The Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga Temple, Aurangabad, Maharashtra

Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga Temple, sometimes referred to as the Ghrneshwar or Ghushmeshwar Shiva Temple, is located in Ellora (also called Verul), less than a kilometer from Ellora Caves – a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is about 30 kilometres (19 miles) north-west of the city of Aurangabad, Maharashtra. This 240 ft x 185 ft temple is the smallest Jyotirlinga temple in India.

The temple structure was destroyed by the Delhi Sultanate in 13th and 14th-century. The temple went through several rounds of rebuilding followed by re-destruction during the Mughal-Maratha conflict. It was rebuilt in the current form in the 18th century under the sponsorship of queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore, after the fall of the Mughal Empire. It is presently an important and active pilgrimage site of the Hindus and attracts long lines of devotees daily. Anyone can enter the temple premises and its inner chambers, but to enter the sanctum sanctorum core (garbha-ghrya) of the temple, the local Hindu tradition demands that men must go bare-chested.

The Grishneswar temple is an illustration of maratha temple architectural style and structure. The temple, built of red rocks, is composed of a five-tier shikara. The temple was re-constructed by Maloji Bhosale of Verul, (grandfather of Shivaji) in the 16th century and later again by queen Ahilyabai Holkar in the 18th century. She is credited with rebuilding some of major Hindu temples such as the Kashi Vishvanath temple in Varanasi, a Vishnu temple in Gaya, and a much larger Shiva Jyotirlinga temple in Somnath Temple.