Post No. 11,969
Date uploaded in London – – May 4 2023
Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com
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PART 9
We have seen six famous Devi/Shakti shrines in Maharashtra. Now let us look at 22 famous Shiva Temples in Maharashtra. The famous Shiva templesin the state are
1.Triambakeshwar (Trayambakeswar) Jyotirlinga, Nasik
2.Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga, Pune
3.Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga, Aurangabad
4.Aundha Nagnath Temple, Hingoli
5.Kailasanatha Shiva Temple, Ellora Caves
6.Ambarnath Shiva Mandir, Ambarnath
7.Kopeshwar Shiva Temple, Kolhapur District
8.Vaijnath (Vaidyanath) Shiva Temple, Parali
9.The Elephanta Cave Trimurti Temple
10. Gondeshwar Temple at Sinnar, Nasik District
11. Babulnath Shiva Temple, Mumbai
12. Bhuleshwar Shiva Temple, Mumbai
13. Walkeshwar /Baan Ganga Temple, Mumbai
14.Amruteshwar Shiva Temple in Ahmednagar
15.Velneshwar Shiva Temple of Ratnagiri
16. Baneshwar Mahadev Temple in Nasrapur near Pune
17.Jyotiba temple, near Wadi Ratnagiri, Kolhapur District
18.Marleswar cave Shiva Temple 17 km from Devrukh and 44 km from Sangameshwar Road railway station
19. Sangameshwar Shiva Temple, Haripur
20. Kunkeshwar Shiva temple, Devgad
21. Shikhar Shingnapur temple | Shambhu mahadev mandir in shingnapur
22. Mahabaleswar
The State is an abode of 3 of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines of Lord Shiva including Triambakeshwar Jyotirlinga in Nasik, Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga near Pune and Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga near Aurangabad.
Two of the grand ancient rock-cut Shiva temples of India, The Elephanta Cave Temple and the Kailasanatha Temple at Ellora are also located in the State.
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39.TRYAMBAKESWARAR TEMPLE (श्री त्र्यंबकेश्वर ज्योतिर्लिंग मंदिर)
TRYAMBAKESWARAR TEMPLE wrongly spelt as Trimbakeshwar is 28 kilometres from Nashik. It is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines.
Trayambaka is one of the names of Lord Shiva meaning Three Eyed.
River Godavari originates very near this temple. Sacred pond Kusavarta Kunda is in the temple complex.
It is situated among three hills. The extraordinary feature of the Linga in the temple is three faced representing, Lord Bramha, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva.
There are entry gates on all the four sides. The entry gate on the North side of the temple bulwark is the biggest and the devotees enter from this gate only. There is a Nagarakhana of the size 38 feet by 15 feet. Between the entry gate of west and south, there is Amrut kund- a graceful, compact lake
Facing the main temple, opposite the gate is temple of Nandi-pious bull of Lord Shiva. There are three gates to the main temple facing east, south and north. After entering from the eastern gate, there is an attractive a hall with dome shaped canopy. On 12 feet square of marble, there is a turtle-a religious symbol.
On the west side is main sanctum of the temple. One enters the sanctum by descending five steps and sees the Swayambhu (natural-self existent) Shiva linga in a tiled surrounding. There are three thumb sized Ban ling of three almighty gods-Brahma,Vishnu and Mahesh. The continuous flow of water i.e. Ganga flows from the Bana linga of Shiva. On the east of this Jyotirlinga is marble statue of Goddess Parvati.
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Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga, Pune
I have already dealt with in part 3, item number 10
10.BHIMASANKARA JYOTIRLINGA TEMPLE
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40.Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga, Aurangabad
Grishneshwar temple is 30 kilometres from Aurangabad and within a kilometre of famous Ellora caves.
The temple structure was destroyed by the Delhi Sultanate Muslim Rulers in 13th and 14th-century. The temple went through several rounds of rebuilding followed by repeated destruction by Muslim rulers. It was rebuilt by the queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore, after the fall of the Mughal Empire
Temple was constructed with red rocks in Maratha style. This is the smallest of the Jyotirlinga temples. Vishnu’s Dasavathara scenes are also seen in the temple complex.
The tower is a five tier one. There is a Nandi bull in the court hall. The temple houses carvings and sculptures of many Hindu gods and goddesses.
For males it is mandatory to remove shirt/banian while entering into main jyotrilinga premises. many buses available from Aurangabad bus stand and its just around 30 kms.
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One visitor who visited the temple in 2022 has written ,
We visited this temple on 29 Oct 22. We started from Aurangabad at around 8 am and reached Grishneshwar Temple at 8:45 am in our own car. We found a parking just opposite to the temple. There are so many shops selling Pooja items. Price vary from Rs 20 onwards. We took one for Rs 100 with flowers, Bel, Datura and Lotus flower. It took us 45 mins to clear the queue and reach for darshan. Men need to enter the sanctum sanctorum bare chested. You can remove your clothes above your waist before entering the sanctum sanctorum and later on wear them ; we could touch the Shiva Lingam.
Overall a visit worth the effort.
To be continued……………………………………………..
Tags- Grishneshwar ,Jyotirlinga, temples, Triambakeshwar, Trayambakeswar, Part 9, Maharashtra shrines
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