Baidyanath Dham Mandir at Deoghar in Jharkhand – Baba Baidyanath Shiva Temple at Deoghar in Jharkhand
One of the twelve Jyotirlinga temples dedicated to Shiva, Baidyanath
Dham Mandir at Deoghar in Jharkhand is the only place where Shiva is worshipped
as Manokamana Linga and Aughara Dani. Baba Baidyanath at the Shiva Temple
in Deoghar grants all wishes of his devotees.
As per Padma Puran and Shiva Mahapuran, Ravana performed
intense penance to please. Shiva was pleased with the devotion of Ravana and
appeared before him.
Ravana asked Shiva to the ever present in his kingdom. To
fulfill the wish of his devotee, Shiva gave Ravana one of the Jyotirlinga. But
Shiva put the condition that the Shivling should not be kept down. Shiva who
knew about the adharmic intentions of Ravana asked Varuna to sit inside the
stomach of the demon king.
When Ravana reached Deoghar, Varuna played his part and
caused a stomach upset. Ravana had to relieve himself and so he gave the
Shivling to a Sadhu, Bhagvan Srihari Vishnu in disguise.
Bhagvan Vishnu then esbalished the Shivling at Deoghar and
disappeared.
Ravan who returned could not find the Sadhu and he could not
neither pull out the Shivling. Thus he returned to Lanka empty handed.
The original temple was built in 400 BC. The east facing
temple has only one narrow entrance. The main Shivling is worshipped in this
shrine.
There are around 21 other small temples in the complex
dedicated to various gods and goddesses in Hindu pantheon.
The main offering in the temple are gangajal and belpatra or
bilva leaves.
Holy ponds and wells like Shivganga, Chandrakup and
Mansarovar are located in the temple complex.
The Shravan month attracts nearly a million devotees to the
shrine. The devotees arrive carrying ganga jal to offer to Baba Baidyanath.