Grishneswar Temple (MAHARASHTRA)

Grishneshwar is an ancient pilgrimage site revered as the abode of one of the 12 Jyotirlingas  of Shiva.

Image credit : chandranaryana

Grishneshwar is also known as Kusumeswar, Ghushmeswara, or Grushmeswara, all of the names are related legendary stories of the origin of  one of the 12 jyotirlingas Grishneshwar Mahadev. It is located at a distance of 11 km from Daulatabad near Aurangabad  in Maharashtra. Daulatabad was once known as Devagiri. Located nearby are the popular tourist attractions Ellora - featuring ancient rock cut monuments from the 1st millennnium CE, and Ajanta known for its exquisite cave paintings again from the 1st millennium CE. Maha Shivaratri is a very important religious festival here. During this festival period, thousands of devotees throng to this temple town.

Image credit : a_kamesh

There are many legends about Grishneshwar. There has to be legend associated with every temple. This one too is no exception. There was once a devout woman Kusuma who was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and she regularly immersed a Shivalingam in a tank, as a part of her daily ritual worship. Her husband's first wife, envious of her piety and standing in society murdered Kusuma's son in cold blood. An aggrieved Kusuma continued her ritual worship, and when she immersed the Shivalingam again in the tank, her son was miraculously restored to life. Shiva is said to have appeared in front of her and the villagers, and ever since then the shivalingam here has been worshipped in the form of a Jyotirlinga Ghusmeshwar.

Image credit : siddhrth tiwari

The village offers serene atmosphere for empowering the mind through the visit of holiest Jyotirlinga. The present village offers many accommodation facilities to the enthusiastic pilgrims for a hassle free temple visit. The village was once ruled by renowned Ahalyabhai Holkar, who ruled Indore during 1765 to 1795. She had built the Grishneshwar temple along with the reconstruction of Vishnu Pada temple at Gaya and Kashi Vishwanatha temple at Varanasi.