Grishneswar
The Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga Temple is one of the ancient and holiest shrines of India. This temple is the holy abode of one of the 12 jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva. The temple is located at a distance of 11km 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.
The famous Ajanta and Elora caves are the famous tourist spots nearby the temple. According to legend, a devotee called Kusuma worshiped Lord Shiva by immersing a Shivalingam everyday in a nearby tank. Kusuma’s husband’s first wife out of jealousy because of Kusuma’s piety in the society killed her son. An aggrieved Kusuma continued her daily ritual and when she dipped the Shivlingam in the tank her son miraculously revived. From then on the people started worshiping Lord Shiva in the form of a Jyotirlinga Ghusmeshwar.
Getting there and Around
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.