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.
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…