Sthala Mahātmyam
Bhimashankar lies amid the dense Sahyadri (Western Ghats) forests of Pune district, Maharashtra, and is honoured as the source of the Bhima river. According to the Shiva Purana, the demon Bhima, son of Kumbhakarna, Ravana's brother, gained great power through long penance and tyrannised the region, even assailing a devotee's worship of Shiva. Shiva manifested here, battled and reduced the demon to ashes; the sweat of the exertion is said to have flowed forth as the Bhima river, and the Lord remained as the Jyotirlinga Bhimashankar. A related tradition connects the site to Shiva's slaying of the demon Tripurasura, in the form of Ardhanarishvara together with Parvati. The temple is built in Nagara style with later Maratha additions, and the surrounding forest is a protected wildlife sanctuary sheltering the Indian giant squirrel. Maha Shivaratri is the principal festival, alongside Kartik Purnima and the sacred month of Shravan, when pilgrims and trekkers ascend to the forested hill shrine.