Grishneshwar (Ghushmeshwar) is a popular Hindu shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva and is among one of the 12 Jyotirlingas. The shrine is located about 11 km from Daulatabad, near Aurangabad in Maharashtra India. The temple is located near the popular tourist attractions Ellora – featuring ancient rock cut monuments from the 1st millennium CE, and Ajanta known for its exquisite cave paintings again from the 1st millennium CE.

Pondering upon it’s history, we find that The Grishneswar temple was re-constructed by Maloji Bhosale of Verul, (grandfather of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj) in the 16th century and later by Ahilyabai Holkar in 18th century, who also re-constructed the Kashi Vishwanath temple at Benares, and the Vishnupad Mandir at Gaya.

Legend says that a devout woman Kusuma offered worship to Shiva regularly by immersing a Shivalingam in a tank, as a part of her daily ritual worship. Her husband’s first wife, envious of her piety, murdered Kusuma’s son in cold blood. An aggrieved Kusuma continued her ritual worship, and when she immersed the Shivalingam again in the tank, her son was miraculously restored to life. Shiva is said to have appeared in front of her and the villagers, and then HE is believed to have been worshipped in the form of a Jyotirlinga Ghusmeshwar and also known as Kusumeshwar Jyotirlinga.

For more sun musings, please visit musetheplace.com