Omkareshwar Temple all Information

This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga Shrines of Lord Shiva. It is located on an island in the Narmada River. This island is said to be in the shape of Hindu symbol i.e. ‘om’.

On this island there are two temples of Lord Shiva. One is Omkareshwar which means Lord of Omkaara or the lord of the om sound. Other one is Amaleshwar Temple. Amareshwar means lords of immortal or immortal lord or Devas.

Legend and History

There is more than one story related to this temple. The first is about Vindya, who was controlling Vindyachal Range. He worshipped Lord Shiva to seek forgiveness for his sins. He built a Jyotirlinga with mud and clay and also created a sacred geometrical diagram.

Lord Shiva was pleased with his worship and decided to appear in two forms. One was in the form of Omkareshwar and other one was Amaleshwar.

Since that sacred geometrical diagram had appeared in the shape of OM, this island came to be known as Omkareshwar. There is also shrine of five faced Ganapati and Parvati.

There is one more story related to this temple. It is about a war between Gods and Demons. Once upon a time the war was going on between Gods and Demons in which Demons won.

This was major setback for Gods to be defeated with Demons. They worshipped Lord Shiva. He was pleased with them and emerged in the form of Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga, and defeated the Demons.

There is a cave, which was found below the Shiva Temple. This cave is as Adi Shankara’s cave. It is said that Adi Shankara met his guru Govindapda in the Omkareshwar. In the cave, an image of Adi Shankara can be found that was installed here during that time.

How to reach

• The nearest domestic airport to Omkareshwar is Devi Ahillyabai Holkar Airport. This airport is far from Omkareshwar. It is located in Indore. It takes 2 hours 21 minutes to drive from Indore to Omkareshwar. There is an international airport named Raja Bhoj Airport, which is 264 km away.
• If you want to travel by train, the nearest railway station is Omkareshwar Railway Station, and it is approximately 12 km away from Omkareshwar. This railway station is located on the major Ratlam-khandwa railway line. Major cities of India is linked with it
• There are many state government and private buses that connects Omkareshwar to major cities like Khandwa, Ujjain, Nagpur, and Mumbai.

Things to do

• The Omkareshwar Temple is one of the holy temples in India. You will get amazed by the architecture, painting, and carvings of the place.
• There is temple of Gaudi Somnath. You can sit in the temple as long as you want. You can also enjoy the langar, and the play of monkeys.
• There is also Siddhanatha Temple which has wonderful elephant carvings around its base.
• There are other shrines in Omkareshwar such as Mamaleshwar temple, Satmatrika Temple, Ranmukteshwar Temple, Kedarshwar Temple and many more.