Bhimashankar Temple

Bhimashankar is an ancient shrine situated in the Sahyadri hills in the state of Maharashtra. It is one of the Jyotirlingas among 12 situated in india.Bhima Shankar Temple lies on the banks of the river Bhima. Bhimashankar is located in the village of Bhorgiri 50 km north west of Khed, near Pune. 

Legends

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". 

THE TEMPLE :

The Bhimashankara temple is a composite of old and the new structures in the Nagara style of architecture. It shows the excellency of the skills achieved by ancient Vishwakarma sculptors. It is a modest yet graceful temple and it dates back to 13th century and the sabhamandap developed in 18th century by Nana Phadnavis. The shikhara was built by Nana Phadnavis. 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.

The worship of BhimaShankar is done, with Rudrabhishek, Panchamrit snan, everyday. The Lord is praised in rich words. On Mondays as well as other days, lot of devotees flock here for Darshan. A big fair (mela) takes place on Maha Shivaratri festival.The Temple can be divided into three parts-Sabhamandap, Kurmamandap and Garbhagriha.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.

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.

Other Temples :

• Datta Mandir
• Kamalaja Mata Mandir
• Ram Mandir

Temple Timings :

  

TIMINGS
4.30 am	Kakada aarti
5.00 am	Nijarup Darshan
5.30 am	Pooja, Abhishek starts
12.00 pm	Naivedya pooja
12.30 pm	Pooja, Abhishek Starts
3.00 pm	Madhyan aarti(No Darshan For 45 Min)
4.00 to 9.30 pm	Shringar darshan
7.30 pm	Aarti
9.30 pm	Temple Close

- Except Monday, Pradosh, Sravan mass Maha sivaratri Present Abhisheka (Abhishek inside Temple) till 2.00 PM

- On Monday, Pradosh, Sravan mass Maha sivaratri Present Abhisheka (Abhishek inside Temple) till 6.00 PM

Pujas done at Bhimashankar

The temple is managed by Shri Kshetra Bhimashankar Sansthan and the management has fixed the rates for different pujas/offerings. This is the only place where the devotees have two options to offer a puja for a particular day or special days in a year. There are two categories-one Monday or four Mondays and One Pradosh & One Amavasya.

Devotee has to register details at Puja registration counters in the temple. The purohit provides a receipt. The Prasad of such puja would be sent by post at devotees address.

Other Places to Visit :

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.

Sakshi Ganapati Temple : 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.

Accomdation : Private Hotels Near Temple

Festivals :

Major festivals are Maha Sivaratri & Holy

How To Get Here :

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.