Bhimashankar Jyothirlingam, Bhimashankaram

Bhimashankaram:-

Bhimashankar is the temple containing one of the five jyotirlingas found in Maharashtra. Nana Fadnis, an eminent statesman of the Peshwa days, constructed the beautiful Shiva Temple at Bhimashankar. The wooden entrance of the temple is beautifully carved. On Mahashivratri day, over 20,000 devotees attend a special religious fair. Bhimashankar is endowed with beautiful scenery and an all-around vibrant atmosphere.

It’s the temple of Lord Shiva and there are legend of Shiva which gives us some information about this temple. Lord Shiva slaying the demon Tripurasura which can get the invisible flying in citadels Tripuras. Lord Shiva had said that to take the abode on the Bhima, but when the request of the gods, he decided to crest on the Sahyadri mountain, and after that the sweat which is poured forth from the body and also said that to have formed in the river Bhimarathi.

The Bhimashankara temple there Mokshakund thirtha which was staying behind this temple. And it was developed by the rishi of Kaushika. The Sarvathirtha and Kusharanya thirtha there the great river Bhima was flow on the eastward, and also Jyanakund.

About Legend:-

First story:-

An interesting story behind this jyotirlinga, Bhima was a Giant and lived in the forest of Dakini with his mother, named Karkati. Karkati used to do lots of love and also remind him about feud against Lord Vishnu caused Lord Rama was the incarnation of Lord Vishnu and Bhima’s father killed by Lord Rama.

Bhima was very angry and want to revenge from Lord Vishnu and others. He collected his senate and want to war with the Lord Indra and then Lord Indra was Defeated. After that He wants to fight with Lord Vishnu. The fight was continued between Lord Vishnu and Giant Bhima. After sometime, Lord Vishnu Listened Celestial Announcement that He could not win then Lord Vishnu was internal meditation and Bhima was won.

After sometime Bhima thought that if Lord Shiva not give the great power to Lord Rama then his father will not dead. Another Time Bhima wanted to revenge to Lord Shiva. He was thinking very simple about lord shiva like as others. He planned that if I will torture to lord shiva devotee and if HE will come then I will killed. So, He started torturing Rishis and Sadhus. All this angered the Gods. They all along with Lord Brahma beseeched Lord Shiva to come to their rescue. Lord Shiva consoled the Gods and agreed to rescue them from the tyrant. On the other hand Bhima insisted and ordered Kamarupeshwar to worship him instead of Lord Shiva. When Kamarupeshwar denied, the tyrant Bhima raised his sword to strike the Shiva Linga, to which Kamarupeshwar was doing abhishekam and pooja. As soon as Bhima managed to raise his sword, Lord Shiva appeared before him in all his magnificence.

Then the terrible war began. The holy sage Narada appeared and requested Lord Shiva to put an end to this war. It was then that Lord Shiva reduced the evil demon to ashes and thus concluded the saga of tyranny. All the Gods and the holy sages present there requested Lord Shiva to make this place his abode. Lord Shiva thus manifested himself in the form of the Bhimashankar Jyotirlingam. Actually when he was dead his power came in Lord Shiva’s body. Giant Bhima also requested that YOU establish here with my name like Bhima. That is why the linga name is Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga.

Second story:-

There was a demon Tripurasura who did penance in the jungle of Bhimashankar very long ago i.e. in Tretayug, to please Lord Shiva in order to achieve the gift of immortality. Lord shiva, who is specially known for his kindness towards his devotees, was pleased with Tripurasura’s commitment towards him. So as usual, he blessed him with the power of immortality with a condition that, “He should strive in the best interest of people, or he may be sued permanently for violating the condition.”

With the flow of time, Tripurasura forgot the condition to which he was abided, and eventually started harassing people as well as other deities. There was a chaos for which all the deities approached Lord Shiva for remedy.

Thus in order to sue Tripurasura, Lord Shiv prayed to Goddess Parvati (Kamalaja Mata) in order to help him to accomplish this task. Accordingly Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati underwent a new form which is popularly known as “Ardha-Narya-Nateshwar” and killed Tripurasura on Kartik Pournima which is known as “Tripurari Pornima”.

After the death of Tripurasura his wives (Dakini and Shakini) went to Lord Shiva with a question of their existence without Tripurasura. Thus Lord Shiva blessed both of them, with the power of immortality which he did to Tripurasura. Henceforth the realm Bhimashankar is known as “Dakinyam Bhimashankaram”.

Third story:-

 It is said that King Kamrupeshwar, the king of Kamrup, was a very ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. One day, a demon appeared in his kingdom and started troubling his subjects.

The demon also tried to kill King Kamrupeshwar with his sword. However, he missed the target and the sword feel on the Shiva Lingam worshipped by the king. As soon as this happened, Lord Shiva appeared at the site and killed the demon. It is believed that after killing the demon, Lord's sweat drops fell to the ground and were transformed into a stream. The stream later got converted into the Bhima River. Being situated close to the river, the temple also came to be known as the Bhimashankar Temple.

About Bhimashankar Temple:-

Enshrined inside the complex of the Bhimashankar Temple is a Shiva Lingam, which is approximately 1.5 feet in length. Apart from the lingam, the temple also enshrines Goddess Kamalaja. The Goddess is worshipped by the devotees, with as much reverence as Lord Shiva. 

  The Bhimashankar temple is a composite of old and the new structures and is built in the Nagara style of architecture. It is a modest temple yet graceful temple and it dates back to mid 18th century. The shikhara of the temple was built by Nana Phadnavis. The great Maratha ruler Shivaji is also said to have made endowments to this temple to facilitate the carrying out, of worship services. As with other Shiva temples in this area, the sanctum is at a lower level.

Although the structure here is fairly new, the shrine Bhimashankaram (and the Bhimarathi river) have been referred to in literature dating back to the 13th century CE. Saint Jnaneshwar is said to have visited Tryambakeshwar and Bhimashankar.

This temple in the Nagara style is an old and not a very large structure. The jyotir Lingam is situated on top of the Sahyadri hill temple. Lord Siva is considered to be taking rest here after the Trpurantaka samharam. The sweat drops of Lord Siva were converted as steam & is running as Bhimarati. New

structures have been added. There are two idols of Nandideva. One idol is old, while the other is of fairly recent addition. There is a theertham & a well behind the temple structure. The Bhimashankarar Lingam measures around one and a half feet & quite narrow. The Goddess is worshipped as Kamalaja.

Architecture of bhimashankar:-

 Carvings of divinities and human figures can be found over the walls, pillars and doors of the temple. It is a popular myth that the Jyotirlingam was erected upon the self emanated Shiva Lingam. Inside the

temple there is also a small shrine dedicated to lord Shani Dev. There is also a Portuguese bell to be found at the center of the two pillars outside the Shani Temple. Beauty unveils itself in many forms in this beautiful temple amongst the hill side.

The Temple can be divided into three parts-Sabhamandap, Kurmamandap and Garbhagriha. The Sabhamandap is spacious and has counters of puja/abhishek registrations. Here one can see purohits explaining about different pujas to devotees. The present Sabhamandap was built in the year 1960.The main temple and its shikhar has intricate stone carving, which makes ornamentation of the mandap quite dull.

There are independent temples of Shani Maharaj and Nandi idols adjoining to main temple. The main Bhimashankar temple is surrounded by Shri Ram, Dutta, Vitthal and Mataji temples. From Dutta temple one can see beautiful kalash and shikhar of main Bhimashankar temple.

Garbhagriha - 25 to 30 people can be in the garbhgriha at the same time. Swayambhu Jyotirlinga is in an underground chamber that glows in the lamp light. It is the only Jyotirlinga, where people offer marigold with bilva to Lord Shiva. Devotees circumambulate the Jyotirlinga adding to the heap of scared bilva leaves and marigold that cover it. The yoni is clad in etched silver.

Darshan Protocols - In the main temple one sees Nandi idol followed by goddess Parvati and before entering garbhagriha. After puja/abhishek to the Jyotirlinga one comes out from the same route. In the premises is temple of Shanimaharaj and Nandi temple followed by a place of akhand dhuni. The Dhun of Guru Gorakhnath is maintained by the Nath Sampradaya even today.

Then come temples of Shri Ram, Dutta, Vitthal and Mataji and also visits the holy kund. Next the main temple is Shri Ram temple. The present temple was built in a memory of a lady Taibai Arnaji Konkane. The devotees also offer peda (a sweet) to Bhimashankar

A unique bell (roman style) can be seen in front of the temple which was presented by Chimaji Appa ( Brother of Bajirao Peshwa and uncle of Nanasaheb Peshwa )Chimaji Appa collected two large bells after he won war against Portugue from Vasai Fort. He offered one here at Bhimashankar.

Importance of the place In this temple, Lord Eshwara is shown in Half man and Half woman (Ardha Narishwara) form. There is a continuous water flow from this Jyotirlinga, which is the speciality of this place. 

Some more places of interest here are, Kamalaja Devi temple, origin of Bhima river, Bombay point and Hanuman temple. In Pune city, Kelkar museum, Goddess Parvati temple are important. Nearer to this city, Mahabaleshwar, Kolhapur can be visited. Shri Mahalaxmi temple is very famous in Kolhapur. This temple is considered as one of the Shakti peetha. 

Three worship services are offered every day. Mahashivratri is a season of great festivity here.

Temple Timings:-

Mandir open - 4:30 am

Aarti - 4:45 am to 5.00 am

Nijarup (Original shivlinga)darshan - 5:00 am to 5.30 am

Normal Darshans and Abhishekam - 5:30 am to 2:30 pm.

No Abhishekam between - 12:00 pm to 12:00 pm.

Maha Puja (Naivedya Pooja) - 12.00 pm. to 12.30 pm

Aarti - 3:00 pm to 3:30 pm

Shringar Darshans - 3:30 am to 9:30 pm.

Aarti - 7:30 pm to 8:00 pm

(Except Pradosham on Monday or Amavasya or Grahan or Mahashivratri. Kartihik Month, Shravan Month — No Mukut and no Shringar Darshans).

Rudrasamhita sloka in its reference to Bhimashankar says, Daakine Bhimashankaram. There is also a Bhimashankar temple at Bhimapur hill near Guwahati in Assam where legend holds that a demon by name Bhima who inflicted havoc upon the beings in the area, was slain by Shiva, as he tried to kill a king enaged in Shiva worship.

This is not to be confused with the legend Mruthumjaya Lingam, where Shiva emerged from a Shivalingam to vanquish Yama the Lord of death. The Shiva Purana and the Koti Rudra Samhita refer to Bhimashankar temple in the Kamarupa country. However there is also a reference to Mount Sahya, where it is stated that Shiva — Bhimashankara appeared on the Sahayadris.

Three worship services are offered each day. Mahashivratri is a season of great festivity here.

Bhimashar Temple in different Areas:-

There is also a Bhimashankar temple at Bhimapur hill near Guwahati in Assam where legend holds that a demon by name Bhima who inflicted havoc upon the beings in the area, was slain by Shiva, as he tried to kill a king enaged in Shiva worship.

This is not to be confused with the legend Mruthumjaya Lingam, where Shiva emerged from a Shivalingam to vanquish Yama the Lord of death. The Shiva Purana and the Koti Rudra Samhita refer to Bhimashankar temple in the Kamarupa country. However there is also a reference to Mount Sahya, where it is stated that Shiva – Bhimashankara appeared on the Sahayadris.

Three worship services are offered each day. Mahashivratri is a season of great festivity here.It is to be noted that the Rudrasamhita sloka in its reference to Bhimashankar says, Daakine Bhimashankaram. There is also a Bhimashankar temple at Bhimapur hill near Guwahati in Assam where legend holds that a demon by name Bhima who inflicted havoc upon the beings in the area, was slain by Shiva, as he tried to kill a king enaged in Shiva worship.

This is a legend similar to that where Shiva emerged from a Shivalingam to vanquish Yama the Lord of death. The Shiva Purana and the Koti Rudra Samhita refer to Bhimashankar temple in the Kamarupa country. However there is also a reference to Mount Sahya, where it is stated that Shiva – Bhimashankara appeared on the Sahayadris.

There is also a Bhimashankara temple at Kashipur near Nainital in Uttarakhand, which was referred to as Daakini country in ancient days. It is believed that Bhima the Pandava prince was married to Hidamba, a Daakini here. Mahashivaratri is celebrated in great splendour here too. This temple also has shrines to Bhairavanath and Devi, and a temple tank by name Shivaganga.

Sight seeing places in Bhimashakar:-

Moksha Kund - It is the first place to visit after having darshan at Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga and surrounding temples. The place is 500 meter away from main Bhimashankar temple. Here sage Kaushik had a long penance. Moksha means salvation. The story narrates that the ancestors of Ruchik, a disciple of sage Kaushik was bachelor and hence his forefathers couldn’t get salvation. Ruchik requested sage Kaushik to help him out. Sage Kaushik therefore created a kunda (pond with water from his kamandal (wooden water pot).To respect his penance, river Bhima emerged in the pond. Ancestors of Ruchik bathed in it and finally got salvation.

Other place of interest is sakshi (witness) Ganapati temple, which is 2 km from Bhimashankat temple.

Kamalajadevi Temple - Kamalajadevi Temple has goddess Kamalaja who played a vital role in battle between Lord Shiva and Tripurasur. It is said that Lord Brahma was also used to worship Kamalajadevi with offerings of lotus flowers.

Matheran Point - It is a place 500 meter away from from Bhimashankar and from here one can see the different parts of Maharastra like Matheran, Raigarh, and Thane Hanuman tale or Krida Tirtha is a place located 2 km from main temple. It was a sports ground of Lord Shiva and Parvati.It is also a place of sage Javali. There are temples of Hanuman and his mother Anjani at this place.

Other places of interest are Vanaspati Point, Mumbai Point, and Bhoragarh etc.

Bhimashankar wildlife sanctuary - Tucked away in the Sahayadris, the Bhimashankar Sanctuary is home to a variety of endangered species of flora and fauna. The dominant species of flora are Mango, Hirda, Behda, various medicinal herbs, bamboo and fern. The Giant Indian Squirrel is one of the major

attractions of the sanctuary. The other species found in the dense forests are Panther, Sambar, Mouse Deer, Hyena and the Wild boar.

How to reach :- 

By Air - The nearest airport is the Pune Airport which is at a distance of 95 kilometres from Bhimashankar.

By Rail - The nearest Railhead is the Pune which is at a distance of 95 kilometres from Bhimashankar. 

By Road - Bhimashankar is situated around 260 kms from Mumbai via Pune. From Pune You have to take the road that goes to Wada to reach Bhimashankar.  

Accomodation:-

Pilgrims usually stay here for three days. The local upajjhayas (priests) make arrangements for the lodging and boarding of pilgrims at a small cost. Visitors are accommodated in either temporary hutments or in dharamshalas near the village. A new dharamshala is under construction. There are several hotels near Bhimashankar. Places like Shinoli and Ghodegaon are good for staying near Bhimashankar. Accommodation at Bhimashankar mainly comprises two bungalows (with a capacity of 8 beds) and tents.