Sri Baidyanath Jyotirlinga

Sri Baidyanath Jyotirlinga, Jharkhand

The 5th Jyotirlinga is located in Deoghar, Jharkhand. Shri Baidyanath or Vaidyanath dham also known as Baba Baidyanath Dham, the most sacred abodes of Lord Shiva.

Introduction

Along with the main temple of Baba Baidyanath, there are 21 other temples. Some of these shrines are for Parvati, Ganesha, Brahma, Kalabhairav, Hanuman, Saraswati, Surya, Ram-Lakshman-Janaki, Ganga, Kali, Annapurna, and Lakshmi-Narayan. The Maa Parvati temple is tied to the Shiva temple with red sacred threads.

There is a huge Nandi, Lord Shiva’s mount, in front of the Lord.

This temple doubles as a Shakti Peetha as well. When Lord Shiva’s first consort, Sati immolated herself after her father Daksha’s yagna (sacrifice or offering), the grief-stricken Lord, roamed the world with her body. Lord Vishnu cut it up into 52 parts. It is said that her heart fell at Deoghar – making it a Shakti Peetha.

Vaidyanath Temple Timings: 

Morning : 04.00 am to 03.30 pm

Evening : 06.00 pm to 09.00 pm

Shodashopachara Pooja : 04.00 am

Sringar Pooja : 07.30 pm to 08.00 pm (Linga covered with Sandal Paste)

Abhishekam : 04.30 am to 03.30 pm

Festival celebrated at Baba Baidyanath Dham :

Shrawan mela is very famous festival, celebrated at baba Baidyanath Dham. During Shrawan month (July – August), lakhs of devotees throng the Baba Vaidyanath temple. The shiva devotees celebrate it with much splendour and festivity. 

Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga

Other temples near Baba Baidyanath

  1. Trikuta Parvata, collectively famous as Trikutachal, is a combination of three main peaks on the hill, which are at the height of around 2470 ft. Its around 10 km from Deoghar on the way to Dumka.
  2. Naulakha Mandir is just 2 km from Baba Baidyanath temple. This has a similar architecture of Ramakrishna temple in Belur. The shrine encompasses the beautiful idols of Radha and Krishna.
  3. Satsang Ashram is a holy place where the followers of Sri Sri Thakur Anukulachandra gather for worship. This Ashram also has a zoo and a museum in its complex.

Some other temples in Bihar…

  1. Mahabodhi Temple : An ancient Buddhist Temple in Bodhgaya and about 96 km from Patna, Bihar. Literally Mahabodhi means, the Great Awakening and it is said that Buddha attained enlightenment in Bodhgaya. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  2. Vishnupad Temple : Vishnupad Mandir is located in Gaya which is about 100 km away from Patna – capital of Bihar state. This temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and it is believed that Lord Rama, with his wife Sita visited this temple.
  3. Patan Devi Temple : One of the oldest and the most sacred temples of Patna. This ancient temple was originally called Maa Sarvanand Kari Patneshwari – is believed to be the abode of the goddess Durga. This temple regarded as one among the 51 Siddha Shakti Peethas of the country.
  4. Mahavir Mandir : Mahavir Mandir Patna is located near Patna Railway junction and is devoted to Lord Hanuman. The temple also called ‘ Manokamana Temple’ as it is said that each and every wish of devotees is granted here.

Significance of Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga

The significance of Baba Vaidyanath Dam is that the main Jyotirlinga temple is beyond historical dates, devotees visit Vaidyanath Dham since the age of Rama – the king of Ayodhya. The top contains 3 ascending shaped gold vessels that re compactly set, which were donated by Raja Puran Singh – Maharaja of Gidhour.

  1. Besides these pitcher shaped vessels, there is a ‘PUNCHSULA’ – give knives in a Trident shape, which is rate.
  2. The Baidyanath lingam is of a cylindrical form about 5 inches in diameter and projects about 4 inches from the centre of a large slab of basalt.
  3. Devotees of shiva also believe that Shiva first turned himself into a Jyotirlinga on the night of the Aridra Nakshatra, thus the special reverence for the Jyotirlinga.
  4. The Jyotirlinga is the supreme artless reality, out of which lord Shiva partly appears. Thus, the Jyotirlinga shrines are the places where Lord Shiva appeared as a fiery column of light.
Srabani Mela, Deoghar Baidyanath Dham

History

Baidyanath Dham has been famous since the rule of the last Gupta emperor, Adityasena Gupta in the 8th century AD. Mughal emperor Akbar’s brother-in-law built a pond at Deoghar known as Mansarovar. This temple appears to have maintained its importance even during the Muslim rule in India.

It is said that demon king Ravana prayed to Lord Shiva seeking boons that would make him omnipotent. As a sacrifice, he offered each of his ten heads one after another. This pleased Lord Shiva, who came down to earth and cured the injured Ravana. The act of curing made Lord Shiva equivalent to a doctor or vaidhya/baidhya. Hence, the name Baidyanath.

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