Trimbakeshwar Temple

The Trimbakeshwar temple is located at  a distance of 30 kilometers from Nashik, at the foothills of a mountain called "Brahmagiri". The Trimbakeshwar temple is one of the, "12 jyothirlingas". At the time of its manifestation, this is the only Jyothirlinga, to have all the Gods and Goddesses present, including the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh – the Creator, organizer and the destroyer.

Also present at that time were Lord Ganesh, Parashakti, Mahadevi and 33 crore devtas. This is the place where a drop of nectar fell down during the churning of the ocean, hence a "Kumb mela", is held every 12 years in this place.

The porch of the temple is decorated with carved pillars and arches. The temple walls are sculpted with floral designs and figures of various Gods and Goddesses. The  temple complex is vast and is made up of black stones. This temple was completed in the 16th century.

The Sanctum has "3 lingas", of the size of a thumb, identified as Lords Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. They are placed in a square space, positioned at the three corners of a triangle. There is a huge mirror placed over the "lings", so that the devotees can get a clear view of the lings. The lings, are always submerged in the waters of the river Godavari naturally.

Legend behind the Trimbakeshwar Temple

Long time ago Gautama rishi, along with his wife Ahilaya used to stay here. They started a penance to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva being pleased with them gave them a boom, that the river Godavari will spring up from there and that he ( Lord Shiva ) will reside at that place forever for the benefit of mankind.

Significance of Trimbakeshwar Temple

This is the only temple where "Pitrudosha" (fore father’s sins ) and "Karlsarpa dosha" ( horoscopic curse – resulting in failures) are removed by performing of the, karlsarpa shanti puja, Naryan Nagbalipuja and the Tripindi shraadha.

The Kushavarta Water Tank

Kushavarta water tank, is from where the river Godavari takes course. This pond was created by the Pandavas. The water from the river Godavari, comes from the Brahagiri mountain and gets stored here and from here, the river goes towards the main Trimbakeshwar temple.

Bathing in this pond, removes all sins and during the "Kumbh mela", many Sadhus take a dip here, and also the devotees,who perform the "Naryan Nagbali shradha puja", for their ancestors are also allowed to take a dip in this pond. The whole pond is surrounded by a lot of shivlingas and idols of different gods in different avatars.

How to reach Trimbakeshwar?

If you are going to take a train journey, then the nearest rail- head would be Nashik. After getting down at Nashik, you can take a bus to go the temple. The nearest airports, are the Gandhinagar airport of Nashik and the Chatrapati Shivaji airport of Mumbai. From there you can hire a taxi or go by a bus to have a darshan of this temple.