Visit to the Temple of Omkareshwar Near Indore in India

There are many worshippers of lord Shiva in India as compared to the other gods. There are 12 lord Shiva temples, situated all over India, that have swayambhoo lingams. All these places are the most vital places of pilgrimage for all the Hindus. One such place is the temple of Omkareshwar that is located at around 48 miles from the City of Indore in the State of Madhya Pradesh. The pilgrims keep on visiting this holy place from all over the India and even from a broad.

Omkareshwar can be reached by all the three ways of transport available in India. The nearest airport is Indore. The nearest railway station is Omkarnath Road on Ratlam-Khandava line, which is only 7 miles away. There are regular buses and taxis available from city of Indore. It is advisable to stay at Indore and then, travel here by road in hired car or taxi. This is due to the fact that there are no good hotels available to stay here at Omkareshwar. There is a dharmshala available to stay in case some pilgrims want to stay here. However, this dharmshala has only very limited facilities to offer and may be very dirty. The rooms are also not up to the mark. It is advisable to carry our own bottled drinking water with some food items also.

This famous temple is situated at the bank of rivers Narmada and Kaveri. The way to Shiva lingam is rather long and can cause you wait of around an hour on Mondays and other special days. The lingam of Shiva is around 18 inches high and black in color. The shape is not exactly circular but slightly elliptical. The constant abhishek of milk is done on this lingam all through the day. You can perform all types of religious rituals like Rudri, bilipatra abhishek, and milk abhishek here. The temple opens at 6.30 am with the morning arthi. There are two ways of reaching the temple, by walking from the parking lot or through the rowing boat by crossing the river. The option of reaching by boat may not be preferred as it can take lot of time due to heavy rush of pilgrims. You need to walk around half a mile and climb around 300 steps in all to reach inside the temple near the lingam. There is also a famous temple of Jain and Hindus combined showing the statues of all 24 Jain tirthanars. This temple is made in the Brahmin style of 15^th century. The Suryavanshi king Mandhata had prayed here for lord Shiva on the river bank on an island. That is why this island is called Mandhata. The Sidhanath temple is the next place to be seen. The stone architecture of elephants is worth seeing here. Sat Matruka temple is the next spot to be seen. This temple is only 3 miles away from Omkareshwar. The caves of Kajalrani are located around 5 miles from Omkareshwar. These caves have the most artistic sculptures and stone engravings. All these places can be covered within around 4 to5 hours and then, you can return back to Indore by late in the evening. Thus, the visit to the Omkareshwar can be completed in one day from Indore.

The road from Indore to Omkareshwar is not that good and can take long time to drive this distance of 50 miles. Also, make sure that your vehicle is in tip top condition and is not likely to break down in the way. Try to avoid visiting Omkareshwar on Mondays and during the days of Maha Shivratri in February so as to beat the great rush of pilgrims during these days. The area near Omkareshwar is slightly underdeveloped and hence, you may not be able to get all the facilities you may be used to. However, darshan of lord Shiva must be given top priority and all other aspects naturally come thereafter. Experience of slow boating in the River of Narmada and Kaveri during the evening hours is simply out of the world and you feel as if you continue boating till the eternity without any disturbance from the physical world. How would you like to visit this Shiva temple during your next visit to India?