Nageshwar is located near Dwaraka, on the way to Bet Dwaraka. There once lived a rakshasa called
Daruka, who was extremely cruel and tortured the good ones. But yet he was a great devotee of Lord
Siva. A Siva devotee, Supriya who was a merchant reached the Darukavanam, where Daruka lived with his
wife Daruki, while sailing with his goods.
Daruka asked Supriya to teach him the path of devotion to Siva, the norms of performing pooja and
penance. Fearing that Daruka would use any additional powers gained by such penance, to bad use,
Supriya refused to guide him. The enraged Daruka began to torture Supriya. Supriya
however was staunch is his faith in the Lord and was unmoved by any torture. Lord Siva was
pleased and appeared and killed the demon Daruka. Daruki, Daruka's wife, now started giving even
more trouble than her husband. Siva vanquished her too and gives darshan to his devotees at this
place as Nageshwar.
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The Sivalingam is facing South, with the Gomugam facing East. There is a story for this
position. A devotee by name Naamdev was singing bhajans in front of the Lord. Other devotees
asked him to stand aside and not hide the Lord. To this Naamdev asked them to suggest one
direction in which the Lord does not exist, so that he can stand there. The enraged devotees carried him
and left him on the southside. To their astonishment, they found that the Linga was now facing
South with the Gomugam facing East.
The Nageswara Jyotirlingam is claimed to exist in 2 places in Dwaraka, in Audhgram,
TEMPLE ARCHITECT SUBHASH BHOITE FALICITED BY TEMPLE PUJARIES
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