Grishneshwar Jyotirling

The Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga Temple is located at Verul, 20 km from Daulatabad in Maharashtra. Located close to Daulatabad (once known as Devagiri) is the popular tourist attraction Ajanta – Ellora Caves. Grishneshwar Temple is among one of the 12 Jyotirling.

History

The history of the Grishneshwar temple speaks of Maloji Bhosle, a spirited devotee and chief of the Verul town. He constructed the temple in the 16th century after he discovered a treasure hidden inside an anthill. Rani Ahilyabai Holker, Queen of the Maratha Malwa Kingdom, renovated the temple in the 17th century.

According to the Shiva Purana, numerous legends are related to this historical place of worship:

Legend of Shivalay

The legend of Shivalay states that during his searching explorations, the king of Verul killed animals staying in the hermitage of Rishis. This annoyed the Rishis who cursed the king and insects crowded over his body. The king wandered into the forest and came over a hole with water flowing from it.

The moment he started consuming the water, the insects Unbelievably disappeared from his body. The overwhelmed king did severe penance in that place. Delighted with penance, Lord Brahma blessed the king and made a lake that became considered as Shivalay.

Legend of Kumkumeshwar

Lord Shiva and his consort Parvathi were living in the Sahyadri range, near Shivalay. One day, when the Goddess was about to use vermilion, she blended it with the Shivalay water. The vermilion then changed into a Linga, emitting a glowing ray of light.

Since the Linga came out from the vermilion, this Jyotirlinga was at first called Kumkumeshwar. The Goddess is known as it Grishneshwar since she thought the Linga came from the rubbing action, and the word Grish means friction.

Legend of Ghushmeswar

A great Brahmin scholar, Brahmavetta Sudharm, and his wife, Sudeha, lived in the southern mountain of Devagiri (later on considered as Daulatabad). They were childless, and an agonized Sudeha convinced her sister Ghushma to marry Sudharm so that they might have a kid together.

Eventually, Ghushma and Sudharm had a child much to their envy of Sudeha. The young boy grew up to be an admirable young man and eventually got married. Not able to manage envious sensations, Sudeha killed the boy when he was sleeping and threw the body into a lake.

A deeply grieving Gushma continued with her schedule. During her early morning routine of visiting the lake where she normally made and worshipped a hundred Lingas, she saw her son emerging from the lake. Lord Shiva appeared prior to her and stated that Sudeha had eliminated her boy.

Pleased with Gushma’s worship, he gave back her son and also granted her a boon. Ghushma asked for the Lord to forgive her sis and also to stay in the place. The Lord accepted her demand and continued to live there in the form of a Jyotirlinga. He took the name Ghushmeswar in Gushma’s honor.

Importance

The significance of the temple is that the devotees believe that by a visit to the Grishneshwar temple, people can reap the benefits of worshiping all the 12 Jyotirlingas. It is also said that the Grishneshwar temple is a classic example of the pre-historic style of architecture and has stunning carvings.

Architecture

• A Shiva devotee, Ghushma, chief of Verul, once discovered a treasure hidden in the snake pit (ant hill). He spent that money to renovate the temple and construct a lake in Shikharshinganapur. Later, Goutamibal (Bayajabai) and Ahilyadevi Holkar renovated the Grishneshwar temple. This 240-foot x 185-foot temple is still as strong and stunning as ever. Halfway up the temple, Dashavataras are sculpted in red stone. There are also other attractive statutes carved out. A court hall is constructed on 24 pillars. On these pillars, there are magnificent carvings. The paintings and scenes are stunning. The Garbhagriha measures 17 feet x 17 ft. The Lingamurty faces eastward. There is an attractive Nandikeshwara in the court hall.

Legend Of Jyotirlingas

• According to the Shiva Purana, Brahma and Vishnu had an argument in terms of the supremacy of creation. In order to resolve the dispute, Shiva decided to pierce the 3 worlds as a countless pillar of light. Both Vishnu and Brahma started downwards and upwards respectively to discover the end of the light. Brahma lied that he had discovered the end while Vishnu accepted that he could not and accepted defeat. Shiva cursed Brahma and as punishment for lying to him, Brahma would not be part of any ceremonies while Vishnu would always be worshipped.

• The jyotirlinga is the supreme partless reality, out of which Shiva partly appears. The jyothirlinga temples, hence are locations where Shiva appeared as a fiery column of light. Each of the twelve jyothirlinga sites takes the name of the presiding deity– each believed to be a various manifestation of Shiva. At all these sites, the main image is the jyotirlingam representing the infinite nature of Shiva.

12 Jyotirlingas of Shiva in India

1. Somnath Jyotirlinga – Gir Somnath in Gujarat
2. Somnath Jyotirlinga – Gir Somnath in Gujarat
3. Nageshwar Jyotirling – Daarukavanam in Gujarat
4. Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga – Pune in Maharashtra
5. Trimbakeshwar Jyotirling – Nashik in Maharashtra
6. Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga – Aurangabad in Maharashtra
7. Baidyanath Jyotirlinga – Deoghar in Jharkhand
8. Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga – Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh
9. Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga – Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh
10. Kashi Vishwanath Jyotirlinga – Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh
11. Kedarnath Jyotirling – Kedarnath in Uttarakhand
12. Rameshwaram Jyotirlinga – Rameshwaram Island in Tamil Nadu
13. Mallikarjuna Jyotirling – Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh

Festivals

• Mahashivratri
• Ganesh Chaturthi
• Navratri or Durga Puja: It is a famous festival, celebrated as a symbol of victory of good over evil.

Other Place Near Temple

• Ellora Caves
• Bhadra Maruti Temple, Khuldabad
• Aundha Nagnath Jyotirlinga Temple
• Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga Temple
• Parli Vaijnath Jyotirlinga Temple
• Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga Temple

How To Reach

• By Air – Aurangabad Airport is a nearby Airport and it is nearly 37 kilometers from Ghrishneshwar Temple.

• By Train – Aurangabad Railway Station is near Railway Station and it is nearly 29 kilometers from Ghrishneshwar Temple.

• By Road – Aurangabad is well connected by road with Ahmedabad 623 Km, Bangalore 1004 Km, Khajuraho 1026 Km, Pune 233 Km, Mumbai 392 Km, Nashik 204 Km, Nanded 277 Km, Jaipur 1013 Km, Shirdi 121 Km, Delhi 1371 KM

Temple Timings

Temple Darshan Timing

Darshan	Timing
Temple Open	05:30 AM
Morning	06:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Afternoon	01:00 PM to 08:00 PM
Evening	09:00 PM to 09:30 PM
Temple Close	09:30 PM

Note: Timings May vary on Special Days and Festivals

Temple Aarti Timing

Mangal Arati	04:00 AM
Jalhari Sanghan	08:00 AM
Maha Prashad	12:00 PM
Afternoon Pooja	01:00 PM to 01:30 PM
Jalhari Sagan	04:00 PM
Evening Pooja	04:30 PM to 05:30 PM
Evening Aarti	07:30 PM
Night Aarti	10:00 PM

Temple Video