamalai 
• Chidambaram/ Nataraja 
• Rameshwara