Monday 21 March 2016

Trimbakeshwar Jyotirling- MAHARASTRA YATRA- Part 4


To read the series from start please click here
 
Next morning we get up at 5:30AM .After getting ready we check out the hotel and went to bus stand which was just opposite to the hotel. Nasik bound bus was not available at that time and we took this opportunity to have tea and some snacks. After some time one bus arrived and we boarded that bus and started our journey towards Nasik. Distance between Nasik and Sangamner is around 70 KM. The road beyond Sangamner is also two lanes but has huge traffic. I was surprised that the highway connecting two major cities of Maharashtra i.e. Pune and Nasik is just two lanes wide. It should it at least four lanes keeping in mind the traffic it has.


Trimbakeshwar Jyotirling – from Google
 
 The major town between Nasik and Sangamner is Sinnar which is 30 KM before Nasik. Our bus stopped for 5 minutes at Sinnar bus terminal and again proceeds towards Nasik. From Sinnar one road goes towards Shirdi and from here traffic increased further on the road. It took us more than 2Hrs. to reach Nasik. Nasik has separate bus stand for Trimbakeshwar bound buses known as Trimbakeshwar bus stand. We have already told bus conductor about our plans so he dropped us at appropriate place from where Trimbakeshwar bus stand was not far away. We took the auto and reached there in just 5 minutes. Bus stand is small and buses for Trimbakeshwar are available at regular interval. Condition of buses was not good; it seems that buses retired from long routes were deployed for this route. Since no other option was available, we took one such bus and continued our journey.

There is a mountain named the Brihmagiri Mountain 18 K.M. from the city of Nasik in the Nasik district. This is one of the parts of the Sahayadri Vallies. The city of Trimbakeshwar is located in the bottom of this mountain. This is a beautiful natural place with the cold weather as it is situated 3000 ft. above from the sea. For the visitors coming from the North the Nasik-Trimbakeshwar route is the better one and more comfortable. One can easily get a mode of transport from here every hour.

A 28 km journey from pilgrim town Nashik takes a tourist to Trimbakeshwar, 10th sacred Jyotirlinga in the Dwadash Jyotirlinga circuit. The place is memorable due to its picturesque hills, roads and cool breeze. This hill station like place lies in the formidable shadow of Brahmagiri hills in the Sahyadri range and it is the source of holy river Godavari. The place is also known for its Simhastha Kumbha Mela, which comes every 12 years as per the Hindu calendar

Slow speed of bus remains a concern for us and it took one good hour to cover the distance of Just 28 KMs and finally we reached Trimbakeshwar. Bus stand of Trimbakeshwar was in pathetic condition. There was no proper place for passengers to seat and wait. Even it was very difficult to stand there due to stench.

We quickly came out of the bus stand, passed through local market, took left turn and reached in the front of Trimbakeshwar Temple.

Market and surrounded area was crowded with pilgrims. There were many shops selling Puja items and eatable items. Many shopkeepers offer clock room service on charging. We kept our bags in one such shop and entered the premises of Trimbakeshwar Temple without wasting any time. Mobiles, camera and wallets are not allowed in temple.

Looking from outside, the temple looks like a two story old building. Inside it has a large campus. The present structure of the temple complex was built by Nana Saheb Peshwa during his regime between 1755-1768.Its architecture is shaped mechanically. It is East facing temple and surrounded by four sides with stone walls. Trimbakeshwar temple has 5 domes and each tomb has five golden pots. The flag of the temple is made of the 5 substances.
There is arrangement for devotees to stand in a queue during darshan time. On the entrance a small temple of Nandi comes first. There is a small hall or sabhamandap to assemble. Here purohits perform different pujas.

As the queue was long, it took one and half hour for darshan. The Garbh grah is below the ground level and one large mirror is kept behind the lingam so that pilgrims can have darshan through reflection. The Trimbakeshwar complex, which is among the 12 Jyotirlingas in India, sees about 40,000 pilgrims daily and the figure scales to about 2-3 lakh during shravan and other auspicious occasions throughout the year.

After Darshan we came out of the temple complex, get our bags back from clock room and went to a restaurant for launch. After launch we returned to bus stand and enquire for Shirdi bound direct bus. Bus was not available but many private vehicles were available for Shirdi. They were charging Rs. 250 per person on shared basis. When we were negotiating with one driver, a direct bus for Shirdi came. We boarded that bus and left for Shirdi. Bus fare was Rs. 110. Direct bus bypasses the Nasik city and went straight to Shirdi via Sinner. By evening we reached Shirdi.

Legend

There are two stories related to Trimbakeshwar. One story is about Simhastha Parva according to Padma Puran. When Gods were successful in getting nectar by fooling the demons. The demons came to know of this, they launched a violent fight for Amrita kumbh (immortal nectar). In process drops of nectar fell at four places. Trimbakeshwar is one of the four places (Haridwar, Prayag, Ujjain and Trimbakeshwar-Nasik) where drops of heavenly nectar fell. The Kumbh Mela is held once in 12 years in the respective areas

The other story is equally interesting. Sage Gautam used to live in this area. Once there was severe drought for 24 years. To come to the rescue of people, sage Gautam worshipped Lord Varun (rain god) and the god was pleased. He blessed the sage with the gift of plenty of rains in the area. This made the area lush green and full of water. But this made other sages jealous of Gautam. They sent a cow to destroy the granary of Gautam. When Gautam tried to shoo her away, she was injured and died. Waiting for such an opportunity, other sages charged Gautam of great sin of killing mother cow and made him go for penance. He was asked to worship Lord Shiva and bathe in Ganga.

Gautam appeased Lord Shiva who in turn asked Ganga to come to Gautama’s place. Gautam and Ganga prayed to Lord Shiva to come here with Parvati and stay with them. They made Lord Shiva agree to the request and he decided to settle here. Here the river Ganga appeared in the form of river Godavari. Hence it is also known as Ganga Godavari or Gautami Godavari. People here worship the Godavari as Ganga. Lord Shiva also resides here in the form of Trimbakeshwar.

Trimbakeshwar temple is a religious center having one of the twelve Jyotirlings. What makes the Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlings unique is that it has three faces embodying Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu & Lord Mahesh (Shiva). All other Jyotirlings have Shiva as the main deity. The temple is known for its appealing architecture and sculpture. Trimbakeshwar Jyotirling is in a small hollow space, which contains a pot of water. Water from the river Godavari constantly pours on the top of linga. Due to excessive use of water, the linga has started to erode. It is said that this erosion symbolizes the eroding nature of human society. The Lingas at Trimbakeshwar are covered by a jeweled crown which is placed over the Gold Mask of Tridev (Brahma Vishnu Mahesh). The crown is said to be from the age of Pandavs and consists of diamonds, emeralds, and many precious stones. The crown is displayed every Monday between 3 to 5PM. The entire black stone temple is known for its appealing architecture and sculpture and is at the foothills of a mountain called Brahmagiri. Three sources of the Godavari originate from the Brahmagiri Mountain.
Reaching  Trimbakeshwar
 
From
Distance
 
Mumbai
193 km
 
Pune
240 km
 
Nasik
28 km
 
Shirdi
114 km
 
 
 
 
Temple timings and related information:
Temple is managed by Shri Trimbakeshwar Jyotirling Trust. However, pujas are controlled by purohits .There are three main pujas performed every day. Pujas are between 7 to 9 am, noon puja at 1 pm and sayam puja between 7 to 9 pm. During the night worship, sheja arti is carried out and a silver mask placed on a bed in a hall of mirrors. Every Monday between 3:30 and 5 pm, a palki (palanquin) carries the silver panch mukhi mukhota (five faced image of Lord Trimbakeshwar) from the temple complex to nearby Kushavrata Tirtha and back. An abhishek is performed there. The palki processions carry a golden crown during Shivaratri, Kartik Purnima and Dussehra. The special golden crown of the Lord donated by the Peshwas is also shown to devotees once a week on every Monday at 4:30 pm.

Getting there and around:

By Air: Nearest Domestic airport is at Nasik 31 kms .Another nearest airport from Trimbakeshwar is at Mumbai, which is about 200 km away from the holy city. Taxi services are available from Mumbai airport to Trimbakeshwar.


By Rail: Nearest railhead is at Nasik. It is one the major railway stations connected to all major cities in India. One can get enough convenient trains from Nasik to other cities.

By Road: Trimbakeshwar is connected by bus services run by Maharashtra road Transport Corporation. There are many private luxury buses and taxis available from Mumbai and Pune to Nasik.

Accomodation
There are good hotels, guest houses and dharmashalas in Trimbakeshwar town. Normally they charge between Rs.200 to Rs.1000 .Yatri Niwas run by Trimbakeshwar trust is also a good option to stay.......
ShivPrasad Bhakt Nivas .Phone Number:- 02594-234251(Guest House),02594-233215(Office)

 

Poor Condition of Trimbakeshwar Bus stand

Poor Condition of Trimbakeshwar Bus stand

Temple Dome Visible from outside

Temple Dome Visible from outside

Trimbakeshwar



Trimbakeshwar

Myself after darshan

Surroundings Hills

Surroundings

 
Greenery on the way.

Greenery on the way.

Greenery on the way


Greenery on the way

Sant Nirvutinath palki

devotees

To be continued ……Shirdi darshan in next Post....stay tuned.

27 comments:

  1. as usual very well written post. wish pics could be large in size.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Mahesh ji for liking the post. I can see large size pictures in both mobile and PC.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The post is presented in a straight forward and simple manner with nice pictures.This post has reminded me our journey.Well developed post. Carry on Sehgal Sahib. Om Namah Shivai.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks dear. I really appreciate your gesture that you find time to read the blog.

      Delete
  4. I really appreciate your post.nice pics.

    ReplyDelete
  5. बहुत बढ़िया सहगल साहब.... और सबसे बढ़िया भाभीजी का कमेन्ट...
    ऐसा लगा रहा है जैसे आपके स्वागत में सारे नज़ारे धोये गएँ हों.... :) और यात्रा के साथ आपने जो जानकारी दी वो सचमुच सराहनीय है... धन्यवाद...
    हर हर महादेव....

    ReplyDelete
  6. धन्यवाद कौशिक जी . आख़िरकार आप की टिप्पणी आ ही गयी .

    ReplyDelete
  7. बढ़िया, विस्तृत जानकारी लिए हुए पोस्ट। त्र्यम्बकेश्वर बस स्टेंड की हालत देख कर आश्चर्य हुआ। आस-पास के नज़ारे अदभुत हैं। आभार।

    ReplyDelete
  8. धन्यवाद बीनू भाई ...

    ReplyDelete
  9. नरेश जी बहुत ही सुंदर नजारा है भोले बाबा के धाम पर।

    ReplyDelete
  10. नरेश जी बहुत ही सुंदर नजारा है भोले बाबा के धाम पर।

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. जी सचिन जी सहमत. पधारने के लिए धन्यवाद .

      Delete
  11. Slow speed of bus remains a concern for us and it took one good hour to cover the distance of Just 28 KMs and finally we reached Trimbakeshwar. Bus stand of Trimbakeshwar was in pathetic condition. There was no proper place for passengers to seat and wait. Even it was very difficult to stand there due to stench.Trimbakeshwar is very popular and auspicious place but your write up and your pictures are saying that its Bus stand looks like a stand of very small town or village but after all you were there for Darshan only. It is a good initiative taken by you in your blog post that you always mention distance of that particular place from famous places and cities. Thnx for sharing your Trimbakeshwar darshan travelogue here . pictures are truly perfect Naresh ji .

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi There
    Nice Blog
    Guys you can visit here to know more
    trimbakeshwar live darshan

    ReplyDelete
  13. I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post.
    affordable hotels

    ReplyDelete
  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  15. Thank for the such a great informantion.
    Kalsarpa shanti

    ReplyDelete
  16. Trimbakeshwar Shiva Jyotirlinga is an ancient and historic Hindu temple in Trimbakeshwar dedicated to Lord Trimbakeshwar (Supreme deity Lord Shiva). It is 28 Km far from the City of Nashik.




    Trimbakeshwar Temple is an ancient temple of Lord Shiva and identified as one of the divine 12 Jyotirlinga.



    The Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple is located at the foot of the “Bramhagiri” mountain, where the holy river Ganga originates (the longest river in Maharashtra).
    Timings of Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple has been changed due to Covid 19 precautions. Current Timings are 7 AM to 8 PM

    ReplyDelete
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    Separate Kaal Sarp Yog Puja with all Samgari, Puja near Trimbakeshwar temple nashik. Contact at Visit kaalsarppujanasik.com"

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