Bhīmeśvara
Bhīmeśvara · bhīma-īśvara, “the awesome lord”
Bhīmeśa, the awesome Īśa, is Bhagavān Śiva by this name, worshipped where the Gaṅgā (the Gautamī) joins the ocean. At his feet King Dhanvantari, son of Āyus, performed his great tapas, as Brahmā tells Nārada in the Gautamī Māhātmya of the Brahma Purāṇa.
Dhanvantari’s tapas at his feet
Long ago, at the beginning of the kalpa, King Dhanvantari performed aśvamedhas and other yajñas, gave many dānas and enjoyed the world in abundance. Seeing that worldly enjoyment does not last, he turned to the highest vairāgya (detachment). He reflected that tapas, homa or japa done on a mountain top, beyond the ocean, on the banks of the Gaṅgā, in the temples of Śiva and Vishṇu, and above all at a holy confluence, bears everlasting fruit. So, rich in wisdom and free of desire, he took refuge at the feet of Bhīmeśa and performed an elaborate tapas at the place where the Gaṅgā joins the ocean, constant in japa and homa and seeking the knowledge of Brahman.
There the asura Tamas, whom the king had once defeated, came in the māyā-form of a maiden and broke his tapas. On Brahmā‘s word Dhanvantari then went to the Himālaya and praised Bhagavān Vishṇu, and gained what he sought.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 52
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 52