Brief History : Grishneshwar is an ancient pilgrimage site revered as the abode of one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Shiva. It is located at a distance of 11 km from Daulatabad near Aurangabad in Maharashtra. The Lord is also known by several names like Kusumeswarar, Ghushmeswara, Grushmeswara, Grishneswara. The Grishneswar temple was constructed by Ahilyabhai Holkar who also re-constructed the Kashi vishwanath temple at Varanasi and the Vishnu Paada temple at Gaya. Grishneshwar is also known as Ghushmeshwar.


Legend has it that a devout woman Kusuma offered worship to Shiva regularly by immersing a Shivalingam in a tank, as a part of her daily ritual worship. Her husbands first wife, envious of her piety and standing in society murdered Kusumas son in cold blood. An aggrieved Kusuma continued her ritual worship, and when she immersed the Shivalingam again in the tank, her son was miraculously restored to life. Shiva is said to have appeared in front of her and the villagers, and then on is believed to have been worshipped in the form of a Jyotirlinga Ghusmeshwar.