Pancha Mahabhutatmak Shiva Temples (Lord Shiva's Places full of Five Great Elements)

There are five Lord Shiva's Places (Temples) across India which offer the similar benefits of pilgrimages of twelve Jyotirlingas. These Shiva's places possess and illustrate each of five great elements called Panch Mahabhutas and hence they are called Panch Mahabhutatmak Shiva Places. Out of five, four are in Tamilnadu and one in Andhra Pradesh near Tirupati. It is said that human body is comprised of these panch mahabhutas i.e. great elements. These five panch mahabhutas are Earth (Prithvi), Water (Jala), Fire (Agni), Wind (Vayu) and Sky (Akash). Not just human body, but the entire universe is made up of these five elements. It is also said that if we do pilgrimage of these 5 Panch Mahabhutaairtmak places, one by one all these elements in our body gets purified and our soul reaches the state of Enlightenment. This was the thought process of our ancestors and thats why they had mentioned about these pilgrimages which give the same fortune as that of doing pilgrimage of 12 Jyotirlings.


These five Shiva Places are as given below:

1. Shri Jambukeshwar (JalaLing): Godess Parvati has installed this Shivlinga beneath Jamun tree at the bank of Kaveri River. Hence this Shivlinga is famous as Jambukeshwar and also a JalaLing. Mata Parvati had established this Linga to worship Lord Shiva, as a token of this Temple Priests wears Saree, Mukut while performing day's first Puja (prayer) to pay respect and tribute the Mata Parvati. Kaveri river is also given the same importance as that of Ganga river. Festivals are performed and celebrated throughout the year. The Shivling is considered to be 2000 years old, yet you will find the temple and its surroundings as if they are developed in recent times. Temple is still in the good condition.
2. Chidambaram (AkashLing): Chidambaram temple is one of the most ancient temples in the Southern India. Here the Lord Shiva is in the form of Nataraj. The temple is spread in 39 acres of area. There are gopuras (monumental towers) in four directions. The gopur on the west is very special as there 108 mudras of dancing decorated on it. Temple is divided into five different parts. They are called Sabha. In the main mandir (temple) i.e. in Chitsabha part one can get Akashroop (Sky form) of Lord Shiva. In the main temple (Gabhara), one gets the darshan of Akashling. In gabhara you can view only Shivling and nothing else which is the characteristic of Sky (Akash). Again as Adi Shankaracharya had said "Chidanandroop Shivohm Shivohm, this saying is proved here at Chidambaram.
3. Shri Arunachalam (Agni Ling): Entire Arunchalam mountain is form of Lord Shiva. However there is a temple of Lord Shiva there. This is very ancient place. First mandap (Big Hall) has thousand pillars. In the main part (gabhara) there is AgniLing. Though it is called Agniling, it is actually made up of stone and not fire. To this few Tamil scholars maintain that probably there must be a volcano because of which it might have been named AgniLing. There is a good arrangement for stay at Tiruvannamalai. One can even stay at ShriRamanAshram as well. Just that you have inform and send letter to its manager. One can send their letter to "Shreeramanmaharshi Ashram, Tiruvannamalai, Tamilnadu".
4. Shree Ekameshwar (Prithvi Ling): Kanchipuram is the only mokshadayini (liberation from rebirth giving) city in southern part of India. There are two main parts of this city called Shiva Kanchi and Vishnu Kanchi. They are also called as Big Kanchi and Small Kanchi. This temple is in Shiva Kanchi. Ekambarnath or Ekamranath Shiva's temple is spread across big area. The main gopur (monumental tower, stambha) is 188 ft tall. This Shiva ling is not made up of stone instead it is made up from sand. Mata Parvati has made this Shiva Ling. It is big in size. Since it is made from Sand, it is considered to be of Prithvi tatva i.e. having earth element. Panchamrit or Jala abhisheks are not done to this Shivling. At the max, scents can be applied. Touch of water or liquid elements are strictly avoided here. This temple has three floors. Each floor has different types (sitting, slipping, standing) of idols of Lord Vishnu. 
5. SriKalahasti (Vayu Ling): This holy place is some 65 Kms from Tirupati. Due to road condition it takes about 3 hrs by road to reach this place. This temple is on the bank of river and it has four gopuras (monumental towers). This makes this temple very attractive.This temple is very big. This is very ancient temple at least 1000 years old. There are more than thousands small sized Shivlingas by wall side inside the temple area. In these lingas, there is one Shivling which is 1 ft tall and made up of Sphatik (quartz zone). Main Shiv Ling is very old and ancient. It is very tall in nature. On it, Shiva Sahastranaam is written in Telugu. This temple is also very famous for performing Rahu and Ketu grahas shanti pujas. This puja is also called as Kalsarpayog shanti puja.