#Traveldiaries : Our Visit to 10th Jothirlingam- Trimbakeshwar temple near Nashik

Trimbakeshwar Temple, Nasik

·        Trimbakeshwar Temple is one of the holiest and sacred place for Hindu pilgrims and is revered as a one of the 12 jyotirlinga shrines of Lord Shiva - Within a distance of around 32 kms from Nashik is Trimbakeshwar Temple at the foothills of mountain called Brahmagiri

·        The Trimbakeshwar Temple is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas (Self manifested lingams of Shiva popularly known as the Dwadasa (10th Jyotirlinga) of Shiva. There are accounts of Lord Rama having made the Yatra at Trimbakeshwar.

·        The porch of the temple is decorated with beautifully carved and decorated pillars and arches. The temple walls are intricately sculpted with floral designs and figures of various Gods and Goddesses.

·        The temple is unique in various aspects which makes it one of its kind in the country. There are 2 idols of Nandi in the temple, one in the courtyard and  the other inside the temple room in front of the sanctum. The sanctum has three “Lings”, of the size of a thumb, identified as Lords Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh - the creator, the organizer and the destroyer. They are placed in a square space positioned at the three corners of a triangle. 

·        It is also the only Jyotirlinga where the Lingas are in a hollow space beneath the floor. There is a huge mirror placed strategically such that the devotees can get a clear view of the lingas. Since there are three lingas, the place is known as Trimbakeshwar. 

·        One more amazing aspect is that they are always submerged in the water of the Ganges naturally.

·        This temple is built by Shri Nana Saheb Peshawa in 1755-1786 AD took almost 36 years to complete it. It is built with black stone and the Shivlingam is said to be emerged naturally. The temple is bordered with around 20-25 stone feet wall in height. There is a big hall whose roof is in dome shape from inside. The sanctum is not big and houses the main Shivlingam and three lings residing in hollow structure. We were able to see all three miniature lingam only through the mirror which I mentioned earlier.

·        On the left side of this temple along the outer bordered wall, there are series of compartment built in continuation each having a miniature Shivlingam. There are around 32 such compartments out of which only four had Shivlinga. In all of them the Nandi Idol is damaged and none of the 32 structure is in the complete shape. Though the whole temple is built out of black stone but the roof top of sanctum sanatorium is made out of white marble 

·        While approaching Trimbakeshwar, 20 km from Nashik on the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar road, we spotted the Anjaneri Mountain, it is the birthplace of Lord Hanuman.  From the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar road, one has to take a diversion from the Anjaneri Phata towards the Anjaneri village, from where it takes around 2 hours to reach the Anjaneri plateau on foot. Here you can visit the Anjaneri fort and the Temple of Anjani Mata, the mother of Lord Hanuman.

Kushavartha

·         Just a 5 min walk away is a sacred pond called "Kushavarta" which is from where river Ganga takes here route to the rest of India. 

·        As per Hindu mythology one gets rid off of all its sin's if they takes bath here. Story has that, Sage Gautam forced river Ganga to stall within the enchanted grass area he made and puts a vow on her. This he done so to take a holy bath in this water and to get rid of his sin for killing a cow. 

·        Sheemant Rao Sahib Parnekar built the temple around the stalled water at this place which we are seeing today. The walls inside all along the hall is inscribed by various Idols, and in all corners are some small temple. The most important fact of this pond is that it is the starting point of Kumb Mela which happens once in a 12 yea. Saints all over the world come to this place on the occasion of mela to take a holy bath.

·        Since Godavari (Ganga) flows from here and reaches at Ram Kund so both are considered pious. 

·        Another attraction of this place is the Bhramagiri Hill, which is the origin of the river Ganga and is named here as Godavari. To reach the top of the hill one needs to go through some 700 steps and usually needs 4-5 hours to cover.