Qualla: Bhimashankar Temple

Bhimashankar Temple: Introduction

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Gauravyawalkar.2012, CC BY-SA 3.0. Between two stone pillars in the Bhimashankar temple complex hangs an enormous bell. It is not Hindu in origin. It came from a Portuguese church in Vasai, captured in 1739 by the Maratha general Chimaji Appa after his victory over the Portuguese. That a Catholic bell should ring in one of the twelve most sacred Shiva temples in India tells you something about the layers of history compressed into this remote hilltop in the Sahyadri range of Maharashtra's Western Ghats.

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Image: Gauravyawalkar.2012 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Bhimashankar Temple: Where a River Is Born

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mechatron00, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Bhima River, one of the major tributaries of the Krishna, begins its 861-kilometer journey to the southeast from the village of Bhimashankar in Maharashtra's Pune district. According to Hindu tradition, the river formed from the sweat of Shiva himself, shed during a cosmic ba...

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Image: Mechatron00 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Bhimashankar Temple: Black Stone and a Nagara Spire

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mechatron00, CC BY-SA 4.0. The temple dates to the 13th century, carved from black stone in the Nagara architectural style. Its core is ancient, but the building visitors see today reflects significant 18th-century renovations by Nana Phadnavis, the shrewd minister of the Peshwa court. He rebuilt the sabha...

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Image: Mechatron00 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Bhimashankar Temple: Twelve Points of Light

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Anant Rohankar, CC BY 2.0. The concept of the Jyotirlinga -- a radiant sign of Shiva -- holds that the god appeared as an infinite column of light at twelve locations across the subcontinent. Bhimashankar is one of three Jyotirlingas in Maharashtra alone, alongside Trimbakeshwar and Grishneshwar. This conc...

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Image: Anant Rohankar | CC BY 2.0

Bhimashankar Temple: Forts, Forest, and the Bell Between Pillars

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Dinesh Valke from Thane, India, CC BY-SA 2.0. Outside the temple walls, the landscape opens into forested mountains with the remains of ancient forts perched on their summits. A narrow path behind the temple leads down to the riverbanks where the Bhima is still a stream. The temple complex itself holds more than devotional a...

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Image: Dinesh Valke from Thane, India | CC BY-SA 2.0