01Om on the Narmada
The Shiva Purana gives two kathas for this place. In one, the Vindhya mountain worshipped Shiva here with such tapas that Mahadev appeared and blessed it, and the linga split into two: Omkareshwar on the island and Mamaleshwar, also called Amareshwar, on the south bank. Pilgrims take darshan of both, for the Jyotirlinga is counted as one in two forms. In the other, King Mandhata of the Ikshvaku line performed tapas on the island, which carries his name. Every pebble of the Narmada is said to be a Shiva, and the Narmada parikrama, walked over months along both banks, passes here.
02Shankara’s guru
The Shankara Digvijaya tells that the boy-sannyasi Shankara walked from Kalady in Kerala to the banks of the Narmada, and found Govinda Bhagavatpada, disciple of Gaudapada, in a cave here. Govinda took him as his disciple and taught him the Advaita of the Upanishads. A cave on the island is still shown as the spot. In 2023 the Madhya Pradesh government unveiled a 108-foot statue of the young Shankaracharya, the Ekatmata ki Pratima, on the Mandhata hill above the river.
The life of this place
- 2023The 108-foot Ekatmata ki Pratima of Adi Shankaracharya is unveiled on Mandhata.
Cross to the island by the footbridge or a boat from Gomukh Ghat; take darshan of Mamaleshwar on the south bank too. The parikrama path around the island is about 7 km.
