Tri Lingam- Trambakeshwar Jyothirlingam

Trambakeshwar:-

The ancient religious places of Maharashtra state a place known as Trimbakeshwar came to my sight. It is also known as Trambakeshwar situated in a small town called Trimbak of Nashhik District in the state of Maharashtra at an altitude of 700 metres from sea level. It is basically famous for a historic Hindu Temple with the main deity as Lord Shiva and is said to be the one of the twelve sacred

Jyotirlingas in the country. Situated just 28 kilometres from the city of Nasik this town is the origin of Holy River Godavari which is the longest river in peninsular India. The sacred River Godavari has its origin in Bramhagiri Mountains and it flows down to merge into the sea at Rajahmundry. Though it originates from the mountains Hindus believe that Kusavarta is the origin of the river. It is a Kund which is considered extremely sacred bathing place by Hindus.

Trimbakeshwar (Tryambakeshwar, Trambakeshwar) takes its name from 'Trimbaka', which means The Lord Who has Three Eyes. This is a place of Tri-Sandhya Gayatri, the birthplace of Lord Ganesha, and the site of the first Nath of the Nath Sampradaya. Sinhastha Mahatmya mentions that Lord Rama made the yatra at Trimbakeshwar. Trimbakeshwar is also considered to be one of the holiest places to perform Shraddha. The Nirnaya Sindhu mentions Trimbakeshwar as the place where Sahyadri Mountain and Godavari River exist, purifying the entire earth planet.

The Trimbakeswar Jyotirlinga is extraordinary in several ways. It embodies all three of the Trimurti together: Vishnu, Brahma and Siva. The lingam is comprised of three small, thumb-like linga, each a member of the Trimurti. They are swayambhua, or self-manifesting. The three lingam are covered with a mask, usually of silver, which bears the faces of the Trimurti. On special occasions a gold mask is worn, and upon this a jeweled crown is placed. The crown, covered in precious gems, is from the age of the Pandavas.

Trimbakeshwar is the only Jyotirlinga where the lingam sits in a depression on the floor, rather than projecting upwards, above it. Consequently, the trilingam in the sanctum is not worshipped with abhisheka in the usual way. Here, there is just the bottom part of the pounding stone (ukhali), which is a depression in which the three lingams sit. The Linga of Mahesha has a constant stream of natural water flowing over it. It is said that flames sometimes issue forth from the lingam depression, as well as a rumbling sound.

According to Shiv Purana, it is because of the earnest request of Godavari, Gautam Rishi and other gods that Lord Shiva agreed to reside here and assumed the famous name Trimbakeshwar. Interestingly, locals refer to the river here as Ganga and not as Godavari. All the heavenly Gods promised to come down to Nasik, once in twelve years, when Jupiter resides in the zodiac sign of Leo. On this a grand fair is organized at this place. Devotees take a holy bath in the Gautami Ganga and then seek the blessings of Trimbakeshwar.

A place of the first Nath of Nath Sampradaya consisting of Gorakhnath and others, a place where Nivrittinath was made to imbibe the holy knowledge by his Guru Gahininath, a place where Nivrittinath made his brothers and sister attain the self by his preaching.
This is the holiest place to perform Shradha ceremony like Narayan nagbali As per Nirnaya Sindhu - a religious book of Hindus.

The holy tree of this temple is Jack tree. The holy water of this temple is nearby stream water. The agamam or pooja of this temple is called as Kameeyam. This temple is approximately 2000-3000 years old in this region. The historical name of this place is Trimbak.

About Legend:-
There are two stories related to Trimbakeshwar. One story is about Simhastha Parva according to Padma Puran.

Centuries ago the gods and goddesses used to roam in India. They helped sages and people living here at the time of various difficulties, especially from the demons who were a nuisance. However, this fight generally caused heavy damages to both, gods and demons. It was decided to settle the issue of supremacy once for all. They agreed that whosoever captures Amritakumbha (immortal nectar) will be the victor. Amritakumbha (pot with immortal nectar) was on the sea bed.

The gods were successful in getting nectar by fooling the demons. When the demons came to know of this, they launched a violent fight for Amritakumbha (immortal nectar). In process drops of nectar fell at four places - Haridwar, Prayag, Ujjain and Trimbakeshwar. Trimbakeshwar is one of the four places where drops of heavenly nectar fell. At that time was when the planet Jupiter (Guru) had entered the hemisphere of Leo (Simha). And as this same planet enters the hemisphere once in 12 years, the Kumbh Mela is held once in 12 years in the respective areas.

Legend :-2
Sage Gautam used to live in this area. Once there was severe drought for 24 years. To come to the rescue of people, sage Gautam worshipped Lord Varun (rain god) and the god was pleased. He blessed the sage with the gift of plenty of rains in the area. This made the area lush green and full of water.

 But this made other sages jealous of Gautam. They sent a cow to destroy the granary of Gautam. When Gautam tried to shoo her away, she was injured and died. Waiting for such an opportunity, other sages charged Gauam of great sin of killing mother cow and made him go for penance. He was asked to worship Lord Shiva and bathe in Ganga.

Gautam appeased Lord Shiva who in turn asked Ganga to come to Gautam's place. Gauatm and Ganga prayed to Lord Shiva to come here with Parvati and stay with them. They made Lord Shiva agree to the request and he decided to settle here. Here the river Ganga appeared in the form of river Godavari. Hence it is also known as Ganga Godavari or Gautami Godavari. People here worship the Godavari as Ganga. Lord Shiva also resides here in the form of Trimbakeshwar.

The Jyotirlinga is wearing away due to excess use of water but devotees take it as a symbol of deteriorating nature of human society. There is jewelled crown over the gold mask of Tridev Linga. It is said that this crown is quite ancient and might be from the period of Pandwas. It is adorned with diamonds, emeralds and other such precious stones. If you want to have a look of the crown then you can visit the temple on Monday between 4.00pm and 5.00 pm. The impressive black stone temple representing excellent architecture is situated at the foothills of Brahmgiri Mountain. The entrance of the temple is huge with balconies at the upper side resembling to Maratha Architecture.

There are two pradakshinas (ring routes) in this kshetra - one round the Brahmagiri and the other one round Hariharagiri. Pilgrim has to go for pradakshina with holy garment early in the morning visiting and bathing in various tirthas.



History of Trimbakeshwar:-
There was built a city which later on became famous as Trimbakeshwar. In the period of the Peshwas regime Nana Saheb Peshwa had instructed to construct the Trimbakeshwar temple and developed and
beautified the city of Trimbakeshwar





Triambakeshvar Temple:-

Triambakeshvar is situated in a small village known as Trimbak.The temple of Triambakeshwar Mahadev is a magnificent pile. Enclosed within a courtyard measuring some two hundred sixty by two hundred twenty feet, the temple is built in local black stone. On either side of the entrance are tall dipmalas with brackets of an artistic variety projecting from them. Next to these and in front of the temple is a small but extremely elegant structure- a small cupola, that houses the nandi, the vahan of the Lord. Inside it, with the foreleg slightly raised is a marble image of the bull.

The easternmost part of the shrine is the mandap, square on plan and of massive proportions. It has a door on each side. Each of these entrances (except the western that opens into the antarala) is covered by porches. These porches have seperate roofs but have the same entabulature and cornice as the mandap from which they project. The openings of these porches are ornamented by cusped arches and moulded pillars. The roof is formed of slabs rising in steps from the architrave. These slabs are curvilinear externally and each supports a discoid termination, the shape of which is related to that of the surmounting dome.

Above the discoid terminations is a lotus-like finial which gives what grace it may to the flattened domes of these ponderous structures. The antarala, a small rectangular verandah intervenes between the mandap and garbhagriha. The garbhagriha is internally a square although externally it is a multi-cornered star. The deep vertical offsets and horizontal mouldings, and the far projecting cornices create memorable shade and light patterns and give a rich and massive appearance to this huge pile.
Numerous figures of animals and human beings and,yakshas and gods add to this chequered pattern. Running scrolls and small floral designs form parts of the sculptural wealth of the structure. Each pilaster-like projection has a niche in the centre, housing some image or the other. Above the garbhagriha rises a graceful spire with curvilinear outlines.

Rows of kalash-like motifs decorate the corners. A giant amalaka surmounts the shikhar, the finial being a gift 'kalash'. Around the shikhar are clustered numerous miniature replicas of itself. This structure is the most elegant and complete specimen of the North Indian or Indo-Aryan style found in Maharashtra. It was caused to be built by the third Peshwa Balaji Bajirao (1740-1761) on the site of an older but much humbler shrine. It took nearly thirty-one years to complete the structure and cost somewhere in the vicinity of sixteen lakhs of rupees.


There are various spots of religious significance in Trimbakeshwar worth exploring like:
• Trimbakeshwar temple
• Kushavarta
• Brahmagiri
• Gangadwar
• Bilwa Tirtha
• Gautam Tirtha
• Indra Tirtha
• Ahilya Sangam tirtha


Kushavarta :-

Just a 5 min walk away from main temple there is a sacred pond called "Kushavarta" which is from where river Ganga takes here route to the rest of India. A dip in this sacred river wipes off the sins, is the belief of people. The sage Gautam committed a sin of murdering a cow and by taking bath in this river, wiped off his sin & gets rid off of all its sin's if he takes bath here. Story has that, Sage Gautam forced river Ganga to stall within the enchanted grass area he made and puts a vow on her. This he done so to take a holy bath in this water and to get rid of his sin for killing a cow.

Sheemant Rao Sahib Parnekar built the temple around the stalled water at this place which we are seeing today.  The walls inside all along the hall is inscribed by various Idols, and in all corners are some small temple. The most important fact of this pond is that it is the starting point of Kumb Mela which happens once in a 12 year and next is on 2015. Saints all over the world come to this place on the occasion of mela to take a holy bath.

There are certain time allotted by the government abiding which Saints needs to take bath. They take bath in the sequence of their seniority and once they are done then rest of normal peoples can proceed. As per the rule the sadhus (Saint) belonging to "Vaishnav" sect will take bath in Godavari at Ram Kund, Panchavati and those belonging to "Shaiva" sect will take bath here. Since Godavari (Ganga) flows from here and reaches at Ram Kund so both are considered pious. This rule was set by Peshawa during the time where in one of the Kumb mela these two groups fought with each other over who would take the holy bath first which resulted in hundreds of death.

Brahmagiri :-
Trimbakeshwar Temple is perched on the picturesque lusting green Brahmagiri hills. River Godavari originates on this hill and flows though the Brahmagiri ranges. Original Ganges and Trimbak Tirtha are on Brahmagiri mountain adjacent to Trimbakeshwar temple. Brahmagiri is considered as a huge form of Lord Shiva and hence the mountain climbing was considered as a sin. However in 1908 Seth Lalchand Jashodanand Bhambhani of Karachi and Seth Ganeshdas built 500 steps of stone at a cost of Rs. 40,000 then this has facilitated easy access to Brahmagiri. Godavari is flowing in three directions on the mountain.

The one flowing towards east is called Godavari, one flowing towards the south is called Vaitarna and the one flowing towards the west is called the west-flowing Ganga and meets Godavari near Chakra Tirth. River Ahilya meets Godavari in front of the Trimbakeshwar temple. Childless families worship at the Ahilya sangam and it is believed that they do get a child.

The first peak of Sahyadri is called Brahmadri. The story associated with this is that Shankar was pleased with Brahmadev and said “ I shall be known by your name”. Hence it is called as Brahmagiri. The mountain is 1800 feet high . Its height from sea level is 4248 feet. Five peaks of this mountain are called Sadyo-Jata, Vamdev, Aghora, Ishana and Tat-Purusha and are considered as five mouths of the Lord Shiva and they are worshipped.




Gorakhnath Gufa:-
Gorakhnath Gufa is a famous cave located at the halfway ascent in Brahmagiri hills. It is located few steps down to Gangadwar. The cave is intriguing with many attractive carvings. The gufa is on the premises of the Shrine dedicated to Goddess Ganga in The Brahmagiri hills. It is believed that the noted
Guru Gorakhnath had undergone penance here in this cave. Devotees offer prayers at this Gufa to remove all the sins committed during the earthly living. The beautiful serene ambiance in the region make it a pleasant spot for pilgramage.

Ganngdwar:-
Ganngdwar is situated in right of the middle of Brahmagiri Mountain. There is a temple of Ganga, now known as Godavari River. Ganga appears first time here, after it vanishes from Brahmagiri Mountain.There are 750 steps to Gangadwar. They were built by Sheth Karamasi Hansraj of Kutch,

Gujarat. The work was commenced in 1907 and was completed in 1918.Sheth Hansraj also built road for the visitors.Gangadwar is one of the five tirthas. There is an idol of Ganga and 108 shivalingas installed by Rishi Gautam.The caves of Gorakhnath is also situated at this place.

Kedareshwar temple :-
Kedareshwar temple in Trimbakeshwar is located in the pictures area known as Kushavarta. This temple is on the South East corner of Kushavarta. The temple is dedicated to Kedareshwar Mahadev, one of the forms of Lord Shiva. The temple resembling age old style of Hindu caves. Legends tell that Lord Kedarnath appeared in the form of Kedarbhatta to save Saint Gautama from the sin of killing a cow. He made Gautama to take bath in the water flows through the place assumed to be from Ganga and hence saint had performed the repentance. Kanchan and Kankhala tirtha are nearby attractions. It is believed that from here dead human bones disappear.









Sant Nivruttinath Samadhi Temple:-
The place is 2 km away from Trimbakeshwar temple. It is the shrine with a narrow colourful dome houses the samadhi of Sant Nivrutti Nath. He was the elder brother of Maharastra's most famous saint Dhyaneshwar. Nivrruttinath was the first to achieve sainthood in Varkari Sampradaya and he guided all his three siblings. The place remains open between 5 am tand 10 pm daily.








Parikrama:-
On third Monday of holy shravan many devotees undertake parikrama (circumnavigation) of the Brahmagiri Hill.More than 3.5 lacs devotees walk a distance of 30 km in about 6 to 7 hours.Many devotees also perform a 12 km parikrama through different route of Brahmagiri hill in 12 to 13 hours.

Swami Smarth Ashram:-
 It is situated about 2 km from Trimbakeshwar Temple.Swami Smarth was a very popular Spiritual Guru in Maharastra in the 19th century .The temple is spacious and clean.The temple faces Sahyadri and Trimbak hence offers a beautiful view. It remain opens all the day.


Brahmagiri hills:-
Trimbakeshwar Temple is perched on the picturesque lusting green Brahmagiri hills near Nasik in Maharashtra. River Godavari originates on this hill and flows though the Brahmagiri ranges. Brahmagiri, the hill (giri) of Lord Brahma, appear in many mythological and legendary documents. Legend says that

the saint Gautam and his wife Ahalya resided on this hill. Saint Gautam worshiped Lord Shiva to bring Ganga in this hill. This river is known as River Gautami in the Brahmagiri hills.

Panch Tirtha Yatra:-
Pancha tirtha yatra includes Gangadwar, Kushavarta, Bilwaka, Neel Parvat and Kanakhala tirtha. It is believed that one who takes a bath in the above frees himself from the cycle of life and death.


Bilwa Tirtha:-
Bilwa Tirtha is to the north of Nila mountain. It is one of the five tirthas. There is a temple of Bilvakeshwar Mahadev built by Naro Vinayak Gogte in 1738 at a cost of Rs. 25,000.00


Ram Lakshman Tirtha:-
Ram Lakshman Tirtha is located just few steps down to Gorakh Gumpha. Gorakh Gumpha was the place where Guru Gorakhnath practiced penance for removing the sin of killing a cow. At this location, River Ganga flows from the roots of a big Audumbar tree. This flow of Ganga in this hilly terrain of

Brahmagiri hills is known as Rama-Laxman tirtha. Legends teach us that Lord Rama spent few days at this Tirtha to do the Shraddha (rituals for the salvation of the souls) for his father Dasharatha. There is a Rama temple at this location. The temple is built by Gopalrao Ghanekar in 1857.



Gautam Tirtha:-
Gautam Tirtha is to the south of the Ganges and the Trimbakeshwar temple. Varun being pleased with Gautam gave this tirtha as a permanent source of water. To the north is Gautameshwar and to the south is Rameshwar Mahadev. This tank is 600 x 400 ft and is built by Shrimant Pandit Zashivale at a cost of Rs. 50,000.00


Indra Tirtha:-
Indra Tirtha is to the east and near Kushavarta. This is known as Shakra-Kupa for Indra wiped off his curse given by sage Gautam for enjoying Ahilya, by a bath in this tirtha. This is built with cut stone in octagonal form by Vishnu Mahadeo Gadre at a cost of Rs. 22000 in 1778. On the bank of the tirtha is a beautiful temple of Indreshwar Mahadev with an idol of Indra seated on an Airavata elephant.

Besides this there are Vishwanath tirtha, Nilambar tirtha or Moti-tank, Mukund tirtha, Prayag tirtha and Veni-Madhav and other Mahadev temples on the bank of Prayag tirtha. Here is a matha of Nirvana Sampradaya (sect) Nilganga tirtha and nilsangameshwar Mahadev temple are on the north bank of Godavati.


Ahilya Sangam tirtha:-
To force Gautam to give up his penance, a friend of Ganga named Jatila took the form of Ahilya, Gautam’s wife. Gautam could make it out and cursed her to be transformed into a river. Then she begged his pardon. Gautam granted her pardon and said that she will be freed of her curse on her joining with Godavari river. This is the Ahilya-Sangam tirtha where Ganga and Godavari join. There is a temple of Sangmeshwar Mahadev.


Ashta tirtha yatra and pancha tirtha yatra:-
Two yatras (pilgrimage) are performed here.
A) Ashta tirtha yatra including Ballal tirtha, the sacred place of Gunesh Ganapati, Varansi tirtha, Manakarnika tirtha, Ganga sagar, Rama-Laxman tirtha, Shali tirtha, Kanchan tirtha and Ahilya-Sangam tirtha.
B) Pancha tirtha yatra includes Gangadwar, Kushavarta, Bilwaka, Nilparavata and Kanakhala tirtha. It is believed that one who takes a bath in the above is never reborn.

Neel Parvat:-

Neel Parvat is located in the north of the Trimbakshwar city and it is one of the five major pilgrim places. The visitors normally comes in the late afternoon or early morning to visit this place.The 200 steps climb takes 45 minutes to one hour.If one can not climb the mount,ther is also an option to hire
an auto rickshaw for Trimbakeshwar temple-Neel Parvat round trip and it charges around Rs.60 to Rs.75. It's a walking distance from the Trimbakeshwar bus stand.

Shreemant Seth Kapol has built about 200 steps. On the summit is the temple of Nilambika and Matamba Devi, further on is an ancient temple of Nilkantheshwar Mahadev and an idol of Parashuram. There is an old akhada(Matha) called Dashnami Panchayati Akhadaor matha of the Naga Gosavi sect and an ancient temple of Sadguru Dattatreya. There are many temples apart from this.The temples are very clean and are situated in a row,close to each other.

This temple is on top of the Neel mountain. All goddesses ('Matamba','Renuka','Mananmba') came here to see 'Parashuram' when he was performing penance (tapas). After his penance he requested all goddesses to stay there and the temple was formed for these goddesses. God Dattatreya (Shripad Shrivallabh) stayed here for some years.as well as neelkantheshwar mahadev ancient mandir is also situated right behind the Dattatrey temple. & in the feets of this Neel parvat :Annapurna ashram,renuka devi,khandoba temple is also here.

Puja & Festivals:-

Mondays are considered particularly holy and the priests carry the idol of Trimbakeshwar in a palanquin on their shoulders around the temple. The annual festival of Shivratri is also celebrated with great pomp and gaiety and attracts thousands of pilgrims from all over.

The most important festivals are 10 day with float festival and flag hoisting in March-April; pudding festival in August-September; Margazhi Tiruvadhirai in December-January; Shivarathri in Febuary – March, English and regional New Year days, Skanda Sashti and Annabishekam in October-November, Deepavalli, Navarathri, 10 day Brahmmotsavam in Vaikasi Visakam in May-June, Masi month, Car festival along with floating festival are performed in grand manner in this particular shrine.

Most of the pujas, rituals and homams are conducted according the Vedic tradition plus rules and regulations. It is an ancient Hindu temple that is largely dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is the most sought after temple in the state and its neighboring states.

Nagbali-Narayan Bali-Kalsarpa dosh Puja - Trimbakeshwar is the place where many pilgrims come to perform a special puja called Nagbali-Narayanbali and Kalsarpadosh nivaran. The devotee who is childless come at this place and performs this puja, which takes 3 to 4 hours.The purohits normally charge a minimum of Rs.2000. The charge depends upon the scale and capacity of puja and the pilgrim. Nagbali -Narayan bali puja is performed for one's forefathers. The puja is performed at the place called Sangam (confluence) of the Godavari and its tributary Ahilya, which is just outside the Trimbakeshwar temple. The pujas are performed daily during the morning hours.

According to historical records, Nashik is one of four places(Prayag, Nashik, Ujjain and Haridwar) where the elixir of immortality, the 'amrit'(nectar), fell to earth from a pitcher as gods and demons were engaged in the tussle to gain the ownership of the jar full of 'amrit'. The Kumbh Mela rotates among the four holy sites every three years.

The Kumbh Mela is marked by millions of devotees' plunge into the river Godavari that is believed would cleanse their souls leading to salvation. A ritual bath at a predetermined time and place is the major event of the festival. The annual festival of Shivratri is also celebrated with great pomp and show inviting thousands of pilgrims.

Temple timings :-

Temple is managed by Shri Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga Trust. However, pujas are controlled by purohits .There are three main pujas performed every day. Pujas are between 7 to 9 am, noon puja at 1 pm and sayam puja between 7 to 9 pm. During the night worship, sheja arti is carried out and a silver mask placed on a bed in a hall of mirrors. Every Monday between 3:30 and 5 pm, a palki (palanquin) carries the silver panch mukhi mukhota (five faced image of Lord Trimbakeshwar) from the temple complex to nearby Kushavrata Tirtha and back. An abhishek is performed there. The palki processions carry a golden crown during Shivaratri, Kartik Purnima and Dussehra. The special golden crown of the Lord donated by the Peshwas is also shown to devotees once a week on every Monday at 4:30 pm.

How to reach By air Nearest airport from Trimbakeshwar is at Mumbai, which is about 200 km away from the holy city. Taxi services are available from airport to Trimbakeshwar. By train Nearest railhead is at Nasik. It is one the major railway stations connected to all major cities in India. Many trains are available to Nasik from other cities. By road Trimbakeshwar is connected by bus services run by Maharashtra Road Transport Corporation. There are many private luxury buses available from Mumbai to Nasik as well.