It is said that Gautama rishi lived on the Brahmagiri hills along with his wife, Ahalya. While there was famine everywhere else on the land, inside the rishi’s ashram, there were abundant food grains. This was because the gods had blessed him because of his steadfast devotion and regular prayers. The other rishis felt jealous of him and sent a cow into his fields. When Gautama tried to frighten the cow away from his fields, it died. For the sin of killing a cow, Gautama worshipped Lord Shiva to release the Ganga River and let her flow into his ashram to purify it. Pleased with his devotion, Lord Shiva released Ganga and told her to stay there. The Kushavarta or sacred pond that exists now is the source of the Godavari. (People worship the Godavari as Ganga.) The sage requested Lord Shiva also to make the site his abode, which the Lord did in the form of the jyotirlinga.

Trimbakeshwar Temple is one of the 12 famous, self-existent temples with a rich mythology surrounding its origin. According to the Shiva Purana, a dispute over supremacy between Vishnu, the Hindu God of preservation, and Brahma, the Hindu God of creation, escalated until Lord Shiva intervened. To test them, Shiva manifested as an endless pillar of light, the Jyotirlinga. Brahma and Vishnu split in opposite directions to find the source. Brahma lied about finding the end, while Vishnu admitted defeat. Angered by Brahma's deceit, Shiva appeared as a second pillar of light, cursing Brahma to no longer be worshipped in the mortal world, while Vishnu would be revered eternally. The Jyotirlinga represents the partless reality of Shiva, appearing as a fiery column of light. Although there are believed to be 64 Jyotirlingas, only 12 are considered holy and auspicious, each representing different manifestations of Lord Shiva. These sites symbolize Shiva's infinite, formless, and absolute nature as the primal soul of the universe.