Ghrishneshwar
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Half a kilometer away from the great Ellora Caves lies Ghrishneshwar temple, one of the important religious places in India, the last of the temples that form the holy pilgrimage of Jyotirlinga. The temple was rejuvenated in 18th century by Queen Ahillyabai Holkar, a famous figure in Indian history, who ruled Indore from 1765 to 1795.


Built in the spotted, red sandstone, this historical monument is a fine example of temple architecture. Designed in a beautiful shape, the temple has been adorned by various intriguing sculptures that depict stories such as the marriage of Shiva-Parvati and the tales of Bramha, Vishnu and Ganesh.


An interesting story accounts how the place where this temple has been built became one of the twelve places in India where Lord Shiva appeared in form of a flame. Once here lived two sisters, Ghrushma and Sudeha, married to the same man. For a long time, none could produce a child. But Ghrushma worshiped Lord Shiva piously, and was soon rewarded with a son. Jealous upon this, her sister, Sudeha, killed the boy and threw him in the river. When the news reached Ghrushma, she was engrossed in her usual worship of Lord Shiva. Unperturbed, she said the one who gave me the son, shall protect him. And that is what happened. The baby boy walked out of the river, alive again. Shiva then appeared before Ghrushma and told her what had happened. But he suggested that Ghrushma forgave her sister and let her walk away on her own way. Later, Shiva, pleased by Ghrushma’s devotion, nodded at her plea that he remained there in form of a flame for the benefit of the people from around and the place be known by her name. And thus, the temple is also known as, Ghrushneshwar.


A busy place everyday, the temple is especially crowded on Mondays, as it is the day of Shiva. The number of devotees increases manifold on the day of Maha Shivratri.


Situated 30 kilometers from Aurangabad, thee temple is half a kilometer drive away. You can visit this temple immediately after you have visited Ellora Caves as a religious visitor or as a tourist.


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Quick Reference

Ghrishneshwar is located 30 kilometers away from Aurangabad. It is a famous religious destination and people usually club their visit to Ellora caves with Ghrishneshwar, since it is just half a kilometer away from Ellora. Ghrishneshwar is a Shiva temple and is a part of the Jyotirlinga pilgrimage. It is believed that Lord Shiva appeared here in the form of flame. You can visit this temple and seek blessings on your way back home from Ellora caves.

 

Destination Grade: B (What is this?)
Rating: 8/10
Population: 27898
5 Star Hotels: Vrindavan Resort
Luxury Hotels: Kailas Hotel
Airport: Aurangabad 15 km
Railway Station: Aurangabad
Nearest Major City(s): Aurangabad
How to reach:

Aurangabad is a major city of Maharashtra, therefore it is well connected by road. To reach Ellora Caves tourists should take a taxi from Aurangabad. There are State buses run from Mumbai, Pune, Ahmednagar, Jalgaon, Shirdi, Nasik, Dhule, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Indore and Bijapur to Aurangabad

Major Tourist Attraction: Ghrishneshwar temple, Ellora caves, Daulatabad Fort
Speciality(Famous for): Temple
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Rating:
58.0
10 votes
1 2 3 4 5
Total Reviews : 3
 
 
Reviews by users : (3)
A quick visit to Ghrishneshwar temple - by Madhuri Moghe Dated : 2011-12-09
The Ghrisneshwar Temple is just half a kilometer away from the Ellora caves. We had come to see the Ajanta and Ellora caves from Mumbai. My family is religious and so we were more than happy to stop at the temple and seek blessings of Lord Shiva.

The temple appears very old but our visit was not very tiring. We had to stand in queue not for more than half an hour. My husband and my son had to take their shirts off and also their belts because the priest said it was important for men to take their shirts off before seeking Lord Shiva’s blessing.

The sculptures carved on the structure of the temple are very beautiful and depict tales of marriage of Lord Shiva and Parwati and other tales of Brahma.

The architecture of the temple is very interesting and amazing. A quick visit to this temple should be on the cards when exploring Ellora caves.
Ghrishneshwar Temple - by Vinay Shukla  Dated : 2011-03-17
When I and my family had gone to visit the great Ellora caves we also went to take the blessings of the Ghrishneshwar temple. This is one of the holy pilgrimage destinations of the Jyotirlingas of Lord Shankar.

Ghrishneshwar is situated almost 30 kilometers towards the west of Aurangabad. The temple has a handsomely sculptures stockades and a masonry reservoir built by King Ahilyabai Holkar. This is an eternal source of water that is believed to clean all the sins. The jyotirlinga is known to be self oriented. The temple has entrances on three sides, which are flanked by balconies; they serve the purpose of sitting. The devotees can enter the spacious sanctum but men need to remove their upper garments before entering the shrine. The sanctum has a Shiv Linga and a marble image of Goddess Parvati.

I and my family took blessings of Lord Shiva and got back home later that evening. We had also visited the Ellora caves which are just a kilometer away from the shrine. The visit had really excited us because at Ellora the caves have beautiful carvings which are very old and ancient. You can easily club your visit to Ellora with Ghrishneshwar because it is not very time consuming to visit the caves and the temple on the same day. But if you want to go to Ajanta, you must spare an entire day for Ajanta. Ellora and Ghrishneshwar are great destination in proximity to Aurangabad.
The Miracle Place of Shankar Bhagwan - by Praful Joshi Dated : 2011-03-06
Ghrishneshwar temple of verul is very close to my town which is aurangabad. it is an old temple and historic. it is built in stones from the old age and very popular. people come here from India and foreign to visit and benefit by the blessing of shankar dev. on maha shivratri there is big crowd here and it takes many hours to get the darshan. this day there are many sellers outside who sell prasad and puja material. we come here every mahashivratri and on many mondays. we also come here when we come to ellora caves on holidays.

the mandir is built in stones and looks very beautiful. there are stories of shankar bhagvan present here in the form of statues in the walls of temple. the temple looks like kailas parvat where shankar bhagvan lives. there is also a statue of nandi outside the temple and in the temple. there are stone seats in the temple for people to sit made hundreds of years ago.

the pujari of the mandir helps to do abhishek which here is important puja that many people do. ladies cannot go inside the temple room where the pindi of shankar bhagwan is present. outside the temple there are many monkies and dogs. there are also many beggers who get food in the afternoon from the temple trust. photography is not allowed inside the temple but allowed outside the temple.

it is a very relaxing place where you feel calm and relax. everyone who follows shankar bhagwan should come here at least one as it is one of the 12 jotiling in India and hence one of the important temples in india.

it takes only 40 minutes to reach here from aurangabad and you can hire a car or go by bus as per your need. thank you for reading this article and i hope you visit the best temple of ghrishneshwar and receive the blessing of shankar bhagwan. jai bhole.