jyotirlingas in Maharashtra

12 jyotirlingas are there in India and out of that 5 are in Maharashtra

Lord Siva,Nageswar ( Dwaraka)

“Saurashtre Somanathamcha Srisaile MallikarjunamUjjayinya Mahakalam Omkaramamaleswaram Paralyam Vaidyanathancha Dakinyam Bheema Shankaram

Setu Bandhethu Ramesam, Nagesam DarukavaneVaranasyantu Vishwesam

Tryambakam GautameethateHimalayetu Kedaaram, Ghrishnesamcha shivaalaye

Etani jyotirlingani, Saayam Praatah PatennarahSapta Janma Kritam papam,

Smaranena Vinashyati”

There are five jyothirlingas in Maharashtra and the details are given below.The order of these jyotirlingas is given as per above shloka.

Aunda(aundha) Naganath Temple

1) Aunda Naganath jyotirlinga: It is 120Km from Parli in Maharashtra. This is very old temple built by Rani Ahilya Bai. The place where the temple is there is called Darukavanam. The above shloka says 'Nagesam Darukavane' as such it is believed that this is the actual jyothirlinga.It is 51Km from Parbhani rail way station. Nandigram express( train No1401) which goes from Nagpur to Mumbai stops here.The main deity at aundha is in under ground. One can perform abhisheka by purchasing the ticket. The men need not remove their shirts while performing the abhisheka. After the abhisheka the silver cover on the linga is removed and one can have the darshan of the main deity. While coming out from the inner temple one has to climb a 3 feet step which is difficult for ladies and old people.

Some people say that the nagewar jyotirlingas is at Dwaraka. The temple is very old than Dwaraka temple and Maha Rani Ahilia Bai has renovated this temple and not the temple at Dwaraka, I feel Aunda nagnath is the actual jyotirlinga and not the one at Dwaraka.

Food : one can have good food at National dhabha which 2Km from the temple.

Stay : Parbhani where reasonable lodges at Rs 200 to 300 are available.

Places of interest : Jintur is 40 Km from Aunda where Digambar Jain temple is there. The statue of Mahaaveerji here is in almost floating state and just one inch above from the ground and resting on tip of a stone. This can be compared with the mysterious place in US near Sanfransisco. It is said that 500 years back this statue was floating six inches above the ground and when Moghals raided this area it was covered with earth and later the equilibrium was lost from six inches it has come down to one inch.

Mahaveerji

Nanded which is 64 Km from aundha is another place of interest where we will find famous Gurudwara and Guru Govindji ka samadhi.

Parli Vaijnath Temple

2) Parli Vaijnath: The temple is 2Km from the Parli rail way station.It was rebuilt by Maharani Ahilya Bai in 1776. you can perform abhisheka your self by paying Rs 101. Men have to remove their shirts while performing the abhisheka. Out side the temple, Dakshin mukh Ganesh temple is there. Rani Ahilya Bai's (who has renovated many jyotirlingas ) statue is there in the temple complex. The temple water tank is also constructed like shiva linga only.

It is also well connected by road from Nagpur and over night super deluxe buses are available.Bus takes 10hours.

Railway station : Parli vaijnath, which is connected by direct trains from Secunderabad (340Km), Kakinada, Manmad, Visakhapatnam and Bangalore. Parbhani rail way station is 70Km from here which is on Nagpur-Mumbai train route.

Airport : Nanded

Places of interest : Ganghakher is 31 Km from Parli where Dattatreya temple is there. Nanded is 107 Km from here. It is famous gurudwara.

Bhima shankaram temple

3) Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga :It is one of the jyotirlingas which is not connected by train. you can reach it by road from pune or Shirdi or Mumbai . It is 120 Km from Pune and 170 Km from Shirdi. There is no proper accommodation for stay at Bhimashankar and one has to stay at Manchar which is 35Km from Bhimashankar on the way to Pune. Buses are available from Pune,Shivaji nagar bus stand(5Km from rly station) to Bhimashankar directly. First bus (Rs82) starts at 5.15AM.It is ghat road and journey is very enjoyable.

Trayambakeswar Temple

4) Trayambakeswar Jyotirlinga : It is in Maharashtra and it is 27 km from Nasik. Nasik road railway station is 188 km from Mumbai central . Trayambakeswar is 6 hours by road (bus Rs121) from Manchar which is near Bhimashankar. It is one of the Jyotirlingas where you are not allowed in the inner temple and you can not do abhisheka your self.The decoration of the deityis different in the morning and evening.

Stay:Gajanana Samsthan very clean and reasonable rates( Rs 150 for double room)

Near by places of interest : Panchavati, Muktidham and birth place of River Godavari. It is 2hours hilly route to the birth place of Godavari. Unless you have lot of stamina, do not attempt to visit this place.

5) Grishneswar Jyotirlinga : It is in Maharashtra and near by rail way station is Daulatabad which is 12Km from the temple. It is also well connected by road from Aurangabad. The temple is rebuilt by Maharani Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore around 1768. It is the only jyotirlinga where the deity faces east. Many people are not aware of this temple and people who are visiting shirdi can plan a trip to this temple easily.The deity is called Ghrushmeshwar.The goddess is Grishneshwari. The temple is at Ilapur and the village is called Verul.

Stay : At Verul no proper lodges are there and one has to stay at Daulatabad/Aurangabad.

Near by places of interest: Ellora caves, Shiridi Sai baba temple , Daulatabad Fort, Aurangzeb Tomb, Bibika Makbara(mini tajmahal). Ajantha caves are 110 Km from the temple. Ellora is only 2Km from the temple. 34 caves are there at Ellora.
other blogs of the author

http://trishaktimata.blogspot.com/2011/04/maha-shakti-lankayam-shankari-devi.html

http://12jyothirlingas.blogspot.com/2011/11/dwadasa-jyothirlingas.html