Shiva is a Hindu deity. As one of the Trimurti (supreme trinity) in the Hindu pantheon among Brahma and Vishnu, there are a number of temples dedicated to his worship in India and abroad. In Hinduism, Shiva is the supreme being regarded to perform the functions of creation, preservation, as well as the destruction of the universe.[1]Hindu texts describe the worship of Shiva and the establishment of temples and shrines throughout the Indian subcontinent, commonly in the aniconic form of a lingam. The most prominent of these are the Jyotirlinga temples.[2]
The 12 Jyotirlinga temples
The 12 Jyotirlinga temples as mentioned in the Shiva Purana are :-[3]
The Pancharama Kshetras (or the Pancharamas) are five ancient Hindu temples of Shiva situated in Andhra Pradesh. The lingams at these temples are made from a single lingam. As per the legend, this lingam was owned by the demon king Tarakasura. No one could win over him due to the power of this lingam. Finally, Kartikeya, the son of Shiva broke the lingam into five pieces and killed Tarakasura. The five pieces of lingam fell at five different places on earth namely,
The deity Kashiswar Jiu with the gauripatta in the temple.
Kashiswar Jiu temple is in Andul of Howrah district near the Saraswati river, West Bengal in India. The presiding deity is a Banlinga which was recovered from the river in mid 17th century by Kashiswar Datta Chowdhury, a local zamindar. In 18th century a stone made yoni-like structure (Gauripatta) that symbolizes goddess Shakti has been attached with the lingam after Bargi attacked in 1741 AD. The deity is considered to be one of the oldest in the district.
Other deities with Kashiswar Jiu
Deities
Year
Biseshwara
1785 AD
Nakuleshwara
19th century circa
Saurendra Mohaneshwara
18th century circa
The temples are presently run by SrisriKashiswar Debottur Trust.
