Sri Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga, Nashik, Maharastra
The 10th Jyotirlinga is located at a distance of about 28km from Nashik, Maharastra near Brahamagiri hill from which the river Godavari flows. There are three hills around this temple – Brahmagiri, Nilgiri and Kalagiri.
Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga is one of the 5 Jyotirlinga in Maharashtra.
Introduction
The extraordinary feature of Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga is the Linga in the temple that is in the form of three faced embodying Tridev – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. They all exist within the Shivalinga – hence the name Trimbakeshwara (three lords). They are covered by a Jewelled crown, believed to date to the era of Pandavas.
This temple has a well called Amritavarshini. It also has a Kushavarta or sacred pond, which is believed to be the source of the Godavari.
The present Trimbakeshwar temple was constructed by third Peshwa Balaji Bajirao (1740-1760) on the site of an old temple. There are four entry gates on all four sides – East, West, South and North. The spiritual conceptions are, East direction denotes the beginning, West denotes maturity, south denotes fulfilment or completion and the North stands for the revelation.
Temple Timings:
Darshan : 05.30 am – 09.00 pm
Rudrabhisek : 07.00 am – 08.30 am
Special Pooja : 07.00 am – 01.00 pm / 04.30 pm
Afternoon Pooja : 01.00 pm to 01.30 pm
Shiva Golden Crown : 04.30 pm – 05.00 pm
Every Monday of the month, a procession is carried out in a Palki, which carries the silver Panch Mukhi Mukhota from the Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga Temple to the Kushavarta tank and back.
Dress Code in Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga
Men : White Dhoti and no shirt
Women : Saree, Chudidar
For general darshan, do not need to follow a strict dress code. However, male devotees, who opt for special pooja inside the sanctum should wear a white dhoti and a towel. If required, pandits of temple may provide the dress.
Poojas and Sevas at Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga
Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga Temple is the only temple in India where Pitru Dosh pooja is conducted.
- Kaalsarpa Pooja : This pooja is performed for people facing planetary disturbances in their life and devotees should first take a bath in the holy Kushavarta and ask forgiveness for any sin that he committed knowingly or unknowingly. Donations like sesame, ghee, butter, cow milk, gold and other such items are made to God. Devotees also worship Naag (Cobra) in Kaalsarpa Pooja. Hence, performing this pooja on the day of Naag Panchami is highly auspicious.
- Narayan Nagbali Pooja : This pooja also known as the Pitru-Dosh and removes the ancestral curses on the family. It also calm down souls who had unfinished desires before they departed. This Nagbali Pooja further seeks forgiveness for killing a Naag (Cobra).
- The Tripindi Shraddha Pooja : This pooja is for the departed angry souls. The Tripindi Shraddha Pooja is also for problems like hurdles in Childbirth, bad luck, ancestral Moksha, and for removing Gau Hatya dosha.
- Mahamriyunjaya Pooja : This Mahamritunjay Jaap is for long and healthy life and to get rid of prolonged sickness. This Mahamritunjay Pooja is one of the most powerful methods of worshipping Lord Shiva.
- Rudrabhishek : The Abhishek is performed with Panchamrit (Cow Milk, Ghee, Honey, Curd and Sugar) amongst the several mantras and shlokas.
Other poojas like, the Ganga Pooja, Ganga Bhet and Tarpan Shraddha are also performed at the Trimbakeshwar Temple so that the souls of the ancestors can rest in peace.
Some Temples near Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga Temple
- Kedareshwar Temple : The Trimbakeshwar Temple is on the South-East corner of the Kushavarta pond and the presiding deity is Sri Kedareshwar – a form of Lord Shiva who appeared as Kedarbhatta and forgave the sins of Saint Gautama.
- Nivruttinath Temple : The Sage Nivruttinath, who started a Nath community and had immense knowledge of Shastras, took Samadhi here in Nivruttinath Temple. This temple is dedicated to Sage Nivruttinath and is near Gangadwar.
- Kushavarta : This holy pond is only 5 minutes from Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga Temple, where River Dakshin Ganga (Godavari) collects and distributes itself to the rest of India. This pond is the starting point of Kumbha Mela that occurs every twelve years. As per the government rules, those who follow Shaivism take a dip in Kushavarta pond and the Sadhus who follow Vaishnavism take a bath in the Godavari at Ram Kund.
- Shri Nilambika Temple / Dattatreya Temple : This Temple is at the top of the Neel Part on the eastern side of the Brahmagiri hill and devotees believe that all the three Goddesses Parvati, Renuka (Lakshmi) and Manananba (Saraswati) came to visit during his penance.
- Anjaneri Temple : This Tempe is for Lord Anjaneya or Lord Hanuman. As per beliefs, this hill is the birth place of Lord Hanuman.
Some other holy places near Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga Temple
- The Brahmagiri Hill : This hill is the origin of Godavari (River), which flows from the hill on three sides – the East flowing stream is Godavari, The one to the South is Vaitarna and the one facing west is Ganga. There are 500 steps to reach the peak of Brahmagiri Hill. The 5 peaks of this mountain are Sadyo-Jata, Vamdev, Aghora, Ishana and Tat – Purusha.
- The Indra Teertha : This Indira Teertha is in the east of Kushavarta Kund. Devotees believe that Lord Indra took a dip in this tank to wipe off the curse given by Rishi Gautam for misbehaving with the Rishi’s wife, Ahilya. A temple for Lord Indra depicts Indra sitting on his Airavat (white elephant).
- Ahilya Sangam Teertha : During the deep penance performed by Rishi Gautam, Legend says, a friend of Ganga by the name Jatila took the form of Ahilya his wife. But Rishi Gautam recognised and cursed her to turn into a river. However, Jatila begged and Saint Gautam said that the curse will lift only when she joins the River Godavari and the Ahilya Sangam Teertha is the place where the river of Jatila joins the River Godavari.
Some other famous Temples in Maharastra
- Shani Shignapur Temple
- Shirdi Sri Baba Temple
Significance of Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga
The Linga present here is called as Trimbaka or Trayambaka because it contains three Lingas (small thumb – sized) representing Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. Some devotees believe that it is because Lord Shiva has three eyes.
The Linga at Trimbakeshwar Temple consists of three heads and is covered with silver.
The Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga is the only Jyotirlinga where the actual Linga is present in a depression or a cavity.
It is also believed by devotees that the eyes of the three Lingas are representations of Sun, Moon and Fire, each facing in different directions. Devotees also believe that who worships this linga, worships all the three Gods at once and attains salvation.
The 3 lingers of Brahma, Vishnu and Lord Shiva are usually covered with a silver crown depicting their faces, however, on special days like Mahashivaratri, Karthik Purnima and Dussehra, a golden crown studded with diamonds and rubies is kept over these three Lingas. It is believed that these crown actually belongs to the Pandavas and donated to the Trimbakeshwar Temple by Peshwas.
Other Significant mentions:
Sri Nivruttinath – a famous saint, who initiated the Nath community attained his Samadhi at Trimbakeshwar Temple. A temple dedicated to his mass knowledge of Shastras can be visited here.
As per Skanda Puran, Padma Puran and Dharma Sindhu, the unique ceremony of Narayan Nagbali (to remove Pitru Dosh) may only be performed at the Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga Temple in India.
The popular Nassak Diamond often counted among the 24 great diamonds in the world history has its origin in Trimbakeshwar Temple. The East India Company (British) captured this diamond and sold it to jewellers in Britain. This diamond changed hands and is currently a property of Edward J. Hand from Connecticut.
A dip in Kushavarta pond, the source of River Godavari is believed to wipe off sins of human’s life. This pond is the starting point for Kumbha Mela, which takes place every 12 years and the venue of Kumbha Mela rotates among the four holy cities of Haridwar, Allahabad, Nasik and Ujjain. Nasik Kumbha Mela is called Simhastha Kumbh Mela.
According to a legend, Nasik is one of the places where Lord Vishnu dropped four drops of Amrit that he was carrying in a Kumbh (Pot). Hence, a dip in these places is considered extremely sacred and spiritual and believed to wash away the sins of devotees.
History
It is said that Gautama rishi lived on the Brahmagiri hills along with his wife, Ahalya. While there was famine everywhere else on the land, inside the rishi’s ashram, there were abundant food grains. This was because the gods had blessed him because of his steadfast devotion and regular prayers. The other rishis felt jealous of him and sent a cow into his fields. The cow died while Gautama tried to frighten the cow away from his fields. For the sin of killing a cow, Gautama worshipped Lord Shiva to release the Ganga River and let her flow into his ashram to purify it. Pleased with his devotion, Lord Shiva released Ganga and told her to stay there. The Kushavarta or sacred pond that exists now is the source of the Godavari. (People worship the Godavari as Ganga.) The sage requested Lord Shiva also to make the site his abode, which the Lord did in the form of the jyotirlinga.
The Maratha ruler Nana Saheb Peshwa constructed this Trimbakeshwar Temple in 18th century and later Shreemant Rao Saheb extended the Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga around the Kushavarta Kund and improved the approach to the tank.
Related Tours
