Parvati was preparing sindur to ornament her hair. From the vermilion paste emerged a Jyotirlinga.
Grishneshwar is one of the Dwadasa Jyotirlingas. It is located in the village of Verul, 11 kilometers from Daulatabad near Aurangabad in Maharashtra. Daulatabad was earlier known as Devagiri.
The temple is built on an area of 80 meters by 60 meters. Halfway to the temple the Dashavatar, or the ten incarnations of Vishnu, are carved in red stone. A court hall precedes the garbhagriha. It is built on 24 pillars that have beautiful carvings. There is a statue of Nandi the Bull, the vahana of Shiva, in the court hall. Nandi is worshipped as a deity in his own right and it is customary to have a Nandi statue in all Shiva temples. No worship of Shiva is complete without first paying obeisance to Nandi. The garbhagriha measures 6 meters by 6 meters and faces to the east.
The Legend
Once Shiva lost a game of chess to Parvati and in a fit of temper went south to the forest of Kamyavana. Parvati followed and won him over and the two decided to stay there for some time. One day when Parvati was thirsty, Shiva pierced the earth with his trident and created a lake. This lake was known as Shivalay. The legend continues with Parvati preparing sindur. Sindur is a paste made from vermilion powder, which married women apply on their hair to indicate their marital status. As Parvati was rubbing the vermilion powder and water with her thumb, the vermilion turned into a lingam and a great light appeared in it. Parvati installed the lingam there and called it Grishneshwar, because it was created by “grishna” or friction of her thumb.
The Shiva Purana narrates that a Brahmin named Sudharm once lived in Devagiri with his wife Sudeha. Despite all prayers and remedies the couple was childless and Sudeha blamed herself. In order to ensure the continuance of her husband’s lineage, she got her sister Ghushma married to Sudharm. She also instructed Ghushma to make 101 lingas, worship them at Grishneshwar and then immerse them in the Shivalay Lake. With the blessings of Shiva a boy was born to Ghushma. Sudeha was jealous of the attention the mother and son received. As the boy grew up and got married Sudeha’s jealousy increased. One night she killed Ghushma’s son and threw him in the lake.
Ghushma’s daughter-in-law found a blood stained sheet and her husband missing when she awoke. She rushed to Ghushma and informed her of the tragedy, but Ghushma was so absorbed in her prayers that she did not respond. She knew that Shiva had given this child to her and Shiva would protect him. She continued with her daily rituals undeterred. When she went to immerse the lingas she saw her son coming out from the lake. Then Shiva appeared before her and told her that Sudeha had killed her son. Ghushma requested Shiva to forgive her sister. Pleased with her devotion and generosity Shiva offered her a boon. Ghushma requested Shiva to eternally reside there so that the coming generations could worship him. Shiva agreed and also decreed that the shrine be named Ghushmeshwar to memorialize the tale of the devout woman.
The History
Maloji Raje Bhosale, the grandfather of the Maratha emperor Shivaji, was the chief of Verul in the 16th century. He was a devout devotee of Shiva. Once he found a treasure hidden in a snake pit. He spent that money in the renovation of the Grishneshwar temple. Later in the 18th century Ahilyabai Holkar reconstructed the temple.
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