Nageshwar Temple – Timings, Poojas and History

Nageshwar Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga Shrines mentioned in Shiva Purana. The Jyotirlinga is in an underground sanctum.
The major attraction of this temple is a 25 meter tall statue of Lord Shiva in a large garden with a pond surrounding the statue.

Are you visiting this temple? Take a look at our tour package for jyotirlinga in Maharashtra.

5 of the 12 Jyotirlingas are located in the state of Maharashtra. (Know more about them)

Located on the route between Dwarka city and Beyt Dwarka Island, this Shiva Temple lies on the coast of Saurashtra in Gujarat.

What is the history of Nageshwar Temple?

According to the history of Nageshwar Temple, the story behind this Nageshvara Jyotirlinga temple is not just one. Two legends relate to the existence of this numinous temple. The first story goes hundered years back in Shiva Purana, about a demon couple named Daruka and Daruki.

Now known as Dwarka (the city), it was earlier “Darukavana” (forest in which this couple stayed) named after them. Daruka’s wife Daruki was a devotee of Goddess Parvati.

But, Daruka was a cruel demon with sadistic characteristic; who found joy in troubling folks around. One day he imprisoned an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva named as Supriya with several others. Also, Daruka misused the blessings granted to him and tormented the local folks by one means or the other. While in captivity Supriya advised all others to enchant the mantra “Om Namaha Shivaye” loudly.

She said this mantra has enough power to protect them all. Then Daruka came to know about this and in anger went to kill her; is when Lord Shiva appeared in the form of Jyotirlinga from the earth. Though Shiva couldn’t kill the demon because of the blessings granted to him by his wife, but Parvati he assured Supriya and all others that he would protect them all in the form of a linga.

The jyotirlinga in Darukavana

According to another fable (in local folklore), a group of dwarf sages known as “Balakhilyas” worshipped Lord Shiva in Darukavana for an extremely long time. To test their persistence as well devotion Lord Shiva came to them as a nude ascetic wearing only nagas i.e. serpents on his body.

All the wives of the sages got attracted to him and went after them leaving behind their husbands. This action made all the sages livid and made them curse the ascetic to lose his linga. Hence, the Shiva linga fell on earth and the whole earth trembled. Then appeared Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma who requested him to save the planet from getting destroyed and to take back his linga. After consoling the sages, Lord Shiva then took back his linga and promised his divine presence in the form of jyotirlinga in Darukavana forever.

What is the significance of Nageshwar Temple?

Significance of Nageshwar Temple is that the powerful Jyotirlinga protects devotees from all kinds of poison. Devotees also belive that the one who prays to the lord becomes free of poison i.e.negativities. The lingam at Nageshwar is unique as it consists of a stone popularly known as the Dwarka Stone.

The lingam is an oval rudrakshara with three faces, which means the tears of Shiva.

The Rudra Samhita shloka refers to Nageshwar with the phrase ′Daarukaavane Naagesham′.

Nageshwar Mahadev Sivalingam is facing South while the Gomugam is facing east. There is a story behind this position. A devotee named as Naamdev was singing bhajans in front of the Lord, this when the other devotees asked him to stand aside and not hide the Lord. To this Naamdev asked them to suggest one direction in which the Lord does not exist, hence he can then stand there.  The infuriated devotees carried him and left him on the south. To their astonishment, they found that the Linga was now facing South with the Gomugam facing east.

What are the timings of Nageshwar Temple?

Here are the timings of Nageshwar Temple:

Timings	From	To
Darshan	6 AM	9 PM
Shringar Darshan	4 PM	4:30 PM
Shayan Aarti	7 PM	7:30 PM
Close	9 PM	9:30 PM

What are the sevas and poojas performed at Nageshwar Jyotirlinga?

Various poojas take place at Nageshwar Jyotirlinga and have different charges.

Rudraabhishek, the pooja conducted when Shiva is in it’s rudra (angry) form. The Shiva Linga is washed with water which continuously keeps pouring over it through a vessel along with continuous chanting of mantras (Dudhabhishek).

There are various other forms of abhishekam and poojas known as rudrabhishek with bhog, ek somvar (one Monday), chaar somvaar (four Mondays), Laghurudra and Shravan.

What are the Festivals Celebrated at Nageshwar Temple?

As the temple is for Lord Shiva, the main festival here is Mahashivratri . During this festival the devotees decorate the lingam with flowers and conduct the abhishek with milk.

How to Reach Nageshwar Temple?

Here’s how to reach Nageshwar Temple:

• Air- The nearest airport is that of Jamnagar which is 137 kms.

• Rail- There are trains which even connect the way down to south through Vadodra, Surat, Mumbai, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala.

• Road- There are direct buses available from Jamnagar and Ahmedabad

Nageshwar jyotirlinga to somnath jyotirlinga distance

It takes around 4-5 hours by road to reach Somnath Jyotirlinga from Nageshwar temple.

Where to stay nearby?

There are various places to accommodate you comfortably within a reasonable budget. A few of them are – Hotel Guruprerna, Hotel Meera, Hotel Damji. Hotel Dwarka Residency and Hotel Gomti.

Where to Eat nearby?

The best places nearby to satiate your hunger would be Charmi Restaurant and Hotel Prasad.

Nageshwar jyotirlinga temple live darshan

Live darshan is not available for this temple. You need to travel to Gujarat to visit this divine jyotirlinga.

Where are some temples nearby?

Some of the temples near Nageshwar Temple are:

Rukshmani Mandir – Rukshamanee/ Rukshmani Mandir is an important place of pilgrimage and is dedicated to the most adored consort of Krishna, Devi Rukmini. A masterpiece in artistic terms, this temple has embellished walls and carvings which are treat for one’s eyes. Also, the rich paintings on the walls of this 12th century temple portray Rukmini’s times spent with her husband. This temple is located in the main city of Dwarka.

Bhadkeshwar Mahadev Temple – Located at a distance of 18.2 kms from Nageshwar Jyotirlinga, the temple is dedicated to Lord Chandra Mouliswar Shiva. The temple is on the hillock on the sea. During high tide water surrounds the temple and a fair takes place here every year on the day of Mahashivratri.

Shree Dwarkadish Temple – Also known as the Jagat Mandir this temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna also known as the “King of Dwarka”. It is at a distance of 17.3 kms from Nageshwar Jyotirlinga and consists of 5 storied building, 72 pillars and this temple is about 2,200 years old. It is a Pushtimarg temple, therefore it follows the guidelines and rituals of Shree Vallabhacharya and Shree Vitheleshnathji.

Gomti Ghat Temples – Gomati Ghat in Gujarat has plentiful of temples that are devoted to Lord Krishna, Lord Rama, Lord Shiva, and Sudama, who was Lord Krishna’s closest friend. The temples around this ghat present an amazing view of River Gomati which the people worship since 100 years ago. To get a glimpse of Dwarka, one can hire a boat and sail across the river. Moreover, the Gomati Ghat Temples are just at the entrance of the Dwarkadhish temple. It is this place where River Gomati meets the vast sea. There are many small temples which have shrines also.