OVERVIEW

Trimbakeshwar Temple in Nashik, Maharashtra

The Trimbakeshwar temple, the Holy place of LordSiva, is in Nashik, Maharashtra. The temple is one of India's Sacred places to visit and is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga in India. The massive attraction for Lord Shiva devotees and mythological enthusiasts. We are here to tell you a whole lot of things about the Trimbakeshwar temple.

What is the Mythology associated with Trimbakeshwar Temple?

The place, now renamed after the temple, is the prominent tourist attraction of the city. The Peshwa Balaji Rao of the Maratha empire reconstructed the temple.

The deity of Trimbakeshwar temple is linked with historical time, when British seized away from the Neelmani or Nassak diamond which was the part of Hindu god shiva's idol.

There are different versions and stories behind the mythology of the Trimbakeshwar temple. However, different versions point to the start of one familiar story of long famine, which does not affect the Sage Gautama, the Saptarishi, and his wife because of the high merits of the sage Gautama. The story is further split into two versions. The first part consists of the constant high values of Sage due to his habit of providing food selflessly to other Sages. Lord Indra got worried, and he ordered to stop the famine. Although, Sage still earn merit as he asked rishis to eat at his reside.

Later, a friend of Goddess Parvati named Jaya was killed by the sharp grass during field grazing in a frail cow by Sage Gautama. Sage Gautama punished himself for his sin by killing a cow known as 'Gau Hatya.' He performed penance to bring the Goddess Ganga down to earth from the deadlocks of Lord Shiva to wash away his sins.

Lord Shiva was impressed by the Sage Gautama, thus rewarded his wish. However, later to take care of the place forever, Lord Shiva manifested near the river Gautami.

There is another mythological story of the temple pond called Kushavarta. When Muni Gautama called the Goddess Ganga on earth with the power of penance, she was unhappy after separating from the lord shiva. Due to compulsion, she appeared on earth and kept on disappearing to one or the other places such as Ganga Sagar Tirth, Varaha Tirth, etc., in anger. He wanted to take a bath in Ganga to purify himself. So, Muni Gautama bound her with the help of Kusha in one place.

Another version of the mythology behind the Trimbakeshwar temple is related to Lord Ganesha. It is believed that the Lord Ganesha took the avatar of Cow, as requested by the Rishis and their wives, who were jealous of the sage Gautama. Lord Ganesha to please Lord shiva with his penance and to bring Goddess Ganga on earth. Lord Shiva got happy from the lord Ganesha, thus appeared with all Gods and Goddesses and promised to remain at the place forever in the form of Jyotirlinga of Trimbakeshwar temple.

These mythological stories are the massive reason for the enormous number of tourist visits to the Trimbakeshwar temple.

The architecture of Trimbakeshwar Temple

The Trimbakeshwar temple is famous for its unique and intricate architecture. It was constructed during the pre-Vedic era. However, the Peshwa Balaji Rao reconstructed the temple during his rule. The three hills, Brahmagiri, Nilagiri, and Godawari, are located just near the temple. The Brahma Giri is referred to as the place of Shiva, while Nilgiri is the place of Nilambika Devi and Godawari is for Goddess Ganga.

The Lingam in this holy place is known as "Suyambu," or self-manifested. There are three different lingams in the temple, representing the sacred trinity-Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Shiva.

The main attraction for tourists is the massive statue of Lord Shiva is placed near the temple tank. The water body inside the holy place is known as the Amritavarshini.

There are various shrines inside the Trimbakeshwar temple for Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati, and Lord Ganesha. Multiple pictures of deities such as Gangadevi, Jaleswara, Parasurama, Rama, Krishna, Lakshmi Narayana, etc., are inside the temple.

The shrines housing the mortal remains of saints known as monasteries and samadhis are present in the Trimbakeshwar temple.

Several poojas occur at the temple; On Mahashivratri, there is an enormous crowd, there are different timings for the day. During Mahashivratri, the Trimbakeshwar Temple opening and darshan time starts from 6 am to 8 pm. However, Pooja timings depend on the variation of pooja taking place in the temple. The Special Pooja occurs from 7:00 am to 9:00 am, While the Madhya Pooja happens from 1:00 pm to 1:30 pm. However, the Golden Crown of Shiva is placed from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm.

Fascinating things about Trimbakeshwar Temple

• The current Trimbakeshwar temple is built by Nana Saheb, also known as Peshwa Balaji Rao, i.e. between July 1740 to June 1761. He was the Peshwa, also known as prime minister of the Maratha Empire in India.
• The Enchanting highlight of the Trimbakeshwar temple is the three-faced Lingam of Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and lord shiva in the Trimbakeshwar temple.
• These deities are covered by jeweled crowns, kept over the gold mask adorned by Tridev. The Crown was decorated during Pandavas; it consists of precious stones such as diamonds and emeralds. However, the Crown is presented on Monday from 4 to 5 pm.
• The Lingam has started to erode due to excessive use of water. There is a belief among locals that this rusting is due to the nature of human society.