Shivtirtha Bhimashankar
One of the Twelve Jyotirlingas • Sahyadri Hills, Maharashtra
Shivtirtha Bhimashankar
One of the Twelve Jyotirlingas • Sahyadri Hills, Maharashtra
Trimbakeshwar (Trambakeshwar) is an ancient Hindu temple in the town of Trimbak, in the Nashik District of Maharashtra, India, 28 km from the city of Nashik. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas.
It is located at the source of the Godavari River, the longest river in peninsular India. The Godavari River, which is considered sacred within Hinduism, originates from Bramhagiri mountains and meets the sea near Rajahmundry. Kushavarta, a kund is considered the symbolic origin of the river Godavari, and revered by Hindus as a sacred bathing place.
Trimbakeshwar is one of the holy places of not only Maharashtra but the whole of India, situated near Nashik. The following verse explains the importance of this sacred place: anyone who visits Trimbakeshwar attains salvation. There is no sacred place like Trimbakeshwar, no river like Godavari, no mountain like Bramhagiri. The reasons for its sanctity are — the Godavari river originates here, it is a place of Tri-Sandhya Gayatri, the birthplace of Lord Ganesha, a place of the first Nath of the Nath Sampradaya, and the place where Nivrittinath was imparted holy knowledge.
Trimbakeshwar Temple is one of the holiest and most sacred places for Hindu pilgrims and is revered as one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines of Lord Shiva. The temple lies in the foothills of Bramhagiri mountain, which is the origin of river Godavari. The most attractive feature of this temple is the presence of 3 lingas, each representing Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, all residing in a hollow space within the Shiva lingam.
Trimbakeshwar temple was built by Shri Nana Saheb Peshawa in 1755–1786 AD. It is built with black stone and the Shivalingam is said to have emerged naturally. The temple is bordered by a stone wall around 20–25 feet in height.
Just a 5-minute walk from the main temple, there is a sacred pond called “Kushavarta” from where river Ganga (Godavari) takes its route through the rest of India. A dip in this sacred river is believed to wipe off sins. The sage Gautam committed a sin of accidentally killing a cow, and by taking bath here, was freed of his sin. Kushavarta is also the starting point of the Kumbh Mela, which happens once every 12 years.
Another attraction of this place is the Bramhagiri Hill, the origin of the Godavari river. To reach the top of the hill one needs to climb around 700 steps and usually takes 4–5 hours to cover. The mountain is 1800 feet high and its height from sea level is 4248 feet. Five peaks of this mountain are called Sadyo-Jata, Vamdev, Aghora, Ishana and Tat-Purusha, considered as the five mouths of Lord Shiva.
Gangadwar is halfway to Bramhagiri mountain. There is a temple of Ganga (now known as Godavari River), which appears here first after vanishing from the Bramhagiri Mountain. There are 750 steps to Gangadwar. Gangadwar is one of the five tirthas.
Shreemant Seth Kapol built about 200 steps to this hill. On the summit is the temple of Nilamba Matamba Devi (Nilambika), an ancient temple of Nilkantheshwar Mahadev, an idol of Parashuram, and an ancient temple of Sadguru Dattatraya.
Indra Tirtha is to the east near Kushavarta. Indra wiped off his curse given by sage Gautam by bathing here. It was built with cut stone in octagonal form. On the bank of the tirtha is a beautiful temple of Indreshwar Mahadev with an idol of Indra seated on an Airavata elephant.
Bilwa Tirtha is to the north of Nila mountain. It is one of the five tirthas. There is a temple of Bilvakeshwar Mahadev built by Naro Vinayak Gogte in 1738.
Gautam Tirtha is to the south of the Ganges and the Trimbakeshwar temple. Varun, being pleased with Gautam, gave this tirtha as a permanent source of water. This tank is 600 x 400 ft.
This is the tirtha where Ganga and Godavari join. There is a temple of Sangmeshwar Mahadev here. Childless families worship at the Ahilya sangam and it is believed they are blessed with a child.
The temple of Shree Nivruttinath is near Gangadwar. Nivruttinath was imparted holy knowledge by his Guru Gahininath and made his brothers and sister attain the self by his preaching.