There are three major deities of Hinduism- Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. Ordinary human beings have tried to find all three in the elements of nature. Man of the three has first considered Lord Brahma in the form of conch, Shiva in the form of Shivalinga and Lord Vishnu in the form of Shaligram. It is noteworthy that the conch is a deity similar to the sun and the moon with Varuna in the middle, Brahma in the back and Ganga and Saraswati rivers in the front.
But Shivling and Shaligram are considered to be the deity form of God and according to the Puranas only this deity form of God should be worshiped. While Shivling is the symbol of Lord Shankar, Shaligram is the symbol of Lord Vishnu. Shivling has millions of temples in India, but Shalgramji has only one temple. Let us know what is the ultimate – the origin of Shaligramji and the secret of worship.
Temple of Shaligram:The famous temple of Shaligram is located in Muktinath. It is one of the major temples of Vaishnava sect. This shrine is famous for Lord Shaligram. The journey to Muktinath is quite difficult. It is believed that people get relief from all kinds of sufferings from here.
Muktinath is located in Nepal. To visit Muktinath from Kathmandu, one has to go to Pokhara. From there the journey begins. Pokhara can be reached by road or air. From there you have to go to Jomsom again. From here you can take a helicopter or flight to Muktinath. Passengers can also travel by bus. To reach Pokhara by road, a total of 200 km. Has to be covered.
Get to know Shaligram: Like Shivling, Shaligram is also very rare. Mostly Shaligram is found on the banks of Kali Gandaki river, Muktinath, Nepal. Apart from black and brown Shaligram, it is even more rare to find white, blue and luminous Shaligram. The shape of the wheel of Lord Vishnu is inscribed in the complete Shaligram.
Types of Shaligram: Shaligram is found according to the incarnations of Vishnu. If Shaligram is round then that form of Vishnu is Gopal. And if Shaligram is in the shape of a fish, then it symbolizes the fish incarnation of Sri Vishnu. If Shaligram is in the shape of a tortoise then it is a symbol of the tortoise and Kurma incarnation of God. Apart from this, the chakras and lines that emerge on Shaligram also indicate other incarnations of Vishnu and people belonging to the family of Lord Krishna.
Thus there are about 33 types of Shaligrams out of which 24 types are considered to be related to 24 incarnations of Vishnu. It is believed that all these 24 Shaligrams are related to the 24 Ekadashi fasts of the year.
