Baidyanath Jyotirlinga temple, also known as Baba Dham and Baidyanath Dham is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas sites of Hinduism and the most sacred abode of Shiva.
The importance of Baidyanath Dham among all 12 Shiva Jyotirlingas sites is due to it also being one of the 51 Shakti Peeths in India. Here the heart of Mata Sati had fallen, hence it is also called Hridaypeeth.
Baba Dham is also famous for the Shravani Mela. Lakhs of Shiva devotees walk from Sultanganj to Deoghar and carry holy Ganga water and offer it to Shivlinga.
For Baidyanath Jyotirlinga Shighra Darshan, Puja and Abhishek
Deoghar Temple | Baidyanath Dham | Baijnath Dham | Vaidyanath Dham
The literal meaning of Deoghar (also pronounced as Dev-Ghar) is the Adobe of Gods. (In Hindi, देवों का घर). It is also known by the different names- Baidyanath Dham, Baijnath Dham and Babadham.
Baidhyanath Dham has been referred to as Haritaki Van, and Ketaki Van in Sanskrit Texts. In Dwadasa jyotirlinga Stotram, Adi Sankaracharya has mentioned Baidyanath jyotirlinga in the following verses:
पूर्वोत्तरे प्रज्वलिकानिधाने, सदावसन्तं गिरिजासमेतं। सुरासुराराधित्पाद्य्पद्मं श्री बैद्यनाथं तमहं नमामि।।
The Matsya Puran also narrates the place as Arogya Baidyanath, the holy place where Shakti lives and assists Shiva in freeing people from incurable diseases.
The origin of its name is not found in any script, but it seems after the construction of the Baidhyanath temple, it is known to be as Baidyanath Dham (Baijnath Dham) and later referred to as Deoghar or B. Deoghar.
History of Baidyanath Dham
The origin of the Deoghar and the name of the builder of the Baidyanth temple is not traceable. But certain parts of the front portion of the temple are said to have been rebuilt in 1596 by Raja Puran Mal, an ancestor of the Maharaja of Giddhour.
(Note: These photographs were taken by Joseph David Beglar c.1872-73 and form part of the Archaeological Survey of India Collections. Temples are situated within a large, paved courtyard. According to Beglar, most of the temples were built around 400 years ago and the town has been a major center of pilgrimage for at least that long. The relics housed within the temples are mainly around four feet in height.)
This whole area of Deoghar was under the rule of the Kings of Gidhaur, who were much attached to the Deoghar temple. Raja Bir Vikram Singh founded this princely state in 1266.
Though the original citizens of Deoghar are Panari and Adivasis, several religious groups later came to reside here. Historical facts say that Maithil Brahmans came here at the end of the 13th century and the beginning of the 14th century from the Mithila Kingdom, known as Darbhanga. Radhi Brahmans came here from Central Bengal during the 16th century, Kanyakubja also came from Central India during the same phase.
After the Britishers won the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the East India Company has taken the administration of Deoghar and the temple. An East India Company officer, Mr. Keating, was sent to look at the temple’s administration. He was the first English collector of Birbhum, took an interest in the administration of the temple.
In 1788, under Mr. Keating’s order Mr. Hesilrigg, his assistant, who was probably the first English man to visit the holy city, set out to supervise the collection of the pilgrim offerings and dues personally.
Later, when Mr. Keating himself visited the Deoghar temple, he was convinced and forced to abandon his policy of direct interference. He handed over the full control of the temple to the hands of the high priest (Sardar Panda).
Since then, the head priest is Maithil Brahman. His post is known as ‘Sevayat‘, who is the head priest and religious administrator too. Presently, the temple administration is under one Trust whose members are from the local priest (Panda) community representative of king Giddhor and Deputy Commissioner Deoghar being the receiver.
The priest group is of Brahmans whose deep relations are related to the temple. These priest groups are not the only priests, but they assist Shivas worshippers, pilgrims, and devotees by giving shelter and other help. Their unbounded contribution could be seen in maintaining the sanctity of the temple.
List of Sardar Panda
- Mukund Jha
- Judhan Jha
- Mukund Jha second time
- Chikku Jha
- Raghunath Jha in 1586
- Chikku Jha second time
- Mallu
- Semkaran Jha Sarewar
- Sadanand
- Chandrapani
- Ratnapani
- Jai Nath Jha
- Vam dev
- Yadu Nandan
- Tikaram till 1762
- Devaki Nandan till 1782
- Narayan Dutt till 1791
- Ramdutt till 1810
- Anand Dutt Ojha till 1810
- Parmanand from 1810 to 1823
- Sarvanand from 1823 to 1836
- Ishwari Nand Ojha till 1876
- Shailjanand Ojha till 1906
- Umesha Nand Ojha till 1921
- Bhavpreetanand Ojha from 1928 to 1970
- Ajita Nand Ojha from 06 July 2017 to 22 May 2018
- Gulab Nand Ojha from 22 May 2018 till date
Story Of Ravaneshwar Baidyanath Jyotirlinga
Ravana, the king of Lanka, was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. He was a great scholar, but it was believed that he was very arrogant and stubborn.
One day his obstinate mind drives him to bring his favorite God, Lord Shiva, to his house in Lanka permanently.
To fulfill this dream, he went to Mount Kailash, the home of Lord Shiva, and to please the supreme lord, he cut his head and put it as a sign of sacrifice for pleasing the lord Shiva, but lord Shiva replaced his head with new ones every time.
This process was repeated nine times. After offering 9 heads, when Ravana was about to cut his 10th head, Shiva appeared happy & pleased with Ravana’s devotion and agreed to permanently shift his home from Mount Kailash to Lanka.
But Lord Shiva had a deal with Ravana that though he was ready to go along with Ravana to Lanka in the form of a Shivlingam, Ravana won’t keep the Shiv lingam on the earth for a single moment until he reaches Lanka. And, if he holds the Shiv lingam on earth, he won’t be able to uproot it from the ground. Happily accepting the deal, Ravana was ready to take him to his home.
By this decision of Lord Shiva, all the Gods got worried, and there was a critical situation in heaven. It was so because Ravana could take advantage of this and might rule heaven one day.
So, all the Gods decided to held a meeting with Vishu to find a solution for this. Later in the discussion, they got a plan to stop Ravana from taking Lord Shiva to Lanka.
According to the plan, the Ganga entered into king Ravana’s body forcing him to pass water. At the same time, Guru Vishnu, disguised as a shepherd, was watching the whole scene. Ravana, unable to control, asked the disguised shepherd to hold the lingam until he finished passing water.
It took so long to pass the water because it was Ganga inside his body. The shepherd got tired of holding Shivalingam, and he kept the lingam on the ground.
After finishing his job, Ravana needed water to wash his hands. There was no water source around, so he pressed the earth with his thumb to get the water out of the ground. Later this place took a shape of a pond and known as the Shiva Ganga pond.
After washing his hands, he tried to uproot the Shiva lingam out of the earth, but he could not.
In anger, he pressed the lingam inside the earth. And this is how one of the twelve lingams of Lord Shiva came into existence. Hence this is also known as Ravaneshwar Baidyanth Jyotirlinga. (and Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga).
It is believed that all the wishes get fulfilled, those who come here and offer ganga jal to Shivlinga. That is why this linga is also called Kamna Linga.
Until recently, people worshiped the earthen lingam when recently took the lingam out of the earth.
Main Significance Of Baba Dham Deoghar Temple
Jyotirlinga & Shakti Peeth
This is the only place in India where Jyotirlinga and Shaktipeeth are together. Here the heart of Mata Sati had fallen, hence it is also known as Hridya Peeth or Hardpeeth. It is considered a divine confluence to have the Hridyapeeth of Mata Sati with Mahadev in the form of Jyotirling in the holy land of Baidyanath Dham.
This is the only Jyotirlinga among the twelve Jyotirlinga where vermilion is donated (Sindur Daan) on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri because Shiva and Shakti are together here.
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22 Temples in the Same Complex
Apart from Baba Baidyanath Temple and Shakti Peeth Maa Parvati Temple, there are 20 other temples also located in the Baba Baidyanath temple complex. A list of 22 temples in the complex are:
- Baba Baidyanath Jyotirlinga Temple (72 feet high main Temple in the middle)
- Maa Kali Temple
- Maa Annapurna Temple
- Lakshmi Narayan Temple
- Neel Kanth Temple
- Maa Parvati Temple (Jay Durga Shakti Peeth)
- Maa Jagat Jananai Temple
- Ganesh Temple
- Brahma Temple
- Maa Sandhya Temple
- Kaal Bhairav Temple
- Hanuman Temple
- Manasa Temple
- Maa Saraswati Temple
- Surya Narayan Temple
- Maa Bagla Temple
- Narvadeshwara Temple
- Shri Ram Temple
- Maa Ganga Temple
- Anand Bhairav Temple
- Gauri Shankar Temple
- Maa Tara Temple
Chandrakanta Mani
There is Chandrakanta Mani in the Sanctorum of the Baidyanathdham temple. Due to this continuous water is released and falls on the Shivlinga. When people consume the water falling on Baidyanath Jyotirlinga in the form of Charanamrit, then it gives relief from all the diseases.
Chandrakup Well
The Chandra kup (Well) is located near the main entrance of the temple complex. Sardar Panda Chandramani Ojha built this well in 1702 on the advice of Saint Sanyasi Kevat Ram. If you do not have Ganga Jal to offer to Lord Shiva, you can use the holy water of this well to offer it to the Shivalinga.
PanchShul
One of the major features of this temple is that it has ‘Panchshul’ on the temple top, unlike Trishul in the rest of the temples around the world. Pansul is considered as a protective shield against any natural disaster.
Worship Of Panchshul During MahaShivaratri:
Every year, a few days before Mahashivratri, Panchshuls are removed from the Baba Mandir and other temples. During this time crowds of devotees rushed to touch and worship the Panchshul.
The Panchshulas on top of the temples in the temple complex are taken down a few days before Mahashivratri. They are especially worshiped a day before Mahashivratri by bringing down all the Panchashulas and then installed back in their places on the top of the temples.
During this, the holy knot (Gathbandhan) of Baba and Parvati temples is removed. A new holy knot is made on the day of Mahashivratri. Devotees are excited to receive the red sacred ribbon of the holy knot.
Holy Kanwar Yatra | Shravani Mela
The Kanwar Yatra to Baidyanathdham starts in the month of July and continues throughout the month and continues till month of August. Devotees from many states of northern India start the journey by taking water from the Uttarvahini Ganga in Sultanganj in Bhagalpur district of Bihar which is about 108 KMs away from Deoghar. They walk to Deoghar with Kanwar (pots filled with Ganga Jal) to offer the holy water to Shivalinga, which is known as Kanwar Yatra and also called Kanwariya Mela or Shravani Mela.
The devotees who reach Baidyanath Dham directly without stopping are called Dak Bam and those who reach in several days by stopping at many places are called Bol Bam.
Every year between July and August (Shravan month) around 70 to 80 lakh devotees from different parts of India visit Deoghar barefoot to offer Ganga Jal to Shiva.
How To Reach Baidyanath Dham Deoghar
Baidyanath Dham Deoghar is well-connected to other major cities of the country by rail, road and air.
Nearest Bust Stand:
- Deoghar Bus Stand – Baidyanath Dham temple is 2 KMs away.
Deoghar is 16 Kms from Sarwan, 36 Kms from Sarath, 41 Kms from Jarmundi, 52 Kms from Chandmari, 52 Kms from Bengabad, 68 Kms from Deori, 70 Kms from Giridih, 132 Kms from Dhanbad, 148 Kms from Koderma, 278 Kms from Ranchi and is linked via Jharkhand State Road Transport Corporation Limited, West Bengal State Road Transport Corporation Limited and some private travel services.
Nearest Railway Station:
- Jasidih Junction- 7 Kms from Deoghar temple
- Deoghar Railway Station- 3 Kms (approx.)
- Baidyanath Dham Railway Station -2 Km
The nearest railway station is Jasidih Junction which is on the Howrah (Kolkata) – Patna – New Delhi rail route. Deoghar and Baidyanth Dham Railway Stations are the local stations.
Nearest Airport:
- Birsa Munda Airport Ranchi – 250 Kms
- Lok Nayak Airport Patna – 255 Kms
- Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Airport Kolkata – 271 Kms
- Deoghar Airport – 9 Kms
The closest international airports are Deoghar and Kolkata. There are daily international flights from New Delhi and Kolkata. And the closest domestic airports are Patna and Durgapur.
Where To Stay – Nearest Hotels to Deoghar Temple
You can stay in any good hotel in Deoghar. Here is the list of the Best Hotels in Deoghar.
Baba Baidyanath Temple Contact Information
Address– Shivganga Muhalla, Baidyanath Gali, Dist.- Deoghar, Jharkhand, PIN – 814112
Contact Numbers– +91-9430322655, 06432-232680
Email Id– contact@babadham.org
Official Website– https://babadham.org
Temple Timings: 4 AM – 3:30 PM and 6 PM – 9 PM. But the timing can be extended on special religious occasions.
Tourist Guides:
FAQs – Baba Baidyanath Dham Deoghar
1. What is the distance from Sultanganj to Baidyanath Dham?
The distance from Sultanganj to Baidyanath Dham is approximately 109 km.
2. Which is the nearest railway station to Deoghar?
Jasidih Junction is the major station for Deoghar on the Delhi-Howrah route which is located 7 km from the temple. Apart from this, there are two more local stations – ‘Deoghar Station’ and ‘Baidyanath Dham Station’.
3. Which place is known as BabaDham?
Deoghar is known as “Baba Dham“, “Baidyanath Dham“, “Vaidyanath Dham“, and also “Baijnath Dham“.
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