Grishenshwar

Location Details

Temple Name   -   The Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga Temple

Main deity       -    Lord Siva (Grishneshwar)

Location          -   Verul, Aurangabad, Maharashtra

Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga:-

Grishneshwar is an ancient pilgrimage site revered as the abode of one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Shiva. It is located at a distance of 11 km from Daulatabad near Aurangabad in Maharashtra. Daulatabad was once known as Devagiri. Ahilyabhai Holkar constructed the Grishneshwar Temple, who also re-constructed the Kasi Viswanatha temple at Banaras and the Vishnu Paada temple at Gaya. Grishneshwar is also known as Ghushmeswara. The Lord is also known by several names like Kusumeswarar, Ghushmeswara, etc.

History Of Grishneshwar Temple 

The very devout Shiva devotee, Bhosale (The Patel or chief of Verul) once found a treasure hidden in the snake pit (ant hill) by the grace of Lord Grishneshwar. He spent that money to renovate the temple and built a lake in Shikharshinganapur. 

Later on, Goutamibal (Bayajabai) and Ahilyadevi Holkar renovated the Grishneshwar temple. This 240ft x 185 ft temple is still there strong and beautiful as ever. Halfway up the temple, Dashavataras are carved in red stone. There are also other beautiful statutes carved out. A court hall is built on 24 pillars. The scenes and paintings are beautiful. The Garbhagriha measures 17ft x 17 ft. The Lingamurty faces eastward. There is a gorgeous Nandikeshwara in the court hall.

Grishneshwar temple timings

Temple Timings Open 5.30 am - 9.30 pm

During Shravan (Aug-Sep): 3 am - 11 pm

Festivals

Mahashivratri:

Celebrated on the Chaturdashi of the Magh month (February), it is the biggest festival here. A fair held on this occasion is visited by not only the local people, but also Shiv devotees and tourists from far off places. The festival of Mahashivaratri is celebrated with great pomp and show. Thousands of devotees are seen flocking the temple during this festival. The village of Grishneshwar is extremely small and people mainly visit the temple which is the major attraction of the place.

Shravan mela:

It is flooded with Shiv devotees during the entire Shravan month of July-August. On Mondays, slogans of “Shiva” are heard all over the place.

Vaikunth Chaturdashi:

It is celebrated in the Kartik month in (November) to mark the union of Hari (Vishnu) and Har (Shiva). It is noteworthy that on this day, Shiv is worshipped with tulsi and Vishnu with Bilva patra (leaves).

Places of Interest near by

The famous Ajanta and Elora caves are the famous tourist spots nearby the temple. One may visit Aurangabad Caves, Bibi - Ka – Maqbara, Pan Chakki, Daulatabad, Khuldabad, Pithalkora, Paithan, Bani Begum Garden.

How to reach at Destination:- 

By Air - Nearest airport is Aurangabad.

By Rail - Aurangabad is directly connected by rail with Bombay, Manmad, Nasik Road, Kalyan, Secunderabad (Hyderabad) and with other cities via Manmad.

By Road - Aurangabad is well connected by good motorable road with Ajanta 106 kms, Bombay 392 kms, Ellora 30 kms, Nanded 272 kms, Nasik 221 kms, Pune 229 kms Shirdi 136 kms and other important cities.