There are 12 Jyotirlingas in our country, Jyotirlingas are sacred holy shrines of Lord Shiva. It is said that Lord Shiva visited these places and hence they have a special place in the hearts of devotees. Jyotirlinga means the column or pillar of light. The ‘Stambha’ symbol represents that there is no beginning nor an end.
There is a mythological story behind it, when Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu had a fight or an argument about who was the supreme god, Lord Shiva appeared as a column of light and asked both of them to find an end. But they couldn’t find it. It is said that the places where these columns of light fell are called the jyotirlingas. Well, the Grishneshwar means the Lord of compassion.
The temple is made up of red rocks and is composed of shikhara. Even the Dashavataras- the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu are also carved in red stone. There is a court hall which was built on 24 pillars and one can find carvings of various legends and mythologies of Lord Shiva.
There are various stories behind this temple told by legends. One legend says that there was once a woman named Kusuma, who worshipped the Lord Shiva every day, immersing the Shiva Linga in a water body along with her prayers. Her husband’s first wife was jealous of her devotion and murdered her son. Although Kusuma was deeply affected by the death of her son, she kept up her faith and her devotion to the Lord. It is said that Lord Shiva was so happy with her devotion, as a result, he brought her son back to life. Kusuma requested the Lord to stay on, which is why Lord Shiva manifested himself as a jyotirlinga here which we see today.
Another story of the legend says that there was a Brahmin called Brahmavetta Sudharm, who lived with his wife Sudeha in the Devagiri mountains. The couple was childless, so Sudeha wanted her sister Ghushma married to her husband and she did. On her sister’s advice, Ghushma would make lingas worship them, and immerse them in the lake. She was, finally, blessed with a baby boy. Later over time, Sudeha started to become jealous of her sister and murdered her son and threw him into the very lake where her sister used to immerse the lingas. Ghushma’s daughter-in-law told her that Sudeha murdered her son, Ghushma continued her daily rituals believing in the Lord’s mercy. And true to her beliefs, as she went to immerse the Linga, she saw her son walking towards her. Lord Shiva appeared before her and told her of her sister’s evil intentions.
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Ghushma requested the Lord to forgive her sister. And lord forgives her, granted her a boon. She asked him to stay at this place, and upon her request, God manifested himself as a jyotirlinga called Ghushmeshwar. The lake in which Ghushma used to immerse the lingas was called Shivalaya.
Some interesting facts about Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga temple.
- Grishneshwar is also known as the Ghushmeshwar and Kusumeshwar.
- Men are required to go only in dhoti into the temple.
- This is the smallest jyotirlinga temple in India.
- Anyone can visit this spiritual spot at any time of the year, it would be best to visit it during the winter months between October and March. Visiting this ancient and divine destination during the Maha big festival Mahashivratri would be the ultimate treat for any devotee.
Grishneshwar Temple Timings
Grishneshwar temple opens at 05:30 am and closes at 09:30 pm in the evening. Furthermore, During the month of monsoon, the temple remains open between 03:00 am to 11:00 pm. The time required for Darshan is just 1 to 2 hours depending on the crowd.
However, the best time to visit the temple is between June to August when the monsoon starts, because the weather would be pleasant which makes it the ideal time to visit the temple.
How to reach Grishneshwar Temple?
By Air- The nearest airport is Aurangabad, and there are regular flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, and Udaipur.
By Train- Aurangabad is the nearest railway station. Manmad is also one of the closest railway stations which are well-connected.
By Road- From Pune, the temple is 256 km which will take almost 4.5 hours. From Nasik, it is 187 km, a 3 hours drive. From Shirdi, it is 122 km, which takes around 2.5 hours.
