Nestled in the Sahyadri hills near Pune, at the source of the Bhima river, Bhimashankar is revered as one of the twelve Jyotirlingas. The Koti Rudra Samhita of the Shiva Purana tells of the demon Bhima — born, the legend says, of Kumbhakarna — who terrorised the devout; when he raised his sword against a worshipper of Shiva, the Lord appeared and reduced him to ashes. So fierce was the encounter that the perspiration (sweda) from Shiva's body is said to have flowed forth as the Bhima river, which rises beside the shrine.
Set within a lush wildlife sanctuary that shelters the rare Indian giant squirrel, the temple in the Nagara style sits amid forested hills often wreathed in mist. Its carved sanctum and remote green setting make Bhimashankar a place where pilgrimage and the quiet of nature meet.
Devotees hold that darshan here, at the headwaters of a sacred river deep in the Western Ghats, carries the Lord's protection against all harm.
