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Brahmagiri hills are a part of a charming countryside, in the wilderness of Maharastra surrounded by green and years of worship. A voice sings the praise of the 12 Jyotir Lingas and attributes his worship to Lord Shiva. The sweetness in his voice wake the senses and sends goose pimples through oneself, just experiencing the peace at Trayambakeswar temple.
Om Namah Shivaya
A shikhara rising up into the sky carries with it smaller vimanas intricately carved into itself. Its not just the beauty of these minor temples dotting the roof that stands out, its a reminder of the recurring pattern of our births, a cycle we don't want to get out of.
My life, like these endless vimanas, goes through its never-ending rhythm of living and desire. A churn so strong, that I do not know the way out. A reflection of this endless living with no effort to rise out of it brings the Jyotir Linga of Trayambakeshwar temple to those suffering this misery. How blind are we, that we don’t see this glaring truth in front of us and just leave it to being an ancient wonder. All that remains is a stone Linga embedded deep within these walls that beckons us to look within ourselves and find our own flame of enlightenment.
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The potency of this Linga is well known, from the yuga of Gautama Rishi(sage) and his wife Ahilya who lived in their ashram here and attained great siddhas such that it rendered even Indra insecure. Gautama Rishi's devotion was so superior that Varuna (Lord of water) blessed him with a bottomless well from which rose unlimited supply of grain. The other sages conspired against him in jealousy. Few versions run from here on. A cow once strayed into their ashram and began to eat the grain. This cow is believed to be the incarnation of Ganesha in some cases and Jaya(an associate of Parvati)in other versions.
When Gautama rishi saw the cow eating into the supply, he tried to shoo the cow away with a bunch of Darbha grass. The cow died within the ashram, this in reality was an illusion created and Gautama Rishi brings Kala Sarpa dosha upon himself. Kala(time) sarpa (snake like) dosha (sin) is a state of higher misery given to those who have attained higher levels of perfection like the great sages in ancient times. The misery is such that it follows generations of lineage of those who have commit a sin, the death of the sacred animal - the cow, being one of them.
In order to release himself from this dosha, Gautama made a small Linga and diligently worshipped the Lord asking for respite. He prayed to the Lord, asking for the Ganges to descend to the earth, in the form of Godavari, and flow through his ashram and rid him off the sin of killing a cow within his courtyard. The Lord answered his prayers and the source of the Ganges starts here in the south and forms the River Godavari.
The Ganges still flows within the shrine chamber, ever covering this small linga, that stays beneath the earth with the water rising out. The Lord lies here submerged, in a constant abhishekam, the worship of whom resurrects anyone from this endless churn of living.
Photo courtesy: ©Lux
