Saiva · Verul (Ellora), Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra
Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga
Grishneshwar (Jyotirlinga), who returned a devotee’s son
ChildrenGeneral
The temple in short
- Deity
- Grishneshwar (Jyotirlinga), who returned a devotee’s son
- Where
- Verul (Ellora), Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra · 20.02N 75.18E
- Usual hours
- 5 am – 1 pm, 4 pm – 9 pm — hours change with festivals and the season; check before travelling. Were these right when you went?
- Grahas
- Guru
- Visited for
- The last of the twelve Jyotirlingas, beside the Ellora caves, where Ghushma’s son was given back. Visited by couples for children.
The sthala purana
Tradition, as it is told at the temple
The sthala purana has it that a woman called Ghushma made a hundred and one small lingas of clay each day, worshipped them and set them in a tank.
Her son was killed out of jealousy and thrown into the same tank. The sthala purana has it that she went to her worship as usual rather than break it off, and that the boy came out of the water alive. When Sivan appeared and offered her what she wanted, she asked that he remain at this place, and he is worshipped here under her name.
What is recorded
Documented history
Grishneshwar is counted as the last of the twelve Jyotirlingas. The temple standing today is eighteenth-century work, rebuilt by Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore, who restored a number of the Jyotirlinga temples.
It stands within a kilometre of the Ellora caves, which are on the UNESCO World Heritage list, so almost everyone who comes sees both.
What there is to see
Description
A red basalt temple with a five-tier shikhara and carved figures over its outer walls, small by the standards of the other Jyotirlingas.
A pillared hall stands in front of the sanctum, and the court around is open. Men are required to remove the upper garment before entering the sanctum, which is worth knowing beforehand.
The Kailasa temple at Ellora, cut whole out of the rock, is a short walk away, and Daulatabad fort is on the road back.
The temple year
The days it is fullest
Maha Shivaratri is the great day, and the Mondays of Shravan fill the temple.
The rest of the year it is quiet, and most visitors arrive from the Ellora side in the middle of the day.
Getting there, and what else it is called
- Also called
- Ghrishneshwar, Ghushmeshwar, Verul
- Period
- Rebuilt in the eighteenth century by Ahilyabai Holkar
- Reaching it
- Grishneshwar is at Verul, near Ellora, about 30 km from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, which is the nearest railway station and airport.
Where it is
Others within reach
Nearest first, by straight-line distance
- Shri Shanaishwara Temple, Shingnapur 76.9 km · Other
- Shri Saibaba Samadhi Mandir, Shirdi 78.3 km · Other
- Saptashrungi Devi Temple 134.5 km · Sakta (Amman)
- Shri Siddhivinayak Temple, Siddhatek 162.1 km · Ganapathi
- Shri Girijatmaj Temple, Lenyadri 162.6 km · Ganapathi
- Shri Vighneshwar Temple, Ozar 163.6 km · Ganapathi
Add what you know
Been to this temple? The things that change — whether the hours on this page were right, whether the sannidhi was open, how long the queue was on a Saturday — are exactly what no printed source keeps current, and what the next person travelling here needs.
- Were the hours right when you went?
- Is anything on this page wrong or out of date?
- A photograph of the gopuram, the tank, or the notice board
A contribution carries a name, so a reader knows whose account it came from. That is why it needs an account, and it is the only reason.
Parihaaram is traditional practice, offered for devotion and peace of mind; it is not a guaranteed cure of any condition. Temple hours change with festivals and the season, so check before travelling.