Nashik ( Maharashtra , India )

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Nashik has a personality of its own due to its

mythological, historical, social and cultural

importance. The river Godavari flows through the city.

Temples and ghats on the banks of Godavari have made

Nashik one of the holiest places.

 

Panchavati

 

River Godavari flows through Nashik and its Northern

part is called as Panchavati. It is said that Lord

Shri Ram and Sita along with Laxman stayed at

Panchavati for some time. Thus Panchavati has gained

holy importance. There are five Banyan (Vad) trees

and hence the area is called Panchavati.Nearby is Sita

Gumpha (cave) where Sita is said to have stayed for

some time.

 

Sita Gumpha :

 

The Gumpha (i.e. Cave) is near the five Banyan trees

in Panchavati. One can enter the cave with the help of

a very narrow staircase. The cave has the idol of

Shree Ram, Laxman and Sita. To

the left, one can enter into the cave having the Shiva

Linga. Devotees believe that Ravan kidnapped Sita from

the same place.

Sundarnarayan Temple :

 

Sundarnarayan temple is situated at the corner of

Ahillyabai Holkar Bridge. The story goes like this :

Vrinda Devi was a very pious and faithful wife of

Jalandar - a wicked demon. Jalandar, a mighty crook,

was the devotee of Lord Shiva. Pleased with his

prayers and impressed by Jalandar's wife's chastity,

Lord Shiva gave him a boon that made him immortal.

With this boon, Jalandar became vicious and started

creating havoc on earth. He not only troubled human

beings, but also disturbed the Gods. He even ventured

to pick up a quarrel with Lord Shiva himself. It

became necessary to eliminate him which was contrary

to the boon given by Lord Shiva. The only way out was

to suspect Vrinda Devi's chastity. For this task Lord

Vishnu duplicated himself to look like Jalandar and

lived with Vrinda Devi. Thus her chastity was

suspected and the boon given to Jalandar was withdrawn

and he was destroyed. When Vrinda Devi came to know of

the trick played by Lord Vishnu, she got furious and

cursed Lord Vishnu. His attractive body turned black

due to the curse. Lord Vishnu took a holy bath in the

river Godavari and regained his complexion. Since he

became beautiful again, - the Lord is named as

Sundarnarayana. Sundar means beautiful.

 

Story related to Godavari river

 

Brahmadev worshipped God Trivikram when he came to

Satya Loka (on earth) with the same holy water of the

Ganges, to get the river Ganges held up by God Shankar

on his head, to flow. River Ganges in the form of a

woman was enjoying with Lord Shankar, which was

noticed by Lord Shiva’s wife Parvati. She planned to

drive Ganges away from her husband. Parvati and her

son Ganesh came to live in Gautama’s Ashrama with

Parvati’s friend Jaya. There was a famine of 24 years

and people were affected by the pangs of hunger.

However, Varun - the demigod of rains, pleased with

Sage Gautama arranged rains every day in Gautam’s

Ashrama (dwelling place) which was in Trimbakeshwar.

Gautama used to sow rice in the surrounding fields of

his Ashrama in the morning, reap the crop in the

afternoon and with it fed a large group of rishis, who

took shelter in his Ashrama on account of the famine.

The blessings of the group of rishis increased the

merit (Punya) of Gautam. Lord Indra’s position became

shaky because of his increased merit. So Indra

ordered clouds to rain all over Trimbakeshwar, so that

the famine will be over and Rishis will go back and

the increasing merits of Gautam will be weakened.

Although the famine was over, Gautam urged the Rishis

to stay back and kept on feeding them and gaining

merit. Once he saw a cow grazing in the paddy field

and he drove her away by throwing Darbha (sharp,

pointed grass). The slender cow died by this. It was

Jaya - Parvati’s friend, who had taken the form of a

cow. This news upset the Rishis and they refused to

luncheon at his Ashram. Gautam requested Rishis to

show a way out of this sin. He was advised to approach

Lord Shiva and request him to release Ganges and a

bath in the Ganges would set him free of his sins.

Gautam then practiced penance by going to the peak of

Brahmagiri. Lord Shankara was pleased by his worships

and gave him the Ganges. However, Ganges was not

prepared to part with Lord Shiva, which irritated him.

He made Tandav Nrutya (dance) on the peak of

Brahmagiri and dashed his jata there. Frightened by

this action, Ganges appeared on Brahmagiri. Later on

Ganges appeared in the Trimbak Tirtha. Gautam praised

her but she off and on appeared on the mountain at

various places and disappeared in anger. Gautama could

not bathe in her waters. Ganges then appeared in

Gangadwar, Varaha-tirtha, Rama-Laxman tirtha, Ganga

Sagar tirtha. Still Gautama could not bathe in her

waters. The Gautama surrounded the river with

enchanted grass and put a vow to her. The flow

stopped there and the tirtha thus came to be called

Kushavarta. It is from this Kushavarta that the river

Godavari flows up to the sea. The sin of killing a cow

by Gautama was wiped off here.

 

 

 

 

 

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