DN Darshan: Baba Baidyanath Dham, Deoghar, Jharkhand

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New Delhi/ 27 July 2016. The auspicious month of Shravan began last week on Wednesday. According to mythology this month is dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva.

Dynamite News brings you a series of most glorious places of Lord Shiva. This time we take you to Baidyanath Jyotirlinga temple in Deoghar, Jharkhand.

According to mythology the demon king Ravana worshipped Shiva at  this site to get the boons that he later used to wreak havoc in the world.

History

According to the Shiva Purana, 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 Atmalinga 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 and out tricked Ravana.. They requested Varuna (the god of water) to enter into the belly of Ravana, on his way back from Mount Kailash. So, on his way back, Ravana felt a severe urge to release water. He began looking for a man to whom he could temporarily entrust the lingam. Lord Ganapathi appeared before Ravana in the guise of a Brahmin. Unaware of the mystery, Ravana handed over the lingam to the Brahmin. Unfortunately, Ravana could not ease himself soon. Meanwhile, the Brahmin placed the lingam at this place which was and which is now Baidyanathdham.

Ravana tried hard to remove the lingam from the spot where it had been placed. He could not turn out the lingam even an inch. He returned to Lanka but visited daily to worship the lingam. This continued forever.

The place where the lingam was kept is now Deoghar and the lingam itself is known to all as Baidyanath Jyotirlingam.

Architecture

The temple complex consists of the main temple of Baba Baidyanath, where the Jyotirlinga is installed, and 21 other temples of different Gods and Goddesses.

The temple of Shiva, Baidyanath faces the east, and is 72 feet tall, and it is lotus shaped.

The top contains three ascending shaped gold vessels that are compactly set, which were donated by Maharaja of Gidhaur, Raja Puran Singh. Besides these pitcher shaped vessels, there is a 'PUNCHSULA' (Five knives in Tridenta shape), which is rare.

The lingam is of a cylindrical form about 5 inches in diameter and projects about 4 inches from the center of a large slab of basalt. It is not possible to ascertain how much of the lingam is buried. The top is broken and has uneven surface.

How to Reach

Deoghar is well connected by road and railway routes. However Deoghar does not have an airport. Nearest airport is Gaya which is 177 km from Deoghar.