There are 12 Jyotirlingas all over India and it is believed that all the sufferings of a person are removed by the mere philosophy of these Jyotirlingas. Of those 12 Jyotirlingas, the sixth Jyotirlinga is Bhimashankar, which is located in Shirdhan village, about 110 km from Pune, Maharashtra. The mythology related to Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga is very interesting and devotional. The description of this story is found in the Shiva Purana.
Ravana’s brother Kumbhakarna and his wife Karkati had a son named Bhima, who was born soon after Kumbhakarna’s death. When Bhima came to know that Lord Rama had killed his father, Bhima started harsh penance to avenge his father’s death and got immense powers from Lord Brahma as a boon. Due to the boon of Brahma, he became invincible and started hurting the gods. Bhima was proud of his power and started torturing Earth. He harassed many sages and saints. Fearful of him, the deity went to the shelter of Lord Shiva and prayed to him to end this crisis.
Bhima once created a lot of uproar at the place where devotees were worshiping Shiva. He forbade him to worship Shiva and declared himself revered. Devotees refused to listen to him. Enraged by this, Bhima decided to destroy them all. When Lord Shiva heard the call of devotees, he appeared there. There was a fierce battle between Shiva and Bhima. This war lasted for several days. Finally Lord Shiva killed Bhima. After this incident, Lord Shiva appeared there as Jyotirlinga and blessed his devotees. This place became famous as Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga.
The importance of Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga is considered one of the twelve Jyotirlingas. The place is located in the Sahyadri mountain range in Pune, Maharashtra. A river flows near this temple named Bhima River. This Jyotirlinga is considered very sacred for pilgrims and devotees. This Jyotirlinga symbolizes the power of Lord Shiva and his compassion towards his devotees. This Jyotirlinga symbolizes that Lord Shiva is always ready to protect true devotees.
