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Long ago, in the dense forests of Dakini, on the lofty ranges of the Sahyadris lived the evil Asura by the name Bhima, with his mother Karkati. Compassion and kindness shivered in the presence of Bhima. The divine and the mortals were scared of him alike. But he was confronted by certain questions about his own existence that continuously tormented him.

When Bhima could no longer sustain his agony and curiosity, he asked his mother to unveil the mysteries of his life. He urged his mother to tell him who his father was and why he had abandoned them in the wilderness of the forest. After much hesitation and with a lingering fear Karkati, his mother revealed to him that he was the son of the mighty Kumbhakarna, the younger brother of the Lankadhishwar, the mighty all powerful King Ravana of Lanka. 

Karkati told Bhima, that her husband and his father was killed by Ram in the great war. This infuriated Bhima and he vowed to take revenge against Lord Vishnu. To achieve this, he embarked on a severe penance to please Lord Brahma. The compassionate creator was pleased by the dedicated devotee and granted him immense powers. 

The evil tyrant caused havoc in all the three worlds. He defeated King Indra and conquered the heavens. He started torturing Rishis and Sadhus. All this angered the Gods. All the Devas, along with Lord Brahma, beseeched Lord Shiva to come to their rescue.

It was then that Lord Shiva reduced the evil demon to ashes and thus concluded the saga of tyranny. All the Gods and the holy sages present there requested Lord Shiva to make this place his abode. Lord Shiva thus manifested himself in the form of the Bhimashankar Jyotirlingam.

The Bhimashankar temple is a composite of old and new structures in the Nagara style of architecture. It shows the excellency of the skills achieved by ancient Vishwakarma sculptors. It is a modest yet graceful temple and it dates back to the 13th century while the sabhamandap was built in the 18th century by Nana Phadnavis. The shikhara was built by Nana Phadnavis. The great Maratha ruler Shivaji is said to have made endowments to this temple to facilitate worship services. As with other Shiva temples in this area, the sanctum is at a lower level.

Bhimashankar is the source of the Bhima River, which flows southeast and merges with the Krishna River.

Bhimashankar is located at 3500 feet above MSL. Bhimashankar is at a distance of 125 km from Pune and 240 km from Mumbai. The temple town can be reached by road in 3.5 hours from Pune and 5.5 hours from Mumbai.

Temple Address : Sri Kshetra Bhimashankar, Via Dhimbe Colony, Khed Taluka, Pune District, Maharashtra – 410509. 

The legend about the existence of this Jyotirlinga is related to Kumbhakarna’s son Bhima. When Bhima learned that he was the son of Kumbhakarana who was annihilated by Lord Vishnu in his incarnation as Lord Ram, he vowed to avenge Lord Vishnu. He performed penance to please Lord Brahma who granted him immense power. On achieving this power, he started creating havoc in the world. He defeated the staunch devotee of Lord Shiva- Kamrupeshwar and put him in the dungeons. This angered the Lords who requested Shiva to descend Earth and put an end to this tyranny. A war ensued between the two and Shiva ultimately put the demon to ashes. All the Gods then requested Shiva to make that place his abode. Shiva then manifested himself in the form of Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga. It is believed that the sweat which poured from Shiva’s body after the battle is what formed the Bhima River.