Omkareshwar Temple is on an island named Mandhata or Shivapuri in the Narmada River in Khandwa district. It is one of the 12 revered Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva. It is about 12 miles (20 km) from Mortakka in Madhya Pradesh. The shape of the island is said to be like the Hindu Om symbol. There are two temples here, Omkareshwar (whose name means "OM-maker-lord") and Amareshwar (whose name means "immortal lord" or "lord of the immortals").

What is a Jyotirlinga? A Jyotirlinga or Jyotirling or Jyotirlingam is a shrine where Lord Shiva, an aspect of God in Hinduism is worshipped in the form of a Jyotirlingam or "Lingam of light." 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 and 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 12 Jyotirlinga shrines in India as per the Shiva Purana: at Somnath, Srisailam, Ujjain, Omkareshwar, Bhimashankar (near Pune), Kedarnath, Varanasi, Nasik, Baidyanath, Nageswara, Rameswaram and Grishneswara.

How to reach: Omkareshwar Road is about 77 km from Indore on the Indore–Khandwa highway. It is about 12 km (7 mi) from the Omkareshwar road station. There are boats to cross the Narmada River and also two connecting bridges. You can reach Omkareshwar from Khandwa 72 km away. There are many buses are available from Khandwa. One can also go from Khandwa to Sanawad and then get bus to Omkareshwar or a broad gauge train form Khandwa to Omkareshwar Road Station.

Places to visit:

Shri Omkar Mandhata: The temple stands on a one mile long, half mile wide island formed by the fork of the Narmada. The temple is made of soft stone and ornamented by the legendary King Mandhata of Sun family and the city is also founded by Mandhata. The frieze figures on the upper portion are the most striking. Also intricately carved is the stone roof of the temple. Encircling the shrine are verandahs with columns which are carved in circles, polygons and squares. Climbing of 300 steps one could find a temple of 5 faced Ganesha. The 5 storied Omkareshwar temple stands on the plinth of 101 columns. On the 1^st floor the idol of Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga, on the 2^nd floor Mahakaleshwar, on the 3^rd Siddhanat Shiva, on the 4^th Gupteshwar in a small attached room and on the 5^th under gold -mounted top in a small chamber a trident or Dhwajdhari Dwijeshwar smeared with vermilion. The whole landscape is visible from the top and close by is the confluence of Cauveri and Narmada.

On the left of Omkarnath, on the lower slope there is Shankaracharya cave where the statue of Acharya is being installed and beside the cave there is Koti Tirtha Ghat. The Baji Rao the 2^nd Peshwa of Pune in the 18^th century built a new temple on the right embankment of Narmada over the light green Birkhala Mountain. The deity of Amareshwar or Manilleshwar was installed at that time. After climbing some 300 flights of steps in the Birkhala hill, is Gouri-SomnathTemple, the idol is a black Shivalinga and Nandi is made of green stone. At the point where Narmada flows divided two streams, there is a Vishnu Temple. Beside Bereha, there is huge statue of Vishnu in 24 incarnations, made of green stone and also the Idol of Chamundeshwari (12 yards tall). 6 km away Saptamatrika temple of the 10^th century is also the interesting sots for tourists.

Siddhnath: Temple A find example of early medieval Brahminic architecture. Its unique feature is a frieze of elephants carved upon a stone slab at its outer perimeter.

24 Avtars: A cluster of Hindu and Jain temples, remarkable for their skillful use of varied architectural modes.

Satmatrika: Temples: 6 km from Omkareshwar, a group of 10th century temples.
Kajal Rani Cave: 9 km from Omkareshwar, this is a particularly picturesque scenic spot, with a panoramic view of the broad acres and gently undulating landscape that stretches in unbroken harmony till the horizon.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 January 2010 20:48