Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga Temple is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the sacred abodes of Shiva. It is located in the city of Deoghar, Jharkhand, India. It is believed that the demon king Ravana worshipped the lord here to get the boons that he later used to wreak havoc in the world.
It is also knows as Baba dham and Baidyanath dham. Held as a very holy place, more than a million pilgrims visit this shrine every year. Legend goes that the daemon king Ravana offered his 10 heads one after the another to lord shiva in a sacrifice. Pleased with this lord shiva decended to earth and cured Ravana who was injured. As he acted as a doctor, he is referred to as Vaidhya (sanskrit word for a doctor).
According to the stories narrated in According to the Shiva Purana, 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 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.
His fate willed otherwise. The gods took it ill. If Shiva went to Lanka with Ravana then Ravana would have become invincible and his evil and anti vadic deeds would have been a big threat. Therefore gods tricked Ravana. It is said that Ravana was offered water by Parvati and through this water which Ravana drank, Parvati made all the waters of three rivers (Ganaga, Yamuna and Saraswati) enter into his stomach.
On his way back from Mount Kailash, Ravana felt an urgent need to urinate 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. At the very moment, Lord Vishnu appeared as a Brahmin in front of him. Ravana asked Vishnu to hold the linga and went to release himself. But he could not stop urinating because of the trick played on him. Vishnu, on the pretext of Ravana making it too late, kept the Linga down on earth. The moment Linga was kept down, Ravana stopped urinating!
Legend goes that Ravana needed to wash his hands after urination 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.
The current shrine has many temples with major shrines of Parvati, Vishnu etc. In the month of Shravan (mid june to mid july) hundreds of thousands of pilgrims come to Baba dham. They carry water form the holy river Ganga, from Sultangunj and travel barefoot more than 100 kilometers on foot to offer to baba. Some of them cover the distance within 24 hours. They are called Dak Bam and they do not stop even once in their journey from Sultangunj to Baba Dham.
Most of the devotees pray to Lord Shiva of this shrine with a sense of friendship (Sakha Bhav).
Deogarh is also known as Vaidyanath, Haritaki Vana, Ketaki Vana, Ravana Vana, Chitabhoomi and Hardapeetha. Some schools of thought believe Vaidyanath near Parali in Andhra Pradesh to be the Vaidyanatha Jyotirlingam. Other schools of thought claim that Kiragram in Punjab and Dabhoi in Gujarat are the Vaidyanatha Jyotirlinga temples. The Vaideeswaran Koyil temple in Tamilnadu (which is not a Jyotirlingam temple) enshrines Vaidyanathar.
Legend has it that Ravana meditated upon Shiva, and requested him to come over to Sri Lanka, in order that his capital may become invincible. It is said that he attempted to lift Mount Kailash and take it with him to his capital; however Shiva crushed him with his finger, and Ravana prayed to him and sought his mercy, after which Shiva gave him one of the twelve Jyotirlingams with the condition that if it was placed on the ground it would take root immediately.
Ravana carried the Jyotirlingam and began his trek back to his capital. Varuna the God of water, entered his belly, and caused him to feel the need to relieve himself. Vishnu then came down in the form of a lad and volunteered to hold the Jyotirlingam as he relieved himself. Before Ravana returned, Vishnu placed the Jyotirlingam on the ground, and it became rooted to the spot. A disappointed Ravana offered severe penances to Shiva here, and cut off nine of his heads. Shiva revived him and joined the heads to the body, as if by the work of a Vaidya or a physician, hence this Jyotirlingam goes by the name Vaidyanath. The same legend holds at Gokarnam in Karnataka.
Another legend has it that this temple was re-discovered by a cowherd Baiju, and hence the name Baijnath.
Vaidyanath is also considered to be one of the 52 Shakti Pitha shrines of Sati. It is believed that the heart of Sati fell here, when her half burnt body being carried by Shiva at the end of Daksha's yagna, was chopped to pieces by Vishnu's discus.
The temple: The temple is situated in a spacious courtyard bounded by stone walls. In the temple complex are twenty two other temples. The Baijnath or Vaidyanath temple faces east. The top of the Shiva Lingam is slightly broken, keeping with the legend that it chipped away when Ravana tried to uproot it. Near the temple is the Sivaganga lake. The Chandrakoopa well, near the main entrance is said to have been built and consecrated with water from several thirthams by Ravana.
Getting there :
Parli Vaijnath (Maharashtra)
Nearest Airport: Aurangabad- 210 Km
Railway Station: Parli Vaijnath
