The priests worshipping the Shivling fragments noticed something amazing—the stones were magnetic. Perhaps this held a clue to how the original Jyotirlinga levitated.
This is the story of a thousand-year-old levitating Jyotirlinga that disappeared after a horrific invasion—lost, forgotten—until now. After centuries of secrecy, we’re about to reveal what no one believed was possible.
How was it found? Why is it so unique? And how, after a thousand years, did it reach Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar?
According to ancient Hindu scriptures, the Somnath Temple wasn’t just any temple. It was the first Jyotirlinga, the holiest of the twelve sacred shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva, said to be built in the Satyuga by the Moon God Soma himself. Lord Krishna had also performed penance here.
The Shivling housed within the temple was unlike anything ever seen. It defied gravity, hovering in midair, held by a powerful magnetic force. It was a source of faith and devotion for millions. But its power, its significance, made it a target.
In 1026 AD, Mahmud Ghazni led a brutal invasion. Wave after wave, his forces stormed the Somnath Temple, massacring thousands, looting its sacred treasures, and shattering the Shivling, leaving behind devastation and heartbreak that echoed for centuries. The Jyotirlinga was thought to be lost forever.
After the Somnath Temple was destroyed, the Agnihotri priests secretly collected the shattered pieces of the Shivling, shaping them into smaller Shivlings. They made it their life’s mission to protect them at all costs.
For nearly a thousand years, they kept it hidden and passed it down through generations. No one outside the family even knew. They performed rituals daily, waiting for the day when they could reinstate the Jyotirlinga in its rightful place.
What made the Jyotirlinga so special?
The priests worshipping the Shivling fragments noticed something amazing—the stones were magnetic. Perhaps this held a clue to how the original Jyotirlinga levitated.
Scientists ran tests on the stones, and the results were mind-blowing.
“I have not seen any whitish rock having a magnetic property,” shared Shri Chandra Shekar Netrabile, geologist, Mineral Exploration Corporation,
Firstly, it’s highly magnetic, but its magnetic field isn’t at the poles like a normal magnet—it’s centered right in the middle.
Scientists were shocked because they had never seen anything like it. And it gets even more interesting.
This stone has almost no iron, which is crucial for magnetic properties. Scientists were baffled, as no substance on Earth exists with this composition that displays magnetic properties.
“Iron content is 2%, but I am unable to explain why it is so. But there is definitely magnetism, there’s no doubt about it. I just checked with a magnet—it is magnetic.”
Ancient Indian scriptures have described such a material—one that actually came from outer space.
In 1924, the Kanchi Shankaracharya instructed the priests to keep the Shivlinga hidden for 100 years. Teh Shankaracharya asked the priests to give the Shivalingas to Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in Bangalore when the time was right.
That moment finally arrived in January 2025. Sitaram Shastri, the last custodian of this sacred legacy, made the journey to meet Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and handed over the Shivling fragments to him.
“He [Kanchi Shankaracharya] said, ‘To do this job, there is one able Mahatma. Go to him.’ He told me this and sent me here. That is why I have come to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.”
This Mahashivaratri, the original Jyotirlinga was finally revealed to the world for the first time in a millennium, at The Art of Living International Center, in the presence of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
After a thousand-year wait devotees finally had the opportunity to witness the power and divinity of the Jyotirlinga and seek its blessings.
