This temple in Pune is where one of the five Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva present in Maharashtra is found. Nana Phadnis, a minister in the Peshwa Kingdom built this temple at Bhimashankar during the 18th century. The temple has a wooden entrance door which is beautifully carved and the surroundings of the temple give an even more divine look to the attraction. There is a dense forest on one side of the temple and crossing this, you can visit the famous Bombay Point as well as the Starting point of Bhima River close to the Hanuman Tank
Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga is an ancient shrine situated in the Sahyadri hills in Maharashtra. It is one of the 12 jyotirlingas, the holiest of holy shrines of Lord Shiva. It is located in Bhorgiri village, near pune. In recent times, it has gained a lot of significance as it was also declared as the Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary.
The best time to visit the temple is from September to January. As bhimashankar is 3500 feet above sea level, it observes low temperatures as well as heavy showers in the monsoon season.
According to legend, a demon Tripurasura did penance in the Bhimashankar jungle ages ago in order to please Lord shiva. He hoped that by pleasing the Lord he would be given the gift of immortality. The Lord, pleased by Tripurasara’s devotion, blessed him with immortality on the condition that Tripurasara would use his boon for the welfare of the local folk and help them. In case Tripurasara forgot his vow, the Lord would be entitled to sue him in any way he deemed suitable.
As time went on, Tripurasara forgot all about his vow and began harassing the local folk as well as other deities. Chaos reigned and the deities approached the Lord to help them.
The Lord prayed to Goddess Parvati to help him. Together, in the form of “ardh-narya-nateshwar”, on the eve of Kartik Poornima, they killed Tripurasara and the day is now known as Tripurasara Poornima.
After Tripurasara’s death, his wives Dakini and Shakini approached lord Shiva, questioning their existence without Tripurasara. The Lord blessed them both with immortality.
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