Morning Arti at Jageshwar

Jageshwar is Shiva’s abode and I’d been told that Jageshwar is where Nagesh, the 8th among the Dwadasa Jyotirlingas (the twelve resplendent lingas of Shiva) exists within the forest of Deodar or daruka.

So, there was no way one could miss being present for the morning arti. Rising early and taking a quick bath at Van Serai, we headed to the temple complex around 4:15 in the morning. Surprisingly, at this time of the year, in May, there wasn’t anyone around. We had the place totally to ourselves. In the breaking dawn, the entire temple complex exuded calmness and serenity, which was no way broken by the sound of the conch shell, a part of the morning ritual. First, we went inside the Mahamritunjaya Mahadev temple. The purohit applied a chandan tika on our foreheads. We sat down for a while and were lost in meditation. Then, I strolled around on the stone pathway admiring the various small and large stone temples, such as the Pushti Devi and the Batuk Bhairav temples. I also noticed the small pond filled with lotus plants and its beautiful flowers and swimming leaves; and watched a stream gurgling along close by.

It knew where to go! And then we were in front of the Nageshwar Mahadev temple. Going inside, we did a ‘jal abhishekam’, i.e., poured a potful of water over the lingam. The purohit gave us some flowers as

prasad. We heard the stories and read the ASI inscription which stated that the temples were over 400 years old and were built during the Katyuri and Chand dynasties. Even Adi Shankaracharya had renovated and re-established some temples on his way to Kedarnath. I marveled at the human endeavor and spirit that resulted in these structures being still alive and standing. These ancient temples weren’t built for prayer; they were powerful energized spaces for human wellbeing. One just needed to sit there and imbibe the energies of these consecrated spaces so that one