A great sage Gautama living in the Brahmagiri hill undertook a penance to atone for the sin of inadvertently killing a cow. Being pleased with him, Lord Shiva manifested as Lord Tryambakeshwar before the sage. At Gautama’s ardent request, mother Ganges too appeared as the Godavari in the real world. Because of Gautama, the Godavari came into being and hence the river is also called as the ‘Gautami’.

Lord Tryambakeshwar is supposed to have three eyes, which stand for devotion, knowledge and justice.

The original temple of Lord Tryambakeshwar built in the Hemapant style of temple architecture was renovated by the Peshwas. Shrimant Nanasahib Peshwa started its renovation on Margashirsha Krishnastami, Shaka 1677 (26/12/1755). 768 laborers worked on the temple for a continuous period of 31 years. The renovation was completed in 1785 during Peshwa Sawai Madhavrao’s reign.

The temple is situated in the middle of a vast ground near the entrance of the city of Tryambakeshwar. The temple is east facing. Its architect Yashwantrao Harshe combined Malwa & Meru styles of architecture while renovating the temple structures. The temples measures 160 feet from the east and 131 feet south to north and height from its pavement to the ceiling is 56 feet and the incrberence of its round shape is 185 feet. The temple is of marble ‘Sabhamandap’ is 40 by 40 feet. There are images of Lord Bhairava an others in the recess of the ‘Sabhawanap’. The whole temple was constructed with black stone & renovation cost Rs 9 lakhs in those days.

Later Sardar Annasaheb Vinchunkar the provincial head of this area installed 3 golden domes and 3 golden standards carrying the mark of a bull on the temple on 5/10/1872.

In the western sanctum, surrounded by marble flooring there is a sacred linga. This linga of divine origin is swambhu, is believed to the abode of the Trimurthi ie Lord Brahma, Vishnu & Mahesh. The Godavari which originates in the nearby Brahmagiri hill disappears for some distance along its course before reappearing at this spot.

Thus Tryambakeshwar is a sacred place which is well known throughout India. During the Sinhastha Kumbh which occurs every 12 years all the sacred shrines and rivers are supposed to reside in the Kusharasta the holy pond close to the temple. During the mela thousands of devotees and sadhus from different parts of India take a holy bath in it.

Kushavarta – the place where Godavari takes its course. The sage Gautam committed a sin of murdering a cow and by taking bath in this river wiped off his sin. Shreemant Rao Sahib Parnekar has built up the banks with stone pavement and verandahs on all sides. There are temples on the four corners. Southeast is Kedareshwar Mahadev, southwest is Sakshi Vinayak who is a witness to the yatra-vidhi of all pilgrims, northwest is Kusheshwar Mahadev and northeast in the temple of Godavari.

In one corner of Kushavarta is a small temple below which from the river Godavari is supposed to come out.

Nearby to Brahmagiri is Kolambika Devi where there are 108 Shivalingas. A little further on is Gorakh Gumpha, a place where Goraknath practiced penance. Close by is Rama-Laxman tirtha. Here Lord Ram stopped for a few days and did Shraddha ceremony in memory of Dasharatha. There is a Rama temple built by Gopalrao Ghanekar in 1857.

Insights: Tryambakeshwar is about a 4 hour drive from Mumbai, app 25 kms from Nasik. About seven kms before the temple city is a Coins Museum that gives you the history of Indians coins from ancient times. The complex is named ‘Indian Institute of Research in Numismatic Studies & Money Museum’, www.iirns.org, 02594 220005/6/7. It has a library that is supposed to be the best in Asia. Numismatic is the study of coins as historical objects and as a source of history. It has a hostel where research students can stay.

At Tryambakeshwar you can stay at dharamshalas or hotels. We stayed at Shri Gajanand Maharaj ka ashram. A room with three beds and a clean attached bath cost us only Rs 125 per day. You can stay at Swami Samarth ashram. A recent construction tariff is Rs 200/ per day.

Temple entrance is east facing. However for security reasons entrance is now from southern gate. To avoid standing for hours in the queue for darshan we used the services of a Pandit who performed abhishek in the mandir and allowed us close darshan all within half an hour. Pandit contacts are Shri Abhya Ramchandra 9922367703 or 02594 233703. The darshan was special. We felt very positive about the whole experience. Wifey and chanted Om Namoh Shivah continuously.

After afternoon evening darshan we went to the Swami Samarth temple complex. Very impressive. They have constructed the main temple on a hill; the prayer hall can accommodate atleast 500 people. It is very well maintained with modern amenities. We attended the evening prarthana, bought some Ayurvedic products as well.

An important part of the trip is climbing Brahmagiri mountain and going to the point where river Godavari starts. Brahmagiri is considered a huge form of Lord Shiva & hence climbing the mountain was considered a sin. However in 1908 Seth Lalchand Bhambhani of Karachi & Seth Ganeshas built 500 steps of stone at a cost of Rs 40,000/ then. The mountain is 1800 feet high; its height from sea level is 4248 feet.

It is a two-hour climb one way. When we looked at the mountain ahead we wondered how we would climb it. We started the trek at about 6.45 am so that we could be back before it got too hot. It is a wonderful and tough trek. Part one of the trek is a kacha rasta full of large stones, part 2 consists of steps. Steps were made by virtually cutting the mountain; at times the climb is very steep. You have to climb two mountains to reach the Brahmagiri temple. Hill one is visible from the temple town; hill two is a further climb. On reaching the top of hill two you need to walk down to visit Brahmagiri mandir and the source of the river Godavari.

All along the route there were teashops that served lovely limbo pani.

We did not know but there are two ring routes in this area. You are supposed to go up one route and come down on another. Unknowingly we went up and down Brahmagiri the same route. We wishes there was a Board at the starting point that gave information about the route to be take, there were no tourists guides too.

Nonetheless we enjoyed every minute of the trek, coming down was tougher.

Other links –

1.      To see pictures of out trip – Click Here

2.      To read more - http://www.nashik.com/travel/trimbakeshwar.html

Source of content is board outside the temple and www.nashik.com. Insights are our own travel experiences.

Jai Tryambakeshwar, Jai Godavari. Long Live Sanatan Dharam