According to a story in Shiv MahaPuran, there was once an argument between Brahma and Vishnu as to who is the supreme God. To test this, Shiva pierced the three worlds (Patal, Prithvi, Akash) with a pillar of light and told them whoever finds it first, will be supreme. Brahma went upwards and Vishnu went downwards. After sometime, Brahma came back and lied that he found the end but Vishnu told the truth that he did not. To this, Shiva cursed Brahma that he will never be worshipped in any form, but Vishnu will be worshipped till eternity.
Wherever the light of the pillar fell on earth, is where a Jyotirlinga formed. There are 12 original jyotirlingas spread across 9 states –
- Kedareswar jyotirlinga in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand
- Visweswar jyotirlinga in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
- Somnath Jyotirlinga in Saurashtra, Gujarat
- Nageswar jyotirlinga in Gujarat
- Mallikarjun jyotirlinga in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh
- Mahakaleshwar jyotirlinga in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
- Omkareshwar jyotirlinga in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh
- Tryambakeswar jyotirlinga in Nasik, Maharashtra
- Baba baidyanath jyotirlinga in Jharkhand, Bihar
- Bhimashankar jyotirlinga in Dakini, Maharashtra
- Ghrishneswar jyotirlinga in Devagiri, Maharashtra
- Rameswar jyotirlinga in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu
An interactive map of all these temples –
Temples and Forts of India 