A Pilgrimage of Light: The Journey to the Twelve Jyotirlingas

Upon the sacred path, my soul does tread,  

A pilgrimage of fire, where light is led.  

Twelve shrines await, with glimmers pure,  

Each one a beacon, steadfast and sure.

Baidyanath, where healing winds blow,  

The balm for pain, where spirit shall grow.  

In the heart of the temple, a cure so divine,  

I walk the path where the sacred signs shine.  

Grishneshwar’s flame, a burning rose,  

In its embrace, the soul’s heart glows.  

Through endless cycles, through death and birth,  

The fire ignites the eternal rebirth.  

Triambakeshwar, where the trinity stands,  

The holy river flows through blessed lands.  

Here, creation, preservation, and dissolution,  

Blend as one in cosmic resolution.

Bhimasanker, the storm and grace,  

Where Shiva’s roar fills sacred space.  

The mountain trembles with divine might,  

And calls me onward in the deep of night.  

Mahakaleshwar, where time bows down,  

In the shadowed silence, the cosmic crown.  

The very pulse of existence beats,  

Where darkness and light, in balance, meet.  

Omkareshwar, the island of peace,  

Where the endless cycles of karma cease.  

The river whispers, the winds exhale,  

And the soul, in stillness, shall prevail.

Kedarnath, where snow and sky entwine,  

Where mountains chant hymns, and stars align.  

In the cold embrace of the highland air,  

The soul finds solace, beyond despair.  

Kashi, where the Ganges ever flows,  

And death is but a passage that bestows.  

The flame of life in the sacred night,  

Reveals the mysteries of the infinite light.  

Somnath, where the ocean kisses land,  

The temple stands, carved by God’s hand.  

A light of strength, unshaken, pure,  

A symbol of faith that shall endure.

Nageshwar, where serpents coil,  

And Shiva’s power dances in the soil.  

In the hallowed halls, I feel the pulse,  

Of life’s great mystery, both fierce and true.

Mallikarjuna, the hill where silence reigns,  

A temple where devotion breaks all chains.  

The echoes of love, both soft and strong,  

Call me to the heart where I belong.  

Rameswaram, where the seas divide,  

And the eternal Lord stands by the tide.  

The sacred shores, where prayers ascend,  

In waves of peace, to the world’s end.  

Through these twelve flames, the journey is made,  

In light and love, my spirit is swayed.  

A year of seeking, through earth and sky,  

Each Jyotirlinga a truth to verify.

Through all these paths, I journey wide,  

With faith as compass, and hope as guide.  

The twelve Jyotirlingas, in light arrayed,  

Each one a step, in the soul’s crusade.

Manifesting the dream, a life unbound,  

Where the fire of Shiva’s love is found.  

In each sacred ray, a truth unfurls,  

A journey eternal, through the world’s swirl.

-Ramisha Jain

31.12.2024

This poem is Ode to fulfilling My Pilgrim's Vow and completing the Jyotirlinga Yatra across India in six months.