Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple

The Trimbakeshwar temple is situated 30 km from Nasik, near the Brahmagiri mountains from which the Godavari flows. It is revered as one of the 12 jyotirlingas of the Lord Shiva and also as the source of the Godavari.  The amazing feature of the jyotirlinga here is that it has three faces, embodying Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva. Due to excessive use of water, the lingam has started to erode. This erosion is said to signify the eroding nature of today’s human society. The lingas are covered by a golden crown which is said to be from the age of the Pandavas and is made up of many precious stones.

According to legend, there was a famine that lasted 24 years and people were dying of hunger. However, Varun, the god of Rains, was pleased by Sage Gautama and hence arranged rainfall every day only in Gautam’s ashram in Trimbakeshwar. Gautam used to sow rice crop in the morning, harvest it in the afternoon and feed it to the neighboring sages in the evening. The sages took shelter in his ashram due to the famine. The blessings of the sages increased Gautam’s merit which made Lord Indra’s position shaky. As a result, Indra ended the famine and caused rainfall in the entire village. Even then Gautam continued to feed the sages and earned merit. Once, a cow came to his field and began grazing on his crop. This angered Gautam and he threw Darbha( pointed grass) at her.  This killed the slender cow who was actually Goddess Parvati’s friend, Jaya. This news upset the sages and they refused to eat at Gautam’s ashram. Gautam realized his folly and asked the sages for a way to earn forgiveness. The sages told him to bathe in the Ganges. Gautam began praying to Lord Shiva by going to the peak of the Brahmagiri to give him the Ganges. Pleased by his devotion, the Lord agreed to part with the Ganges. However, the Ganges was not ready to part with the lord. Gautam surrounded the river with enchanted grass and managed to bathe in it and was absolved of his sin of killing a cow.