Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

The famous Grishneshwar temple in Maharashtra, which attracts thousands of visitors everyday, had been restored by the ancestors of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar, an expert has said.

The temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva and considered as the 12th Jyotirlinga in the country, is one of the few temples facing southwards, which makes it different from others, sculpture expert Yogesh Joshi told PTI.

Records of the initial construction of the Grishneshwar temple, one of the sacred sites for Hindus located at Ellora in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, were not available, but it was restored twice by two different Maratha families, he said.

Ellora, which houses the world famous ancient caves, was the 'jagir' of Bhosales during the Nizam rule here. The ancestral residence of the Bhosale family was a few steps away from Grishneshwar in Ellora.

The remains of this residence are protected by the state archaeology department, as per an official.

"The temple of Grishneshwar was first restored by the ancestors of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the 17th century. A stone inscription still lies in the temple where the names of Maloji and Ekoji Bhosale are engraved. Later, the restoration was done by Ahilyabai Holkar in the 18th century," Joshi said.

Holkar restored 29 prominent temples - from Rishikesh in the north to Rameswaram in the south.

As per mythological references in the book 'Verul Mahatmya', Grushna was a female devotee of Lord Shiva. While she was performing her pooja, her co-wife killed Ghrushna's son, he said.

Ghrushna did not stop and continued with her prayers. Lord Shiva then came there to punish the co-wife, but Ghrushna stopped him and requested that he reside in Ellora, he said.

"In this manner, Ghrishneshwar became the one of the homes of Lord Shiva," Joshi said.

The temple is facing southwards and this is a rare phenomenon, he pointed out.

"It is said that the base of the temple dates to the Yadava period (12th century). The temple structure is made up of red stone which is procured locally. The tower of the temple is made of stucco plaster," he said.

According to the book 'Verul Darshan' written by G B Degloorkar, the temple's tower is unique.

It neither resembles the huge towers we find in North India nor like the large ones in South India. The tower of the temple also has sculptures of characters from (epics) Ramayana and Mahabharata, like Ram, Laxman, Bharat, Draupadi, Bhim, Arjun along with reincarnations of Lord Vishnu, as per the book.

The temple also comprises beautifully carved pillars holding its assembly hall. The carvings depict hunting, and a single face connected to the bodies of a fish, an elephant and an ox, according to Degloorkar.

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Ellora was known by multiple names in the past, like Verul, Ghrushneshwar, Ghrushmeshwar and Elapur, as per the book.