Explore These Famous Lord Shiva Temples This Holy Month of Sawan

Grishneshwar is the twelfth Jyotirlinga and the easiest to reach from Aurangabad, about 30 km away next to the Ellora Caves. The present red-stone temple was rebuilt by Ahilyabai Holkar in the 18th century and is known for its carved walls.

Men usually remove their shirts before entering the inner sanctum. In Shravan, reach early in the morning or after the afternoon rush, and combine the visit with Ellora on a weekday rather than a Monday.

Trimbakeshwar stands at the foot of the Brahmagiri hills, where the Godavari river rises. The linga is unusual: a small hollow with three faces representing Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

It is about 30 km from Nashik and roughly a 4-5 hour drive from Mumbai. Shravan Mondays draw very large crowds, and many devotees also walk the Brahmagiri parikrama during the month, so plan a night halt in Trimbak or Nashik.

Bhimashankar sits inside a forest sanctuary in the Sahyadri range, at the source of the Bhima river. Sawan falls in the monsoon, so the drive through the ghats is green and misty but slow, and the last stretch can be slippery.

It is about 3 hours from Pune. Start early, keep rain gear, and avoid driving the ghat road after dark in heavy rain.

These two Jyotirlingas lie east of Aurangabad, Aundha Nagnath in Hingoli district and Parli Vaijnath in Beed district. They are usually covered together on a 5 Jyotirlinga yatra, which takes 4-6 days with comfortable stops.

Roads in Marathwada are quieter than the Nashik and Pune side, but distances between the shrines are long, so a car with the same driver for the whole trip saves a lot of effort.

Cave 16 at Ellora, the Kailasa temple, is a whole Shiva temple carved downward out of a single rock in the 8th century. It is not a place of worship today, but it is a short walk from Grishneshwar and fits easily into the same day.

If you are travelling from Mumbai, the Babulnath temple in the city and the 11th-century Ambreshwar temple at Ambernath are popular Shravan visits. From Kolhapur, the Kopeshwar temple at Khidrapur is known for its stone carving.

Shravan in Maharashtra follows the amanta calendar, so it usually starts about two weeks after Sawan in North India. Check the dates for your year before booking hotels.