Story of Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga

There are 12 Jyotirlingas located across India and the one at Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh is called Mallikarjuna. It is considered a very auspicious location as it has a Jyotirlinga as well as a Maha Shaktipeeth at the same location.

In this article I will be covering the story behind the origin of Mallikarjuna as per what is mentioned about it in Shiva Purana.

Argument of Kartikeya and Ganesha!

The story begins when Kartikeya and Ganesha get into an argument about who amongst them should get married first. As they are not able to resolve the matter within themselves they approach their parents Shiva and Parvati. Shiva proposes a contest that whoever is able to circumnavigate the world and return back first will be considered the winner and will be married first.

Kartikeya thinks that he will easily win this contest as his ride the peacock is much faster than Ganesha’s mouse. He immediately gets on his peacock and rushes ahead. Ganesha looks at his brother departing and stays fixed pondering over the situation. After a while he gets on top of his mouse and start going around Shiva and Parvati. After completing the circle around his parents, Ganesha gets off from the mouse. Shiva asks him what was he doing, to which Ganesha replies that he was asked to go around the world and he considers his parents his whole world that is why he went around them.

Shiva and Parvati are really impressed by Ganesha’s clever response and get him married to Riddhi (which signifies Prosperity) and Siddhi (which signifies Spirituality). This is the reason why people looking for financial prosperity pray to Ganesha and all religious functions and ceremonies are initiated by invoking Ganesha first.

Anger and Resentment of Kartikeya!

When Kartikeya return to his home in mount Kailash he finds out that his parents got Ganesha married. He feels he has been cheated by Ganesha and feels resentful that his parents did not object to the trickery by Ganesha. In his anger he leaves his home and moves far away in southern direction till he reaches mount Kraunch.

Shiva and Parvati are really saddened by this incident and go to visit Kartikeya in mount Kraunch. On seeing them approach the mountain Kartikeya moves a bit further southwards but is stopped by the gods who convince him not to go too far.

Shiva and Parvati stay on top of mount Kraunch and visit Kartikeya one by one. Shiva visits him on Amavasya night and Parvati visits him on Poornima. This sequence continues for a while.

As Shiva and Parvati appeared together on this site it is considered highly auspicious and it is considered that even if a person just looks at the mountain top he will be freed from his sorrows.

Significance of the Mallikarjuna Temple!

Every year hundreds of thousands of pilgrims visit Mallikarjuna temple as it considered to grant you prosperity instantly and make your sorrows disappear. Praying to the jyotirlinga inside the temple is considered as effective as performing an Ashwamedha Yagya, which was performed by kings in the ancient times.

It is believed that the temple in it’s current architecture with the famous Gopuram dome was constructed by Chalukya kings. This temple holds special significance for Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims.

Om Namah Shivay!