Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga, Arungabad,9th jyotirlinga yatra

Hello dear Traveler,

Hope all is well

Lord Shiva blessed you

CheLa The Excited Traveler welcome you again,

It was my 9th jyotirlinga yatra ,2nd in Maharashtra, Arungabad district .

Grishneshwar Temple, the twelth Jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva, is an important pilgrimage site for Shaivites in Aurangabad. Red rocks are mainly used for the construction of the temple, which consists of a remarkable five-tier shikara. Inside the temple is a beautiful display of carving-work of other gods and goddesses. As per beliefs, a staunch follower of Lord Shiva, once found a treasure inside a snake pit and devoted the money to build this temple. It is located close to Ajanta and Ellora Caves and the nearest airport from Grishneshwar Temple is in Aurangabad.

One of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva, Grishneshwar Temple is located in Verul village that is 20 km from Daulatabad, near Aurangabad. The temple was built by Ahilyabhai Holkar and is known by several other names such as Grushmeswara, Grishneswara and Kusumeswarar. Devotees believe that worshipping this Jyotirlinga is equal to the worship all the other and the Lord will take away all their sufferings. The Skand Puran says that once when Lord Shiva was upset with Devi Parvati, he came here and she took the form of a tribal girl to the Lord.

Legend of Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga

As per Shiva Puran, there once lived a Brahmin couple Sudeha and Brahmavetta Sudharm. Both lived on Devnagari Mountain and were disheartened for not having a kid. Sudeha asked her sister Gushma to marry her husband. She then guided her to make 101 lingas and release them on the lake after worshipping. This made Lord Shiva happy and he blessed Gushma with a baby boy. With the arrival of baby everyone felt ecstatic, unlike Sudeha who was only envious and wanted to kill the boy. Time went forward and the boy got married. One day, his wife saw blood-stains on her husband’s bed and got terrified. She later ran towards the in-laws who were busy worshipping Lord Shiva and told her what had happened. Gushma and Sudharm didn’t respond as they were engrossed completely. After a while, the couple saw the body of their son and ignored as this would interrupt the rituals. After releasing all the Shiva Lingas, they saw Lord Shiva appearing in front of them. He was contented to see their dedication and asked what they want as a boon. On this, the couple requested Lord Shiva to eternally live in the place and thus the lord manifested himself as a jyotirlinga.

Important tips for entrance and dress code

men are reqd to enter inner Santorum of the temple( where linga is) bare chested ....so the security guards make men remove shirts and upper inner garments. For women theres no dress code per se, saris, salwar kameez n even jeans are allowed.

Thanks for paying attention and motivate me ,

Jai Shiv Shankar ji,

Best regards

CheLa