Do You Know The Story Related to Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga

Out of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva located in India, the glory of Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga is very special. Today we will describe the story related to the establishment of Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga. The special thing to be noted is that there are two famous temples in India by the name of Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga – one is located in Pune district of Maharashtra, and the other place is believed to be related to Kamrup Desh which we know as Assam today.

This controversy has always arisen as to which of the two is the real Jyotirlinga, but the experts of Vedas and Puranas and the government of Maharashtra state itself have made it clear that the temple located in Pune district is the real Jyotirlinga, which is mentioned in Koti Rudra Samhita of Shiva Purana.

Let us know the history of the origin of this holy Jyotirlinga (Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga) through the story described in Shiva Purana.

The word ‘Jyotirlinga’ is made up of two parts – Jyoti i.e. light and Linga i.e. the symbolic form of Lord Shiva. This is a Shivling in which Shiva himself is revered as fire or light. According to the Puranas, when there was a dispute between Brahma and Vishnu about superiority, then Lord Shiva appeared in the form of a huge pillar of fire and made them realize his infinity. Jyotirlingas were established at 12 places as a symbol of that divine pillar.

Let us now know the story of Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga (Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga Katha). If you want to know the story of the Jyotirlingas before this in our Jyotirlinga series, then click on this link to go to our main page, from where you will be able to read the whole story.

In ancient times, there used to be a very powerful demon named Bhima. He used to live alone with his mother Karakati. When Bhima grew up, one day he asked his mother who his father was and where he was. Mother Karakati told him that his father was Mahabali Kumbhakarna, who was killed by Lord Shri Ram.

Karakati also told that her first husband was Virat, who also died at the hands of Shri Ram. After the death of her husband, Karakati started living with her parents. One day when her parents tried to sacrifice themselves for the food of Agastya Muni’s disciple, the sage burnt them to ashes. After knowing the reason for this misfortune of his father and family members, Bhima had a strong desire to take revenge from Vishnu and the gods.

Inspired by the feeling of revenge, Bhima did a rigorous penance of Brahma Ji for a thousand years. Pleased with the penance, Brahma Ji gave him the boon of immense strength and power. After receiving the boon, Bhima first defeated the gods and defeated Indra and took over heaven.

After this, Bhima started conquering the kings of the earth. First of all, he attacked King Sudakshin of Kamarupa country and defeated him and imprisoned him.

King Sudakshin was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. Even while in prison, he made a Shivalinga of clay and continued to worship and sing bhajans to it. When Bhima saw that even in prison, the king was worshipping Lord Shiva, he became very angry. He tried to destroy the Shivalinga installed by the king with his sword.

As soon as Bhima swung his sword, Lord Shiva himself appeared from the Shivalinga. Lord Shiva divided Bhima’s sword into two pieces with his Pinaka bow. Thereafter, Lord Shiva reduced Bhima to ashes with just his roar.

After killing Bhima, the gods and sages prayed to Lord Shiva to stay at that place forever. Accepting the prayers of the gods, Lord Shiva got established at the same place in the form of a Shivalinga. Due to Bhima fighting and killing the demon, this Jyotirlinga was named Bhimashankar (Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga).

If you walk 2-3 kilometers through the forests near the main temple, you will reach the Gupt Bhimashankar cave. All the devotees who come to visit the main Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga also visit the Gupt Bhimashankar. Here too, a Shiva linga is hidden in the cave. Apart from this, there is also an Anjaneri temple of Anjana Mata, mother of Shri Hanuman ji, nearby, so many devotees also visit there if they have time.

Although devotees can visit the temple any time of the year, visiting during the monsoon season in Maharashtra becomes a wonderful experience. During the rainy season, the Sahyadri ranges and the path become extremely beautiful and enchanting, which makes the trip unforgettable.

The temple witnesses heavy crowds especially on Saturdays and Sundays. On these days, one may have to wait for 2 to 4 hours for darshan. So, if possible, devotees should plan to visit during the mid-week.

This linga is usually covered with a silver layer. It is only possible to have darshan of this original Shivlinga during the morning aarti at 4:30 am. After the aarti, the linga is again covered with a silver cover.

This Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga is so revered that it is mentioned in history that before the war, Shivaji Maharaj, Shambha Ji Maharaj and even the Peshwa used to come to this temple to seek blessings of Lord Bholenath.