What is the story of Bheemshankar Jyotirlinga?

Question

Lord Shiva has been worshipped in Linga form from time beginning as described in answer here. Among the Lingas there are 12 Jyotirlingas which are of special importance.

Mahatmya of 12 Jyotirlingas is described in Koti Rudra Samhita of Shiva Purana in the chapter "Dwadash Jyotirlinga Mahatmya". It states:

सौराष्ट्रे सोमनाथं च श्री शैले मल्लिकार्जुनम् ।
उज्जयिन्यां महाकालमोंकारे परमेश्वरम् ।।
केदारं हिमवत्पृष्ठे डाकिन्यां भीमशङ्करम् ।
वाराणास्यां च विश्वेशं त्रयम्बकं गौतमीतटे ।।
वैद्यनाथं चिताभूमौ नागेशं दारुकावने ।
सेतुबन्धे तु रामेशं घुश्मेशं च शिवालये ।।
द्वादशैतानि नामानि प्रात्यस्त्थाय यः पठेत् ।
सर्वपापविनिर्मुक्तं सर्वसिद्धिफलं लभेत् ।।

Somanath in Saurashtra, Mallikarjuna in Shri Saile, Mahakala in Ujjaiyana and Parameshawara also manifested as Omkara. Kedara in Himavat and Bhima Shankara in Dakinya. Vishewaswara in Varanasi and Trayambaka in side of Gautami. Vaidyanath in ChitaBhumi and  Nageshwara in forest of Daruka. Rameshwara in Setubandha and Ghusmeshwara in Shivalaya. These name of 12 Jyotirlingas who recites in morning, he gets freed from all sins and is eligible to get all Siddhis.

There are twelve Jyotirlingas mentioned in the similar popular verse.

Saurāṣṭre Somanāthaṃ ca Śrīśaile Mallikārjunam

Ujjayinyāṃ Mahākālam Omkāram Mamleśhwaram

Paraly Vaidyanāthaṃ cha Ḍākinyāṃ Bhīmaśhaṅkaram

Setubandhe tu Rāmeśaṃ Nāgeśhaṃ Dārukāvane

Vārāṇasyāṃ tu Viśveśaṃ Tryambakaṃ Gautamītaṭe

Himālaye tu Kedāraṃ Ghuśmeśaṃ ca Śivālaye

etāni jyotirliṅgāni sāyaṃ prātaḥ paṭhennaraḥ

saptajanmakṛtaṃ pāpaṃ smaraṇena vinaśyati

I have already asked a question about Somanath What is the story of Somanath Jyotirlinga? and Mallikarjun What is the story of Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga? and Mahakaleshwar What is the story of Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga? and Omkareshwar What is the story of Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga? and Vaidyanath What is the story of Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga?. Now I want to know the story of Bheemshankar Jyotirling.

Please mention the scriptural reference.

Bheemshankar temple is situated in Pune, Maharashtra.

By SaurabhJain at English Wikipedia - Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by Kiran_Gopi using CommonsHelper., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12142756

Answer 1

Shree Bhimashankar JyotirLinga temple is the famous Shiva Mahadeva temple of Maharashtra state (India).

The temple of Bhima Shankara Jyotirling is built in Hemadpanthi style. It is decorated with the Dashavatar statues. Bhimashankara Temple is situated in a picturesque extreme end of the Sahayadri Ranges and provides a wonderful view of the forts, the rivers, and the hill stations around. The dense forests surrounding the high ranges also play an abode to the rare species of flora and fauna.

Shree Rudrasamhita sloka which is given in reference to Bhimashankar told, "Daakine Bhimashankaram" (परल्यां वैद्यनाथं च डाकिन्यां भीमशङ्करम्) In the Assam State (India) there is one temple of Bhimashankar which is situated in Bhimapur mountain near Guwahati.

Famous saints from Maharastra ,Gangadhar Pandit, Samarth Ramdas, Sridhar Swamy, Nara Hari Malo, and other saints describe BheemaShankara as JyotirLinga.

According to Shiv Purana -:

In the ancient times a demons by the name Tripurasura acquired great power. by penance Lord Shree Mahadeva. Lord Shree Mahadeva being kind granted the boon of immortality to demon Tripurasur . After getting this boon he started harassing Devas in Swarg (Heavens), Naraka (Hell) and Patal (Nether world). Gods from these three lokas or kingdoms got afraid of this demon &prayed Lord Shree Mahadeva. Then Lord Shree Mahadev Himself came to destroy Tripurasur by praying Goddess Shree Parvati to assist him in the task , Lord Shree Mahadeva then took colossal form (Virat) of "Ardha-Nari Nateshwar " (Half Male &Half Female) . Tripurasur feared when he saw this avatar of Lord Mahadeva. They both fought with each other. In the end, Lord Shiva Mahadeva in this form killed the wicked demon and set to their worlds, or Tribhuvan, free. Lord Mahadeva in his colossal form got very tired. In order to get some rest, He settled here on the high area of the Sahyadri mountains , sweat started pouring down from his huge body in thousands of streams. It all joined together and collected in a pond or Kund. The river that started from there is known as Bhima, which can be seen even today. Devotees then prayed to Bhimakaya Rudra thus: “In order to save the good people, reside here forever”. Bholenath listened to the devotees and stayed there as a JyotirLinga forever.That's why the JyotirLinga is called Daakine DakinyaBhimashankaram (डाकिन्यां भीमशङ्करम्)

Another Story-:

Once demon called Bhima lived with his mother Karkati in the dense forests of Dakini, on the lofty ranges of the Sahaydris. Bhima was so cruel that everyone was scared of him. One day, Bhima urged his mother to tell him who his father was and why had he abandoned them in the wilderness of the forest. His mother revealed that he was the son of Kumbhakarna, the younger brother of the demon King Ravana, she also told him that Lord Shree Vishnu in his incarnation as Lord Shree Rama annihilated Kumbhakarna. Then demon Bhima got angry and he vowed to avenge Lord Vishnu. Bhima performed severe penance to please Lord Brahma. The Brahma was pleased by Bhima and granted him immense prowess. With so much power, Bhima began to cause havoc in the three worlds. He defeated King Indra and conquered the heavens. He also defeated a staunch devotee of Lord Shiv - Kamrupeshwar and put him in the dungeons. All this angered the Gods and then along with Lord Brahma beseeched Lord Shiv to come for their rescue to which Lord Shiv agreed. Tyrant Bhima asked Kamrupeshwar to worship him instead of Lord Shiv. When Kamrupeshwar refused, Bhima raised his sword to strike the Shiv Linga. But as soon as he raised his sword, Lord Shiv appeared before him in full magnificence. Then the terrible war began. Holy sage Narad appeared and requested Lord Shiv to put an end to this war. It was then that Lord Shiv reduced the evil demon to ashes and thus concluded the saga of tyranny. All the Gods and the holy sages present there requested Lord Shiv to make this place his abode. Lord Shiv thus manifested himself in the form of the Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga. It is believed that the sweat that poured forth from Lord Shiv’s body after the battle formed the Bhimarathi River.

For the source see Here

Importance of Bhima Shankar Jyotirling Temple -

In this temple, Lord Shree Shiva Mahadeva is shown in Half man and Half woman (Ardha Narishwara) form. There is a continuous water flow from this Jyotirlinga, which is the specialty of this place.