Omkareshwar

ओंकारेश्वर

Shiva · Omkareshwar

Jyotirlinga (Pranava linga)

Mandhata, Omkareshwar, Khandwa district, Madhya Pradesh · Shaiva tradition

The Shiva Purana's list of the twelve Jyotirlingas names Parameshvara in Omkara, and its chapter on the shrine describes the Omkara linga as twofold.

The story begins: “Narada, travelling after worshipping the linga at Gokarna, comes to the Vindhya mountain.”

Read the story
Directions

At the gate

Darshan hours
  • 5:00 am – 12:20 pm · Mangal darshan
  • 1:15 pm – 4:00 pm · Madhyanha darshan
Next aarti or puja (India time)
See the schedule below
Getting there
Train: SanawadAir: Devi Ahilyabai Holkar International Airport, Indore

Not yet confirmed: dress code, phone rules, entry for visitors of other faiths, walking distance. Ask at the temple office or enquiry counter — and if you know, tell us. hello@aalayakatha.com

Full visiting details

Sthala purana

The story of this place

2 accounts are recorded. Each is told separately, in the words of its own tradition — they are never merged.

Family note: this story includes adult themes.
Told in: The Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 18

The mountain that wanted to be higher

Narada, travelling after worshipping the linga at Gokarna, comes to the Vindhya mountain. Vindhya, lord of the mountains, receives him with honour and, in the course of the visit, tells him that he lacks nothing: everything is present in him. Narada sighs. Everything is present in you, he answers, but Meru is loftier. Then he leaves.

The remark stays with Vindhya. He resolves to propitiate Shiva and goes to Omkara to do it. There he makes an earthen image of Shiva and meditates before it for six months.

Shiva appears, with Parvati, and offers him a wish. Vindhya asks for an intellect equal to the purpose he has in mind. Shiva considers the request and sees that a boon of that kind could be turned to harming others. He grants it in a form that will serve Vindhya without injuring anyone else, and tells him to do as he pleases.

The gods and sages then ask Shiva to remain at the place, and he agrees.

Here the Purana makes a statement that the rest of the temple's tradition turns on. The linga of Shiva known as Omkara, it says, is twofold. In the pranava — the syllable Om — Sadashiva is known as Omkara; and what was born of Vindhya's earthen image became Parameshvara. Both, the text says, grant worldly enjoyment and liberation. The gods and sages worship and receive boons, Vindhya's despair ends, and the chapter promises that those who worship here will not return to a mother's womb.

The episode explains why one Jyotirlinga is spoken of under two names and at two shrines. The list of twelve in the same samhita gives it as Parameshvara in Omkara. The temple trust today places the Jyotirlinga at Omkareshwar and the other part at Mamleshwar, also called Amreshwar, across the river — the same twofold division, read on the ground, and the root of the disagreement between lists over which shrine is the Jyotirlinga.

Where this account comes from

  • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 18.1-27 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org
  • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 1.21-24 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org
  • Temple administration: Shri Omkareshwar Temple Trust, Main Temple shriomkareshwar.org · seen 2026-10-09
Told in: The temple account as published by the Shri Omkareshwar Temple Trust

King Mandhata on the island

King Mandhata of the Ikshvaku dynasty meditates at this place on the Narmada, and Shiva appears and blesses him; the temple trust gives this as the reason Omkareshwar resides here. The island on which the temple stands, also called Shivpuri, carries his name. The trust presents this as one version of the temple's origin alongside the Vindhya account, and gives no further detail or textual source for it.

Read this account

King Mandhata of the Ikshvaku line meditates at this place on the Narmada. Shiva appears to him and blesses him, and the temple trust gives this as the reason Omkareshwar resides here.

The island on which the main temple stands is called Mandhata after him, as well as Shivpuri. The Narmada divides around it, and the trust describes its shape as resembling the syllable Om.

The trust presents this as one version of the temple's origin, alongside the Puranic account of the Vindhya mountain. The published version is brief: it does not say how long Mandhata meditated, what he asked for, or which text the account comes from, and those details are not supplied here.

Where this account comes from

  • Temple administration: Shri Omkareshwar Temple Trust, Main Temple shriomkareshwar.org · seen 2026-10-09

In one minute

Why Omkareshwar matters

Each line says who it comes from and how settled it is. What the labels mean

  1. The Shiva Purana's list of the twelve Jyotirlingas names Parameshvara in Omkara, and its chapter on the shrine describes the Omkara linga as twofold.

    2 sources for: The Shiva Purana's list of the twelve Jyotirlingas names Parameshvara in Omkara,
    • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 1.21-24 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org
    • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 18.22-23 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org

  2. The temple stands on Mandhata island, around which the Narmada divides, and the island's outline is held to resemble the syllable Om.

    Source for: The temple stands on Mandhata island, around which the Narmada divides, and the
    • Temple administration: Shri Omkareshwar Temple Trust, Main Temple shriomkareshwar.org · seen 2026-10-09

  3. The temple trust places the Jyotirlinga at Omkareshwar and the physical linga at Mamleshwar, also called Amreshwar.

    Source for: The temple trust places the Jyotirlinga at Omkareshwar and the physical linga at
    • Temple administration: Shri Omkareshwar Temple Trust, Main Temple shriomkareshwar.org · seen 2026-10-09

  4. The temple rises through five floors, each dedicated to a deity: Omkareshwar, Mahakaleshwar, Siddhnath, Gupteshwar, and a flag-bearing deity at the top.

    Source for: The temple rises through five floors, each dedicated to a deity: Omkareshwar, Ma
    • Temple administration: Shri Omkareshwar Temple Trust, Main Temple shriomkareshwar.org · seen 2026-10-09

Shilpa

When you visit, look for…

Nagara

The temple trust describes the main temple as in the North Indian style with a high spire. The trust does not state who built it or when.

  • Spire

    Five floors, five deities

    Each storey of the temple is dedicated to a deity: Omkareshwar, Mahakaleshwar, Siddhnath, Gupteshwar, and a flag-bearing deity at the top.

  • Sanctum

    The sanctum that does not line up

    The older sanctum is a small temple with a dome of stone courses, facing north on the southern edge of the river bank. The newer, larger structure faces south, which the trust gives as the reason the sanctum and deity do not align with the main door or the new spire.

    Where to stand: At the main door, looking toward the sanctum.

  • Great hall

    The pillared hall

    The assembly hall is carried on 60 massive pillars.

  • Detail

    Mandhata island

    The Narmada splitting into two around the island, about 4 km long and 2 km wide by the trust's figures.

  • Sacred water

    Narmada

    Devotees bathe in the river before offering water, flowers and coconuts.

Yatra

Plan your visit

Darshan times

Mangal Aarti and bhog4:30 am – 5:00 am
Mangal darshan5:00 am – 12:20 pm
Madhyanha bhogDarshan closed.12:20 pm – 1:15 pm
Madhyanha darshan1:15 pm – 4:00 pm
Sayamkalin shringarThe trust's page gives both 16:15 and 16:30 as the end of this slot.4:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Shringar darshan4:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Shayan Aarti9:30 pm – 10:00 pm
Shayan darshan10:00 pm – 10:30 pm

Confirm on the day. Times change on festival days and without notice.

Before you go

  • Darshan is closed before 05:00, after 22:30, and during aarti and shringar.
  • Offerings such as bilva leaves, flowers or coconuts may at times not be allowed into the garbhagriha.
  • Timings may change on festivals and special occasions.

Walking, steps and access

We have not yet confirmed how much walking or climbing is involved, or whether there is wheelchair access. If you are travelling with elders, ask at the temple office or the devasthanam enquiry counter before you set out.

Crowds: Crowds are larger during festivals.

Getting there

  • By air: Devi Ahilyabai Holkar International Airport, Indore · about 77 km
  • By train: Sanawad · about 12 kmMEMU trains to Khandwa. Khandwa Junction, 72 km, has express and superfast services.
  • By road: Mortakka bus stand · about 12 kmRegular buses to Indore, Ujjain, Khargone and Khandwa; taxis from Indore or Khandwa.

PIN 450554 (not yet checked with India Post)

Sevas

  • Shighra DarshanPaid quick darshan.₹300Book

Prices as published by the temple when we checked. They change; the temple’s booking site is final.

The order of darshan

No published source gives the order in which to visit the shrines here, so we have not invented one. Follow the queue and the temple staff.

Festivals

  • Monday Palki (Dola)

    Every Monday; grandest Jul–Aug · Shravana

    Every Monday a golden palanquin carrying a three-faced image of Omkareshwar goes in procession, beginning with worship at the riverbank. The procession is especially grand in Shravan.

  • Maha Shivaratri

    Feb–Mar · Magha, Krishna paksha, Chaturdashi

    The principal annual festival of Shiva. We have not yet found the temple's own account of how it is observed here.

Customs you will see here

Itihasa

Through time

Two registers, kept apart on purpose: what the Puranas tell, and what the historical record shows. They answer different questions and we do not force them to agree.

In the Puranas and tradition

  1. Vindhya's penance and the twofold linga

    The Shiva Purana's origin account. The Purana does not say in which yuga this happened.

    Source for: Vindhya's penance and the twofold linga
    • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 18.1-27 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org

  2. Shiva blesses King Mandhata

    The temple trust's alternative origin account. No yuga is given.

    Source for: Shiva blesses King Mandhata
    • Temple administration: Shri Omkareshwar Temple Trust, Main Temple shriomkareshwar.org · seen 2026-10-09

In the historical record

  1. Three daily worships by three bodies

    The morning worship is performed by the temple trust, the afternoon worship by priests of the Scindia family, and the evening worship by priests of the Holkar family. The published account does not say when this arrangement began.

    Source for: Three daily worships by three bodies
    • Temple administration: Shri Omkareshwar Temple Trust, Main Temple shriomkareshwar.org · seen 2026-10-09

Around here

Worth the detour

  • Temple

    Mamleshwar (Amreshwar)

    Across the river; the trust identifies it as the physical linga of the divided Omkara form, and some lists name it as the Jyotirlinga.

  • Temple

    Mahakaleshwar, Ujjain

    The third Jyotirlinga; buses run between Omkareshwar and Ujjain.

  • Ghat

    Narmada riverbank

    Where devotees bathe before darshan and where the Monday palanquin procession begins.

Sources

Where this page comes from

  • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 1.21-24 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org
  • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 18.22-23 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org
  • Temple administration: Shri Omkareshwar Temple Trust, Main Temple shriomkareshwar.org · seen 2026-10-09
  • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 18.1-27 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org

Cite this page

Aalaya Katha Foundation, “Omkareshwar”, Aalaya Katha, version last reviewed 2026-10-09. https://www.aalayakatha.com/temple/omkareshwar (accessed ).

Last reviewed 2026-10-09. How we label sources and confidence