Western Ghats, the mountain ranges which is
older than Himalayas stretches along the Western coast of India for approx.
1600 km. The mountain ranges are endowed with diverse ecosystems
ranging from tropical wet evergreen forests to montane grasslands containing
variety of flora, fauna and numerous medicinal plants.
However, in ancient
times these lush green Western Ghats once had witnessed a severe and long spell
of drought for more than 100 years. Then, Maharishi Gautam did a long
meditation to please Lord Shiva and requested Lord Shiva to allow Goddess Ganga
to appear at this place. Pleased by Maharishi Gautam, Lord Shiva happily agreed
to the request and so did Goddess Ganga. But Goddess Ganga put a condition that
she will appear here only if Lord Shiva also stays here in this region.
Lord
Shiva agreed to this condition as well and released Goddess Ganga from his
locks, “Jatas” at Brahmagiri mountains, which is adjacent to Trimbakeshwar
temple. Ganga river which appeared here was initially known by the name Gautami
River (after Maharishi Gautam) and is now called as “River Godavari”. And since
then, Lord Shiva has been residing in the form of” Lord Trimbakeshwar”, meaning
God with 3 eyes in this region, in fact Brahmagiri mountain is considered as a
form of Lord Shiva. Subsequently a temple was built to worship Lord Shiva at
the place. Trimbakeshwar Temple is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines of Lord
Shiva and is one of the holiest places for Hindu pilgrims and devotees.
Once you are in the temple premises after praying to the
Lord Shiva, clicking the beautiful architecture will keep you occupied for
reasonable time.
Since ancient times, the temple has been renovated and upgraded by
various rulers of the region. The present Trimbakeshwar temple was constructed
by 3rd Peshwa Balaji Bajirao during 1740-1761, at the site of old existing
temple and subsequently renovated by Ahilyabai Holkar in 1789. The
Jyotirlinga here in the temple is in the form of 3 faced Linga,
symbolizing trinity of Gods - Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh.
From entry to the temple –
Till the exit from the sacred sanctum, exquisite
carvings adorn the temple walls.
Architecture of temple is a lesson in symmetric
geometry, you may spend a whole day to locate any flaw in the design:
Nasik is well connected by roads, trains and airways. Mumbai to Nasik
takes around 5 hours by road and the road takes you on a refreshing journey
from the valleys to the origin of river Godavari in Nasik. Since pilgrims and
devotees from all over India come to this temple, be prepared to witness long
ques for entry to the temple, irrespective of time of the day. Enjoy the
experience of standing in the que, along with other devotees.
This is the skyline of Trimbakeshwar with Brahmagiri mountain sitting majestic atop-
# - Godavari
river is the 2nd longest river in India, which flows for around 1450 km. and
finally meets with Bay of Bengal.
# - Trimbakeshwar is located at the foot of
Brahamagiri hill, about 3000 feet above sea level.
Trimbakeshwar town is an ancient Hindu Pilgrim centre
located at the source of the Godavari River, the longest river in peninsular
India.
Keep exploring Folks…
