Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga

History & Manyata

Grishneshwar (also called Ghrneshwar or Kusumeswarar) at Verul village, 30 km from Aurangabad, is enumerated as the twelfth and final Jyotirlinga in the Shiva Purana — just one kilometre from the UNESCO World Heritage Ellora Caves. The Shiva Purana's Koti Rudra Samhita relates the story of the devoted lady Kusuma, whose 101 daily Shivlingam abhisheks brought her dead son back to life and caused the Lord to manifest here at her name. The earliest temple was destroyed during the Delhi Sultanate and the Bahmani periods; reconstructed by the Maratha chieftain Maloji Bhosale (grandfather of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj) in the 16th century, and rebuilt in its present form in 1730 by Queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore using red volcanic basalt in classic South Indian Dravida style with intricate carvings of dashavataras, episodes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The five-tiered shikhara, the sabha mandap with 24 carved pillars, and the Garbhagriha measuring 17 m × 17 m make it the smallest of the twelve Jyotirlingas in linga size but among the finest in architecture. Male devotees enter the sanctum bare-chested per tradition. The Shikharji Kund tank on the premises is fed by an ancient subterranean spring. Together with nearby Ellora caves, Bibi ka Maqbara and Daulatabad fort, it forms one of India's richest pilgrimage-and-heritage circuits.

Aarti Timings

• Kakad Aarti04:30 AM
• Madhyanha Puja12:00 PM
• Sandhya Aarti07:30 PM

Festivals not to miss

Suggested Itinerary

1. 1Morning darshan
2. 2Ellora caves
3. 3Daulatabad Fort
4. 4Return via Khuldabad

Local Attractions

• Ellora Caves (UNESCO)
• Daulatabad Fort
• Bibi Ka Maqbara