Ohm! Nama Siva aye! Lord Siva As Jyothirlingams (By Radhakrishnamurthy Bhandaru) Part 11: Saurashtre Somanathamcha Srisaile Mallikarjunam Ujjayinya Mahakalam Omkaramamaleswaram Paralyam Vaidyanathancha Dakinyam Bheema Shankaram Setu Bandhethu Ramesam, Nagesam Darukavane Varanasyantu Vishwesam Tryambakam Gautameethate Himalayetu Kedaaram, Ghrishnesamcha shivaalaye Etani jyotirlingani, Saayam Praatah Patennarah Sapta Janma Kritam papam, Smaranena Vinashyati Triambakeswara Jyothirlingam Triambakeswara Jyothirlingam is the tenth Jyothirlingam in the above Sloka of the Dwadasa Jyothirlingams of Lord Siva. The temple of this Jyothirlingam is in Triambakeswar which is about thirty miles from Nasik in the State of Maharastra. Triambakeswar city is located at the bottom of a mountain named Brahmagiri in the Sahyadri Hills which is the source of the river Godavari. Ganga which is known as Bhagirathi, is one of the most important rivers in North India, in the same way, Godavari is the most sacred river in South India, and is known as Gautami.Interestingly many local people call the river as Ganga. Triambakeswar is situated at 3000 feet above sea level. The place is famous for its scenic beauty in monsoon season and is surrounded by lush green hills untouched by pollution..anjaneri Mountain, the birth place of Lord Hanuman, is 7 km from Triambakeswar. Triambakeswar city is a 1
center for Vedic Gurukuls.It also has ashrams and Muths devoted to Ashtanga Yoga, the Hindu art of living. The unique feature of this Jyotirlingam is its three faces embodying Lord Siva, Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma. All other Jyothirlingams has Lord Siva as the only deity. It is interesting to note that Nasik which is close to Triambakeswar is referred in Ramayana as one of the places that Lord Rama stayed for some time during His exile. Nasik is on the banks of the Godavari River and is one of the holiest places and busiest pilgrim center. Kumbha Mela for the River Godavari takes place here once in every 12 years. Rama, Sita and Lakshmana lived on the northern part of Nasik called Panchavati. There were five famous banyan trees, i.e. five Vad trees, which gave this area the name Panchavati. It is said that Sita was kidnaped by Ravana from this place. Lakshmana cut off the nose of Surpanakha, Ravana s sister, here. That is the reason this place is called Nasik. The Rama Kunda area is the main pilgrimage place in Nasik. Rama and Sita used to bathe in this Kunda, so the tank is considered sacred. It is also called Asthi Vilaya Tirtha (bone immersion tank). Because, it is believed that bones dropped in the tank dissolve. The bones of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. Rajendra Prasad and many other famous people were dropped here after their death. Lord Rama is said to have performed funeral rites in memory of His father, King Dasaratha at this place. Legend Rama Kunda, Nasik A legend from Siva Purana says that Maharishi Gautama who is one of the great Sapta Maharishis, (others are Kashapa, Athri, Bharadhwaja, Viswamithra, Vasista, and Jamadagni), lived with his wife Ahilya on the Brahmagiri Mountain in the Sahyadri hills for a long time. Once there was a severe famine of 24 years in that area and people were affected by the pangs of hunger. Seeing the misery of the people, Maharishi Gautama prayed the Rain God, Varuna for rain. The God of Rain appeared before him and told him that he could not help him because he was ordered by his boss, God Indra, to stop raining in that area. But by virtue of his devotion for the welfare of his neighbors, the Maharishi received from Varuna, a bottomless pit with an inexhaustible supply of water in Triambakeswar. With that water Gautama sowed rice in the morning in the surrounding areas of his Ashram, reap the crop in the afternoon, and fed his neighboring Rishis and their followers.this act of helping others 2
increased the Punyam of Gautama. This annoyed other rishis living in adjacent areas and wanted to disgrace Maharishi Gautama. They arranged for a cow to enter Gautama s granary and caused it to die as Gautama Rishi attempted to ward it off with a bunch of Darbha grass. The news that Gautama killed the cow upset the Rishis who were staying with him. They refused to stay and eat at his Ashram. Gautama prayed his fellow Rishis to show a way out of this sin. They advised him to approach Lord Shiva and request him to release Ganges at this place, and having a bath in the Ganges would set him free of his sins. Gautama then went to the peak of Brahmagiri and did penance to Lord Siva who was pleased by his penance and gave him the Ganges. However, Ganga Devi was not prepared to leave Lord Shiva. This irritated Lord Siva who made Tandava Nrutya (dance) on the peak of Brahmagiri and dashed his jata there. Frightened by this action, Ganga Devi (Ganges) appeared on Brahmagiri. Later on, Ganges appeared in the Triambaka Tirtha. Gautama praised her but she appeared on and off on the mountain at various places and disappeared in anger. Because of this off and on actions of Ganges, Gautama could not bathe in her waters. Ganges also appeared in Gangadwar, Varaha-Tirtha, Rama- Laxman Tirtha, and Ganga Sagar Tirtha. Still Gautama could not bathe in her waters. Then Gautama with some enchanted grass stopped the river flow and put a vow to her. The place where the flow was stopped became a Tirtha which came to be known as Kushavarta Tirtha. Maharishi Gautama had a dip in the Kushavarta Tirtha and got rid of the sin of killing a cow. It is from this Kushavarta Tirtha that the river Godavari flows towards the sea, Bay of Bengal. Lord Siva was pleased with the penance of Gautama and granted his request and stayed on the Brahmagiri Mountain permanently as Jyothirlingam. Kushavarta Tirtha, the place where river Godavari takes its course There is another legendary story of Triambakeswar in Puranas. It is related to Lingodhbhavam. Once Brahma and Vishnu got into an argument on who was the Supreme in the universe. Each claimed that he was. They were arguing for several days but no agreement. Suddenly a cosmic column of fire appeared in between them and grew and grew limitlessly into the sky. They were puzzled and wanted to find out what it was, and from where it came up and to where it went. They decided that Vishnu should explore its bottom and Brahma to explore its end. They searched and searched but could not trace its beginning or end. Both of them came back to the place where they started. Vishnu accepted his failure but Brahma lied that he saw the end of the column. Lord Siva emerged from the column, got mad at Brahma for lying and knocked out one of his five heads. Brahma in return cursed Siva that he would be pushed underground. 3
Accordingly, Shiva came down under the Brahmagiri hill in the form of Triambakeswar. Triambakeswar Temple is the only place where Siva Lingam is below the ground level. Temple The ancient history of the temple is not known. It is believed that the temple has been in existence at least from Pandavas time. But it was reconstructed by the Peshwa Nanasaheb (also known as Peshwa Balaji Bajirao) in the 8th century after losing a bet. It is said that Peshwa made a bet that the stone surrounding the Jyothirlingam was not hollow but solid. But it was proved hollow and Peshwa lost the bet. On losing the bet the Peshwa built a marvelous temple with in the Nagara style of architecture with enclosed spacious courtyard. The sanctum is internally a square and externally a stellar structure, and houses a small Shiva Lingam - Triambakeswar. The sanctum is crowned with a graceful tower, embellished with a giant Amalaka and a golden Kalasa. There is a Mandapam with doors on all four sides in front of the Sanctum. Three of these doorways are covered with porches and the openings of these porches are ornamented with pillars and arches. Curvilinear slabs rising in steps form roof of the Mandapam. The entire structure is ornamented with sculptural work of floral designs, figures of gods, and Yakshas from mythology. Triambakeswara Temple As said earlier the Shiva Lingam is seen in a depression on the floor of the sanctum. Water constantly oozes out from the top of the Shiva Lingam. Usually, the Shiva Lingam is covered with a silver mask but on festive occasions it is covered by a golden mask with three faces. The Lingams at Triambakeswar 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 Pandavas and consists of diamonds, emeralds, and many precious stones. The crown is displayed every Monday from 4:00 5:00pm. 4
The Siva Lingam was having the world famous Nasik Diamond in His crown from fifteenth century to eighteenth century. It was taken by the British in The Third Anglo- Maratha War. It was last sold at an auction in New York in 1970 to Edward J. Hand, a trucking firm executive from Greenwich, Connecticut. Temple Times The Triambakeswar Temple opens at 5:30am and closes at 9:00pm. Mondays are considered holy and the priests carry the idol of Triambakeswar in a palanquin on their shoulders around the temple. Sivaratri is celebrated with great pomp and gaiety and attracts thousands of pilgrims from all over the country Sahyadri Seershe Vimale Vasantham, Godavari Theera Pavithra Dese, Yad Darsanal Pathakamasu Nasam, Prayathi Tham Traimbaka Meesa Meede Hara Hara Mahadeva Sambho Sankara 5