Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga

The Trimbakeshwar Temple has located 30 km from Nasik, near the Brahmagiri mountains from which the Godavari river flows. It is known as one of the 12 jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva and also as the source of the Godavari.  Due to excessive use of water, the Lingam has started to erode.

History & Importance

According to legend, there was a famine that lasted 24 people and years were passing away of hunger. Varun, the God of Rains, was pleased by Sage Gautama and thus set up rains every day just in Gautam’s ashram in Trimbakeshwar. Gautam used to plant rice crops in the early morning, harvest it in the afternoon, and feed it to the surrounding sages in the evening. The sages took shelter in his ashram due to the famine. The true blessings of the sages increased Gautam’s benefit which made Lord Indra’s position unstable.

As an outcome, Indra ended the famine and caused rains in the whole town. Even then Gautam continued to feed the sages and made benefits. When a cow came to his field and started grazing on his crop. This angered Gautam and he threw Darbha( pointed grass) at her. This killed the thin cow who was actually Goddess Parvati’s friend, Jaya. This news disturbed the sages and they declined to consume at Gautam’s ashram. Gautam understood his folly and asked the sages for a method to earn forgiveness.

The sages informed him to shower in the Ganges. Gautam started hoping to Lord Shiva by going to the peak of the Brahmagiri to offer him the Ganges. Happy by his devotion, the Lord agreed to part with the Ganges. The Ganges were not ready to part with the lord. Gautam surrounded the river with enchanted grass and managed to shower in it and was released of his sin of killing a cow.

Amritwarshni Kund

A Kund is located in the temple known as Amritwarshni. There are also three other water bodies in the temple named Bilvatheertha, Viswananthirtha, and Mukundathirtha. There are pictures of various deities, namely, Gangadevi, Jaleswara, Rameswara, Gautameswara, Kedarnath, Rama, Krishna, Parasurama, and Lakshmi Narayana. 

Architecture

This Temple was Constructed in the 18th century, The Nagara-styled Trimbakeshwar Temple was built in black stone. Housing a large courtyard, the temple also has a high platform considered as the Shikhara which has a stone plate sculpted in the form of a lotus. Within the walls of the temple lies a spiritual area that protects the temple deity; the Garbhagriha. It is the inner part of any temple.

The Garbagriha has a hall also called mandap in front of it. This hall has 3 entryways. The pillars of the temple are engraved with styles of flowers, Hindu human beings, animals, and divine beings. Basically, the architecture of the Trimbakeshwar Temple is well put together and rather elaborate. The temple also has a mirror positioned at a height on the altar, through which devotees can see the god’s reflection.

Idol

The amazing thing about the jyotirlinga here is that it has three faces, embodying Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma, and Lord Shiva. The Lingas are covered by a golden crown which is believed to be from the age of the Pandavas and is made from many precious stones.

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

• Sinhastha Kumbha Mela – Once in twelve years when Bruhaspati or Jupiter is in Sinha Rashi.
• Godavari day – In the month of Magha – the first twelve days of bright moon.
• Nivrutti Natha festival – three days in Pausha – in January.
• Mahashivaratri – on the 13th day of Krishna paksha of the month Magha – in March.
• Rathayatra of Trimbakeshwar – On the full moon day of the month Kartika.

Other Place Near Temple

• Shirdi – A Spiritual Escape
• Alibag – A Coastal Town
• Satara – A 16th-Century City
• Murud Janjira – A Massive Fort
• Mahabaleshwar – Green Landscape
• Kashid – A Beach Town
• Shrivardhan – A Resort City
• Dapoli – A Small City

How To Reach

By Road –  The nearby Bus Stand is the New CBS Bus Stand – Thakkar Bazaar and it is around 27.3 km away from the Trimbakeshwar temple.

By Train – The nearby Railway Station is Nasik Road Railway Station and it is around 37.3 km away from the Trimbakeshwar temple.

By Air – The nearby Airport is Mumbai Airport and it is around 200 km away from the Trimbakeshwar temple.

Temple Timings

Temple Darshan Timing

Morning to Evening

05:30 AM To 09:00 PM

Temple Aarti Timing

Kakad Aarti	04:30 AM to 05:00 PM
Madhya Aarti	12:00 PM to 12:30 PM
Dhoom Aarti	06:30 PM to 07:00 PM
Shej Aarti	10:30 PM to 10:50 PM

Temple Video