Vaidyanath Temple, Deoghar
Encyclopedia
Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga temple, also known as Baba dham and Baidyanath dham is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga
s, the most sacred abodes of Shiva
. It is located in Deoghar
in the Santhal Parganas
division of the state
of Jharkhand
, India
. It is a temple complex consisting of the main temple of Baba Vaidyanath, where the Jyotirlinga is installed, and 21 other temples.
According to Hindu
beliefs, the demon king Ravana
worshipped Shiva at the current site of the temple to get the boons that he later used to wreak havoc in the world. Ravana offered his ten heads one after the another to Shiva as a sacrifice. Pleased with this, Shiva descended to earth and cured Ravana who was injured. As he acted as a doctor, he is referred to as Vaidhya
("doctor"). From this aspect of Shiva, the temple derives its name.
Thus the three temples of,
In Dwadasa jyothirlinga sthothram, Adi Sankaracharya has praised Vaidyanath jyothirlinga in following verses,
This states that Vaidyanath jyotirlinga is located at Prajwalika nidhanam (meaning funeral place i.e., chithabhoomi) in the North-Eastern
part of the country. Deoghar is far located in east
compared to Parli
which is in west central part of the country. Also Chidabhoomi indicates that, in olden days, this was a funeral place, where corpses are burnt and post-death ceremonies were performed. This place could have been a centre of tantric cults like Kapalika
/Bhairava
where Lord Shiva is worshipped significantly as smasan vasin (meaning, residing in crematorium), sava bhasma bhushita (meaning, smearing body with ashes of burnt bodies).
Interestingly, the same shrine of Vaidyanath is considered as on of 51 Shakti Peethas
, where 'yoni peetham' of jyotirlinga itself is considered as the Shakti Peetha.
, it was in the Treta yuga
that the demon Ravana
, king of Lanka
, felt that his capital would not be perfect and free from enemies unless Mahadeva (Shiva) stays there forever. He paid continuous meditation to Mahadeva. Ultimately Shiva got pleased and permitted him to carry his lingam
with him to Lanka. Mahadeva advised him not to place or transfer this lingam to anyone. There should not be a break in his journey to Lanka. If he deposits the lingam anywhere on the earth, in the course of his journey, it would remain fixed at that place forever. Ravana was happy as he was taking his return journey to Lanka.
The other gods objected to this plan; if Shiva went to Lanka with Ravana, then Ravana would become invincible and his evil and anti-vedic deeds would threaten the world. Therefore the gods tricked Ravana. Ravana was offered water by Parvati
, who then directed all the waters of three rivers (Ganges, Yamuna
and Saraswati
) into Ravana's stomach.
On his way back from Mount Kailash
, Ravana felt an urgent need to attend nature's call and as he could not do so with the holy linga in his hand, he started looking for someone who could hold it for him. Ganesha
then appeared as a Brahmin in front of him. Ravana asked Ganesha to hold the linga and went to relieve himself. Ganesha, pretending to be vexed by Ravena's delay, set the linga down on earth. The moment linga was kept down, it got fixed to the ground.
Ravana needed to wash his hands to make himself pious. Finding no water source around he hit the ground with his fist and a big crater was made which got filled with water. When Ravana now tried to move the linga, he could not. Out of anger he press the linga down with his thumb. But after restoring himself, he started to offer his prayers for the linga.
(a month of the Hindu calendar
), between July and August. About 7 to 8 million devotees visit the place from various parts of India and offer holy water of Ganges to the deity collected from Sultangunj, which is almost 105 km from Deoghar. An unbroken line of people in saffron-dyed clothes stretches over the full 104 km for the month. The pilgrims are called Dak Bam and they do not stop even once in their journey from Sultangunj, located near Bhagalpur
to Vaidyanath. Pilgrims to the temple later visit the Basukinath temple
.
Jyotirlinga
A Jyotirlinga or Jyotirling or Jyotirlingam is a shrine where Lord Shiva, an aspect of God in Hinduism is worshipped in the form of a Jyotirlingam or "Lingam of light." There are twelve traditional Jyotirlinga shrines in India....
s, the most sacred abodes of Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
. It is located in Deoghar
Deoghar
Deoghar is the headquarters city of Deoghar District in the Santhal Parganas division of the state of Jharkhand, India. It is an important Hindu pilgrimage centre, having in Baidyanath Temple one of the twelve Shiva Jyothirlingams in India and also one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in India.-Origin of...
in the Santhal Parganas
Santhal Parganas
Santhal Pargana division constitutes one of the five administrative units known as the divisions of Jharkhand state in eastern India.-Origin of name:...
division of the state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...
of Jharkhand
Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It is a temple complex consisting of the main temple of Baba Vaidyanath, where the Jyotirlinga is installed, and 21 other temples.
According to Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
beliefs, the demon king Ravana
Ravana
' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...
worshipped Shiva at the current site of the temple to get the boons that he later used to wreak havoc in the world. Ravana offered his ten heads one after the another to Shiva as a sacrifice. Pleased with this, Shiva descended to earth and cured Ravana who was injured. As he acted as a doctor, he is referred to as Vaidhya
Vaidhya
Vaidya or Vaidraj or Kabiraj is a term used in India to refer to a person or Doctor practicing Ayurveda Senior practitioners or teachers were called Vaidhraj, as a mark of respect. The royal families of India, used to have their personal Vaidhya, who attended to Kings and the royal families. They...
("doctor"). From this aspect of Shiva, the temple derives its name.
Difficulty in identifying location of Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga
'Vaidyanatham chithabhoomau' [sivmahapuran kotirudra samhita 1/21-24] is the ancient verse that identifies location of vaidyanth jyotirlinga. According to which vaidyantham is in 'chidabhoomi', which is the ancient name of Deoghar. While, the same part of text has variation by which, verse is 'paralyam vaidyanatham', i.e., Vaidyanatham is in Parli, Maharashtra.Thus the three temples of,
- Baiydanath temple at DeogharDeogharDeoghar is the headquarters city of Deoghar District in the Santhal Parganas division of the state of Jharkhand, India. It is an important Hindu pilgrimage centre, having in Baidyanath Temple one of the twelve Shiva Jyothirlingams in India and also one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in India.-Origin of...
, Jharkhand, - Vaijnath temple at ParliParli, MaharashtraParli is a city and a municipal council in Beed district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.-Demographics: India census, Parli had a population of 88,510. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Parli has an average literacy rate of 68%, higher than the national average of 59.5%:...
, MaharashtraMaharashtraMaharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
and - Baijnath temple at BaijnathBaijnath, Himachal PradeshBaijnath is a town in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. It is roughly fourteen kilometres from the town of Palampur. It is very famous all over the world as it is believed to be one of twelve jyotirlingas according to popular legends.-Geography:...
, Himachal PradeshHimachal PradeshHimachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
are claiming their shrines as 'real' jyotirlinga of Vaidyanath.
In Dwadasa jyothirlinga sthothram, Adi Sankaracharya has praised Vaidyanath jyothirlinga in following verses,
Poorvothare prajwalika nidhane
sada vasantham girija sametham
surasuraradhitha padapadmam
srivaidyanatham thamaham namami
This states that Vaidyanath jyotirlinga is located at Prajwalika nidhanam (meaning funeral place i.e., chithabhoomi) in the North-Eastern
North-East India
Northeast India refers to the easternmost region of India consisting of the contiguous Seven Sister States, Sikkim, and parts of North Bengal...
part of the country. Deoghar is far located in east
East India
East India is a region of India consisting of the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Orissa. The states of Orissa and West Bengal share some cultural and linguistic characteristics with Bangladesh and with the state of Assam. Together with Bangladesh, West Bengal formed the...
compared to Parli
Parli, Maharashtra
Parli is a city and a municipal council in Beed district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.-Demographics: India census, Parli had a population of 88,510. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Parli has an average literacy rate of 68%, higher than the national average of 59.5%:...
which is in west central part of the country. Also Chidabhoomi indicates that, in olden days, this was a funeral place, where corpses are burnt and post-death ceremonies were performed. This place could have been a centre of tantric cults like Kapalika
Kapalika
In Hindu culture, Kapalika means bearer of the skull-bowl, and refers to Lord Bhairava taking the kapala vow. As penance for cutting off one of the heads of Brahma, Lord Bhairava became Bhikshatana, an outcast and a beggar...
/Bhairava
Bhairava
Bhairava , sometimes known as Bhairo or Bhairon or Bhairadya or Bheruji , Kaala Bhairavar or Vairavar , is the fierce manifestation of Lord Shiva associated with annihilation...
where Lord Shiva is worshipped significantly as smasan vasin (meaning, residing in crematorium), sava bhasma bhushita (meaning, smearing body with ashes of burnt bodies).
Interestingly, the same shrine of Vaidyanath is considered as on of 51 Shakti Peethas
Shakti Peethas
The Shakti Pithas are places of worship consecrated to the goddess Shakti or Parvati or Sati or Durga, the female principal of Hinduism and the main deity of the Shakta sect...
, where 'yoni peetham' of jyotirlinga itself is considered as the Shakti Peetha.
Legend
According to the stories narrated in the Shiva PuranaShiva Purana
The Shiva Purana is one of the s, a genre of Hindu religious texts dedicated to Shiva. According to a tradition which is stated in the of this text, the original text was known as the ....
, it was in the Treta yuga
Treta Yuga
Treta Yuga is the second out of four yugas, or ages of mankind, in the religion of Hinduism, and follows the Satya Yuga of perfect morality and precedes the Dvapara Yuga. The most famous events in this yuga were Lord Vishnu's fifth, sixth and seventh incarnations as Vamana, Parashurama and...
that the demon Ravana
Ravana
' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...
, king of Lanka
Lanka
Sri Lanka is the name given in Hindu mythology to the island fortress capital of the legendary king Ravana in the great Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata...
, felt that his capital would not be perfect and free from enemies unless Mahadeva (Shiva) stays there forever. He paid continuous meditation to Mahadeva. Ultimately Shiva got pleased and permitted him to carry his lingam
Lingam
The Lingam is a representation of the Hindu deity Shiva used for worship in temples....
with him to Lanka. Mahadeva advised him not to place or transfer this lingam to anyone. There should not be a break in his journey to Lanka. If he deposits the lingam anywhere on the earth, in the course of his journey, it would remain fixed at that place forever. Ravana was happy as he was taking his return journey to Lanka.
The other gods objected to this plan; if Shiva went to Lanka with Ravana, then Ravana would become invincible and his evil and anti-vedic deeds would threaten the world. Therefore the gods tricked Ravana. Ravana was offered water by Parvati
Parvati
Parvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...
, who then directed all the waters of three rivers (Ganges, Yamuna
Yamuna
The Yamuna is the largest tributary river of the Ganges in northern India...
and Saraswati
Saraswati
In Hinduism Saraswati , is the goddess of knowledge, music, arts, science and technology. She is the consort of Brahma, also revered as His Shakti....
) into Ravana's stomach.
On his way back from Mount Kailash
Mount Kailash
Mount Kailash is a peak in the Gangdisê Mountains, which are part of the Himalayas in Tibet...
, Ravana felt an urgent need to attend nature's call and as he could not do so with the holy linga in his hand, he started looking for someone who could hold it for him. Ganesha
Ganesha
Ganesha , also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh, also known as Ganapati , Vinayaka , and Pillaiyar , is one of the deities best-known and most widely worshipped in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations...
then appeared as a Brahmin in front of him. Ravana asked Ganesha to hold the linga and went to relieve himself. Ganesha, pretending to be vexed by Ravena's delay, set the linga down on earth. The moment linga was kept down, it got fixed to the ground.
Ravana needed to wash his hands to make himself pious. Finding no water source around he hit the ground with his fist and a big crater was made which got filled with water. When Ravana now tried to move the linga, he could not. Out of anger he press the linga down with his thumb. But after restoring himself, he started to offer his prayers for the linga.
Shravan Mela
More than a million pilgrims visit this shrine every year. It is famous for the mela of ShraavanaShraavana
Shraavana is a month of the Hindu calendar, also known as Sawan. In India's national civil calendar, Shraavan is the fifth month of the Hindu year, beginning in late July and ending in the third week of August. In the Tamil calendar, it is known as Aavani and is the fifth month of the solar year...
(a month of the Hindu calendar
Hindu calendar
The hindu calendar used in ancient times has undergone many changes in the process of regionalization, and today there are several regional Indian calendars, as well as an Indian national calendar. Nepali calendar, Bengali calendar, Malayalam calendar, Tamil calendar, Telugu calendar, Kannada...
), between July and August. About 7 to 8 million devotees visit the place from various parts of India and offer holy water of Ganges to the deity collected from Sultangunj, which is almost 105 km from Deoghar. An unbroken line of people in saffron-dyed clothes stretches over the full 104 km for the month. The pilgrims are called Dak Bam and they do not stop even once in their journey from Sultangunj, located near Bhagalpur
Bhagalpur
Bhagdattpuram was one of the most influential towns in "Aryavarta" . It is supposed to have been concurrent to Patliputra or Patna. Bhagdattpuram finds its mention in the Vedas and Ramayana as well. It is supposed to be the kingdom of Daanvir Karna, the son of Kunti and the Sun God...
to Vaidyanath. Pilgrims to the temple later visit the Basukinath temple
Basukinath
Basukinath is a city and a notified area in Dumka district in the Indian state of Jharkhand.-Demographics: Indian census, Basukinath had a population of 14,119, males constituting 52% of the population and females 48%. Basukinath has an average literacy rate of 54%, lower than the national average...
.