Lord Shiva is praised for many reasons and is the presiding deity of five elements that is Air, Water, Earth, Sky, and Fire. These five elements are building blocks of everything which exists on this earth. This Mahashivratri plan a getaway to these five temples which are solely dedicated to Lord Shiva and have some interesting facts behind them.

• EKAMBARESHWARAR TEMPLE, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu

Who hasn’t caught wind of Kanchipuram silk? Be that as it may, EKAMBARESHWARAR TEMPLE is increasingly celebrated than the city silk, nearly in presence since 600AD EKAMBARESHWARAR Temple delineates one of the five components of presence that is EARTH. It has been said that once Goddess Parvati was in atonement under a mango tree and to test her dedication Lord Shiva sent Ganga to disrupt her atonement. In remembrance, Parvati made Shiv Lingam under that mango tree. The Shiva lingam is comprised of sand and to keep it from mutilation the Abhishekam is finished by Jasmine oil. Inside the sanctuary stands a mango tree which is very nearly 3000 years of age as said by local people.

• THILLAI NATARAJA TEMPLE, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu

The admirers of Thillai Natraja worship the subtlest of the five components- ‘SKY’. The walla of this temple say a ton regarding Lord Shiva. As the legend continues, when meandering through Mangroves of Chidambaram, the people ladies were captivated by the magnificence of Lord Shiva seeing this the Rishis were incensed and summoned scores of serpents and furious tiger which was utilized by Shiva as his adornments. Further, the sages summoned an Elephant and an evil spirit that was squashed under the feet of Lord Shiva began and began Ananda Tandava (Dance of bliss). The symbol of Nataraja in Chidambaram portrays Lord Shiva doing Ananda tandava.

• KALAHASTEESHWRA TEMPLE, Srikalahasti, Andhra Pradesh

Delineating the air component it has been said that Lord Shiva exists here as Vayu-linga. Situated on the banks of Swarnamukhi Temple Kalahasteeswara temple holds incredible significance among pilgrims. Consistently on the day of Mahashivratri individuals from around the nation come here to praise their lord. As scholarly by numerous Once Vayu Deva appealed to Lord shiva that to be present in each living being then Lord Shiva manifested himself into white lingam which is currently known as Karpoora Linga. Priests of the temple never contact this Linga by their own hands and this has been a mystery for hundreds of years. The main Gopuram was crumpled in the year 2010 and now it is under development. One can see the Lingam move when ministers close entryways however that room doesn’t have any window and it is considered that Vayu-Lingam is self-manifested.

• JAMBUKESWARAR TEMPLE, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu

Being the thirteenth biggest temple in India, this sanctuary is around 1800 years of age.

Mahashivratri marks the marriage of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati yet Jambukeshwarar temple delineates the diverse relationship of Shiva and Parvati. Back then Goddess Parvati discovered Jambu Forest to perform out the penance tailing she made Lingam from water which is presently referred to as Appu-Lingam and as Legend goes then Lord Shiva appeared to her to give Shiva-Gnana. Though this indicated the Guru-Shishya relationship. And if you notice both the deities have been placed opposite to one another and the Rishis of the temple dress up like a woman every day. Here Lord Shiva is revered as Appu-Lingam and in the hallowed place of the temple a water stream continues streaming under the lingam, it has been seen that this stream never evaporates.

• ARUNACHALESWARAR TEMPLE, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu

Situated in Thiruvannamalai, this temple portrays the Fire element. Also, it is the most visited temple all over India. As the story states, Once Goddess Parvati playfully closed the eyes of Shiva which caused a blackout for a large number of years in the entire universe thus as to give light Shiv showed up on the slopes of Annamalai in Thiruvannamalai in the form of fire which delivered enough light for the universe. Since then Lord Shiva is worshiped as Agni-Lingam.