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Har Har Mahadev
Nageshwar Jyotirlinga, Between Dwarka and Bet Dwarka, Gujarat
10 / 12 · Tenth Jyotirlinga
नागेश्वर

Against poison.Against fear.

📍 Nageshwar · Between Dwarka and Bet Dwarka, Gujarat

On the Saurashtra coast between Dwarka and Bet Dwarka, beneath an eighty-foot seated Shiva visible from the road, Nageshwar is the jyotirlinga invoked against poison — of snakes, of circumstance, of other people.

Darshan & timingsRead the legend
Invoked forProtection from poison and evil
LandmarkAn 80-foot seated Shiva in the grounds
Ancient nameDarukavana
Photo: Bkjit · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Checking…TimingsBookingBefore you goReachPhotosFAQ

A devotee taken prisoner.A prayer said anyway.A weapon that came when called.

10

The legend

Why Shiva is here, and not somewhere else — as the Shiva Purana and local tradition tell it.

Supriya taken

A Vaishya merchant named Supriya, sailing the coast, was captured by the demon Daruka and thrown into a prison in his city. Even there he continued his worship of Shiva, and taught the other prisoners to do the same.

The demon's fury

Daruka came down to the cell to kill him for it. Supriya did not stop chanting. Where he sat, a lingam rose from the ground.

Nagesha

Shiva appeared and gave Supriya the Pashupatastra, and the demon was destroyed. Shiva stayed as Nagesha — Lord of Serpents — and remains the one invoked against every kind of poison. The name Darukavana, the forest of Daruka, still attaches to this stretch of coast.

Invoked for
Protection from poison and evil
Landmark
An 80-foot seated Shiva in the grounds
Ancient name
Darukavana
Pairs with
Dwarkadhish, 22 km away
Darshan

Timings & the daily aartis

Times shown in IST. The status above is live against the temple's published hours.

—
Now in India--:--
Morning6:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Evening5:00 PM – 9:30 PM

The temple grounds open around 5:00 AM. Some seasons run continuously to 9:00 PM without the afternoon break — confirm locally. Timings shift on Maha Shivaratri, Janmashtami and through Shravan.

Aarti & ritual schedule

  • 5:00 AM – 5:30 AMMangala AartiThe waking aarti
  • 12:00 PM – 12:30 PMMadhyanh Aarti
  • 7:00 PM – 7:30 PMSandhya AartiEvening
  • 9:00 PM – 9:30 PMShayan Aarti
ⓘTimings change on festival days, during Shravan and at short notice. Verified 13 August 2026 — confirm against the official temple portal before you travel.
Booking

Darshan, aarti & registration

What can be booked, what is free, and where the official channel actually is.

Darshan

Free, no ticket and no online booking. Nageshwar is one of the easiest of the twelve to visit — queues are usually short outside festival days.

Abhishek & rudrabhishek

Sponsored abhishek can be arranged at the temple office on the day; morning slots are preferable.

Combine with Dwarka

Dwarkadhish temple is 22 km away and Bet Dwarka a short ferry beyond. Almost every visitor does all three in a single day.

Before you go

Dress code, rules & what it costs

Dress code

Men

Modest clothing; nothing formal required.

Women

Saree, salwar-kameez or anything covering shoulders and knees.

Not permitted inside

Leather itemsCameras inside the sanctumPhotography of the deity

What it costs

  • DarshanFree
  • ParkingNominal
  • AbhishekOn request at the office

Practical advice

  • Do Nageshwar, Dwarkadhish and Bet Dwarka as one loop — the whole circuit fits comfortably into a day.
  • The giant Shiva statue is in the open grounds and photographs are allowed there, unlike inside.
  • Somnath is about 230 km down the coast; the two Gujarat jyotirlingas are usually done as a pair.
Getting there

How to reach Nageshwar

Between Dwarka and Bet Dwarka, Gujarat — 22.3363°N, 69.0863°E

✈
By air
Jamnagar
~140 km

The nearest airport, about three hours by road. Rajkot (~230 km) has more flights.

🚉
By rail
Dwarka (DWK)
~17 km

On the Ahmedabad–Okha line with direct trains from Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Mumbai. Autos and taxis run to the temple in half an hour.

🚌
By road
By bus or car
Direct

Dwarka ~22 km (35–40 min), Jamnagar ~140 km, Somnath ~230 km, Ahmedabad ~450 km. Buses run frequently along the Dwarka–Okha road.

🗺️ Open in Google Maps ↗
When to come

Best time to visit

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D

November to February is the season on this coast — dry, breezy and comfortable. March to June is hot and glaring. The monsoon is humid but the temple stays open throughout.

  • Maha ShivaratriFeb / MarThe temple's biggest day; all-night darshan.
  • ShravanJul / AugMondays draw crowds from across Saurashtra.
  • JanmashtamiAug / SepDwarka fills for Krishna's birth; Nageshwar gets the overflow.
  • Nag PanchamiJul / AugEspecially significant at a shrine named for the serpents.
Around the shrine

What else is here

Dwarkadhish temple
~22 km

Krishna's city and one of the Char Dham. The five-storey temple over the Gomti.

Bet Dwarka
~15 km + ferry

The island where Krishna is said to have lived. Reached by boat from Okha.

Gopi Talav
~20 km

A pond whose yellow clay is sold as gopi chandan.

Rukmini Devi temple
~20 km

A 12th-century temple with fine carving, standing apart from Dwarka — as the legend requires.

Questions

What pilgrims ask

How far is Nageshwar from Dwarka?
About 22 km, a 35–40 minute drive on the Dwarka–Okha road. Most visitors combine Nageshwar, Dwarkadhish and Bet Dwarka in one day.
Is there an entry fee?
No. Darshan is free and needs no booking. Queues are short except on Maha Shivaratri and Shravan Mondays.
Can I photograph the giant Shiva statue?
Yes — the 80-foot statue stands in the open grounds and photography there is allowed. Photography inside the sanctum is not.
Why is Nageshwar worshipped against poison?
Shiva took the form of Nagesha, Lord of Serpents, to destroy the demon Daruka. Devotees invoke him against poison in every sense — venom, illness, and ill intent.
Can Somnath and Nageshwar be done together?
Yes. They are about 230 km apart along the Saurashtra coast, roughly five hours, and are the two Gujarat jyotirlingas — nearly always visited on the same trip.
Is there a dispute about which temple is Nageshwar?
Some traditions point to Aundha Nagnath in Maharashtra or Jageshwar in Uttarakhand. The Dwarka site is the most widely accepted and the most visited.

Have you had darshan here?

Light a lamp for Nageshwar and it stays lit across the site — your progress towards all twelve is remembered on this device.

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Deoghar (Baba Baidyanath Dham) · Jharkhand
09
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Ramanathaswamy
Rameswaram, Pamban Island · Tamil Nadu
11
Page last updated 13 August 2026 · All twelve jyotirlingas