Jyotirlinga BhimaShankar

Jyothirlingas #BhimaShankar

The Jyothirlingas have a significant religious, spiritual, historical and religious importance in Bharat. In addition to being a must do in the pilgrim circuit, the Jyothirlingas have a story to tell. Let us understand and appreciate the puranic stories behind these places, the history and the societal significance in the present context.

Somnath is the oldest Jyothirlinga. The temple is located in Veraval in Gujarat. (https://bharatiyastories.blogspot.com/2024/06/Jyothirlingas-somnath.html). The second Jyothirlinga is Mallikarjuna in Srisailam in present day AndhraPradesh

 (https://bharatiyastories.blogspot.com/2024/06/Jyothirlinga-mallikarjunaswamy-and.html).

We had covered the story of Mahakaaleshwar in Ujjain in MadhyaPradesh. (https://bharatiyastories.blogspot.com/2024/06/Jyothirlinga-mahakaaleshwar.html). Omkareshwar is the fourth jyotirlinga. (https://bharatiyastories.blogspot.com/2024/06/jyotirlinga-omkareshwar.html)

Baidyanath is the fifth Jyothirlinga and located in Deogarh, Jarkhand. https://bharatiyastories.blogspot.com/2024/06/jyothirlinga-baidyanath.html.

This story is about the next in the list of Jyothirlingam is Bhimashankar at Maharashtra.

The Jyothirlinga is an interesting story of revenge, devotion and redemption. Bhima was the son of Kumbakarna, the brother of Ravana. He was born to Karkati and Kumbakarna. Like many members of his tribe, he did have a lot of physical strength even as a child. When he was old enough to understand, he asked his mother about his father Kumbakarna and his uncle Ravana.

Karkati told him that his father was a good man, but stood by his brother Ravana in his war against Lord Rama. She told him in detail about the battle between Lord Rama and the Asuras and the killing of his father and uncle by Lord Rama’s army. Bhima was angry on hearing about the defeat of his father in the hands of Lord Rama and his army of vanaras. (Unfortunately, he did not pause to think as to why Lord Rama attacked Lanka and killed the Asuras in the first place.). He decided to avenge the death of his father in the hands of Lord Rama.

Bhima decided he needed to strengthen his physical prowess with divine powers too. He retired to the forest and undertook a severe penance. The heat of his penance and prayers shook the three worlds and generated so much energy that the heat became unbearable. The Devas pleaded with Lord Brahma to intervene and stop the penance. Lord Brahma gave him divine powers and blessed him.

Imagine a person who is already strong getting blessed with divine strength. Bhima became very cruel and arrogant and decided that no power on earth can defeat him. He first usurped the kingdom of the Devas and even defeated Lord Vishnu in a battle.

If Bhima can win the battles against the Devas, it was now wonder that the kings on bhuloka were no match for him. Bhima started annexing many kingdoms in bhuloka as well. Not only did he attack and subjugate other kingdoms, he prohibited any form of worship. One such kingdom Bhima annexed to his growing empire was the kingdom of Kamarupa. He conquered the king and annexed his kingdom.

This would have ended there had Bhima been content with the land. Unfortunately for him, the time had come for his destruction by powers that were superior to him. In this case, it came in the form of the King of Kamarupa and his wife. Bhima had specifically prohibited the King and Queen from any prayers or offering to the Devas while allowing them to retire to the forest after their defeat in the battle.

The royal couple of Kamarupa were devout Shiva bhakths. They did not start their day or have their first meal without finishing their prayers to Lord Shiva. Despite Bhima occupying their kingdom and chasing them to the forest and threatening them, they had not lost their faith on their divine God. They made a make shift temple in the forest and made an earthen lingam out of the river mud in the forest. They started worshipping that lingam with as much devotion as they did the one in their temple in the forest.

The Devas and the Gods who had suffered defeat at the hands of Bhima saw an opportunity for redemption through the couple. They knew that the Lord would put up with any disrespect but would not tolerate anyone who troubled his devotees. They went to Shiva and praised the royal couple of Kamarupa for their devotion. Lord Shiva was very pleased to hear the Devas singing the praise of his devotees.

Lord Shiva told the Devas “I shall ensure that my devotees are protected and this evil Asura Bhima is killed. He thinks he is invincible because of his physical prowess. I shall wait for an opportune time when the Asura provokes me or is disrespectful to my devotees.” Not only did Lord Shiva promise this, he started residing in the forest with his ganas, protecting his devotee the King of Kamarupa and his wife.

The presence of Lord Shiva in the forest led to some propitious changes in the atmosphere. Lot of good signs became visible. This made the Asura Bhima and his clan uncomfortable. Unfortunately, he was unable to pin point the reason for these changes.

One day, the King of Kamarupa overjoyed by his devotion, sat in front of the earthen Linga and started a deep meditation. This generated tremendous positive energy in the forest. Bhima sent his spies into the forest to check what the King of Kamarupa was upto. The spies returned saying that he was in deep meditation in front of a ShivaLinga. To spice up their reporting further, they added “We feel he is trying to weaken or kill you and get back his kingdom. Maybe the King of Kamarupa is performing black magic. Sire, you should perhaps kill him before he becomes too powerful. You let him live thinking he was weak and powerless. You may need to rethink your kindness.”

Bhima, who was increasingly getting uncomfortable for letting an enemy live did not require too much convincing. He went to the forest with his troops. He saw the King of Kamarupa and his wife in deep meditation and glowing with the power of their prayers.

Bhima shouted “You fool. I let you live as I thought killing a weakling like you will be a dishonour for me. I command you to destroy the Shivalinga and leave. Or else I will kill you this instant.” The King and the Queen strengthened and emboldened by their prayers neither heard Bhima nor paid any heed to his shouts. They continued their meditation with closed eyes.

After a few more attempts to dissuade the king, Bhima became furious. He threw his mighty sword at the Shivalinga on the ground. The moment the sword hit the linga, Lord Shiva manifested himself from the ShivaLinga. He used his bow Pinaka and Bhima’s sword split into two.

Bhima did not back down. He hurled his spear at the Lord. The Lord destroyed the spear to many pieces. A huge battle ensued with the Deas and the King of Kamarupa watching in awe. The Asura Bhima hurled weapon after weapon – a lance, an iron club and everything in his armour. Each of these weapons were destroyed by Lord Shiva using his bow and Trishul.

The Devas then requested the Lord to end this battle and put an end to this evil Asura. Shiva reduced Bhima to ashes by just using the Ohmkaara sound. The Asura was unable to withstand the power and energy of the sound and became a handful of ashes. Shiva then blessed his devotees the King and Queen of Kamarupa and gave them their kingdom. The Devas praised the Lord and thanked the royal couple for being instrumental to this miracle.

At the request of the King of Kamarupa, Lord Shiva agreed to stay in the forest as Lord BhimaShankar.

BhimaShankar is located in the Sahyadri hills on the banks of the river Bhima about 127 kms from Pune in Maharashtra. The river Bhima flows southeast and joins the Krishna in Raichur.

The BhimaShankar temple is known for its architecture that is built in the Nagara style of architecture.