Grishneshwar Temple
Grushneshwar Jyotirlinga Mandir or Grushneshwar[2] is a Jyotirlinga mandir of God Shiv Shankar in Verul village of Sambajinagar district, Maharashtra. It is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga mandir in the world.[3][4][5]
| Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga Mandir | |
|---|---|
घृष्णेश्वर ज्योतिर्लिंग मंदिर | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hindu |
| District | Sambhaji Nagar |
| Deity | Shri Grishneshwar (Shiva) |
| Festivals | Mahashivratri |
| Location | |
| Location | Verul, Sambhaji Nagar, 431102 |
| State | Maharashtra |
| Country | India |
Location in Maharashtra[1] | |
| Geographic coordinates | 20°1′29.9″N 75°10′11.7″E / 20.024972°N 75.169917°E |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Hemadpanthi |
The mandir is a national protected site, one and half kilo meters away from UNESCO World Heritage Site the Ellora Caves, 30 kilometres (19 miles) far north-west of the city Sambhaji Nagar, and 300 kilometres (190 miles) east-northeast far from Mumbai.[6]
Grushneshwar is one of the key mandir of Hindu religion, it have mentions in Shivapuran, Skandpuran, Ramayan and Mahabharata.[2]
Etymology
The word Ghrneshwara means "lord of compassion".[7]
History
The temple structure was destroyed by the Delhi Sultanate in 13th and 14th-century. The temple went through several rounds of rebuilding followed by re-destruction during the Mughal-Maratha conflict. It was rebuilt in the current form in the 18th century under the sponsorship of queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore, after the fall of the Mughal Empire.[8] It is presently an important and active pilgrimage site of the Hindus and attracts long lines of devotees daily. Anyone can enter the temple premises and its inner chambers, but to enter the sanctum sanctorum core (garbha-gruha) of the temple, the local Hindu tradition demands that men must go bare-chested.[7]
The temple was re-constructed by Maloji Bhosale of Verul, (grandfather of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj) in the 16th century and later again by queen Ahilyabai Holkar in the 18th century. She is credited with rebuilding some of major Hindu temples such as the Kashi Vishvanath temple in Varanasi, a Vishnu temple in Gaya, and a much larger Shiva Jyotirlinga temple in Somnath Temple.[9]
Architecture
The Grushneshwar Jyotirlinga Mandir is built with black stone on 44,000 sq ft area, it have lots of sculptures, fine designs on its interior and exterior walls. A Jyotirlinga murti is situated in the Garbhgruh of the mandir and a large murti of Shivaji's favorite Bhakt Nandi is present infront of the main door. The temple got restored in 3 times, Maloji Bhosale grandfather of Shivaji did its first restoration in 16th century. The last major restoration work got done and current temple was built in 1730 by Malhar Rao Holkar's wife Gautami Bai Holkar later Ahilyabai Holkar did its restoration.[2]
Connectivity
Nearest Airport: Chatrapati Sambhajinagar
Nearest Railway Station: Aurangabad
References
- ^ Grishneshwar Aurangabad GPS 11 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine Govt of Maharashtra
- ^ a b c "बारा ज्योतिर्लिंग: घृष्णेश्वर मंदिराचा नेमका इतिहास काय आहे ?" [12 Jyotirlinga : What is the history of Grushneshwar Jyotirlinga?]. Esakal (in Marathi).
- ^ Sambhaji Nagar District Administration, Government Of Maharashtra. . Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- ^ Swati Mitra (2011). Omkareshwar and Maheshwar. Goodearth Publications. p. 25. ISBN 978-93-80262-24-6.
- ^ Directorate of Publicity, Maharashtra State (India) (1960). Handbook of Maharashtra State. p. 166.
- ^ Banerjee, Shoumojit (8 February 2023). "Hillary Clinton visits Ellora Caves, Grishneshwar temple in Sambhaji Nagar". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- ^ a b Lochtefeld 2002, p. 247.
- ^ Bruce Norman (1988). Footsteps: Nine Archaeological Journeys of Romance and Discovery. Salem. pp. 99–100. ISBN 978-0-88162-324-6.
- ^ Swati Mitra (2011). Omkareshwar and Maheshwar. Goodearth Publications. pp. 23–25. ISBN 978-93-80262-24-6.
Bibliography
- Eck, Diana L. (1999). Banaras, city of light (First ed.). New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-11447-8.
- Gwynne, Paul (2009). World Religions in Practice: A Comparative Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell Publication. ISBN 978-1-4051-6702-4..
- Lochtefeld, James G. (2002), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M, Rosen Publishing Group, p. 122, ISBN 0-8239-3179-X