Trimbakeshwar Temple

The sage Gautama's ashram near Trimbak was blessed with abundance — his cows produced limitless milk, his fields yielded bountiful grain. Jealous sages conspired against him by sending a frail cow to die near his ashram, then accusing him of "Gohatya" — the sin of killing a cow. Devastated by this false accusation, Gautama performed intense penance to Shiva to purify himself.

Pleased, Shiva released the Ganga from his matted locks. As the sacred river descended here, she took the name "Godavari" — literally "she who was given by Gautama." The Godavari, India's second longest river at 1,465 km, begins her journey at Trimbakeshwar as a tiny spring on the Brahmagiri mountain, nourishing all of southern India.

The Jyotirlinga here is unlike any other — it has three visible faces representing Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva: the Creator, the Preserver, and the Destroyer. The crowns on these three faces change naturally with the seasons due to water erosion — a phenomenon devotees interpret as the Trinity expressing different moods. The lingam is set in a natural depression that fills with water, keeping the Jyotirlinga perpetually immersed.

Every twelve years, the Kumbh Mela is held in Nashik-Trimbakeshwar, drawing over 30 million pilgrims to bathe in the Godavari at the junction of the Godavari and Gautami rivers, in what becomes one of the largest human gatherings on earth.

Built by the third Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao in 1755. The source of the Godavari River. Host to the Kumbh Mela every 12 years.

Kumbh Mela (every 12 years) draws over 30 million. Maha Shivaratri. The Narayan Nagbali and Kalsarpa Shanti pujas are performed only here.

Hemadpanthi architecture entirely carved from black basalt stone. Set against the Brahmagiri mountain where the Godavari springs forth.