Temple and sacred
site (tirtha) in the village of Trimbak, Nasik district, Maharashtra, near the
Godavari River's headwaters.
The temple is named after the god Shiva as the "Three-Eyed
Lord," who is the presiding deity.
Shiva is present in Tryambakeshvar in the form of a linga,
Shiva's symbolic form, which is a pillar-shaped figure.
The Tryambakeshvar linga is one of Shiva's twelve
jyotirlingas, a network of holy Shiva locations where Shiva is physically
present.
Tryambakeshvar's founding story starts with the sage
Gautama, who unwisely kills an elderly cow with a stick, committing the sin of
cow slaughter.
Gautama is instructed that in order to atone for his
wrongdoing, he must first accumulate enough merit to draw the Ganges down to
earth, and then he must create and worship 10 million Shiva lingas carved out
of the sand on the Ganges' banks.
Gautama is dedicated to his penance (prayashchitta).
He is rewarded with a vision of Shiva, who satisfies his
request that both the Ganges and Shiva would stay there forever—the former in
her form as the Godavari, the latter as Tryambakeshvar—after he worships the 10
millionth linga.
