Mythologically speaking, the river Narmada already bestows Omkareshwar with more spiritual street cred than many other ‘holy’ towns across the country. On top of this, the island on which Omkareshwar is located resembles the symbol for ‘Om’.

As a manifestation of the mystic syllable, believed to precede the creation of the universe, Omkareshwar represents the holiest of kshetras (sacred space). It is all the more holy as Shiva is believed to have been manifested here as one of the 12 jyotirlingas, or transcendent lingas of light.
The evidence of human settlement in the region dates as far back 7500 BCE. Much later, when the Hindu holy texts called the Puranas were being compiled, note was made of a city that was Mahishmati.

Although some historians believe that Mahishmati was indeed Maheshwar, there is some evidence that points Omkareshwar`s way as well. Inscriptions reveal that it was the Paramara Rajputs who controlled the region from the 10th to the 13th centuries.