Deoghar, the house of Baidyanath temple means the home of gods. In Puranas Deogarh is reffered to as Haridrapeetha, Haritalik van, Ketaki van, Chitabhoomi and Vaidyanath. In Bengal and some other places Deogarh is generally known as Baidyanathdham.
The importance of Baidyanath is mentioned in several Puranas. It is one of the golden treasure of Hindu religion and culture. Baidyanath Jyotirlingam is of great importance for Hindu eternity.
History of Baidyanath
A very famous story is associated with Baidyanath Jyortiligam, the incidents are also mentioned in Puranas. According to the Shiva Purana, in Treta yuga the demon Ravana, king of Lanka, for the prosperity of his kingdom wanted Mahadeva to stay in his capital forever, for that he continuously meditated to Mahadeva. Finally Shiva got pleased and allowed him to take his lingam to Lanka. But Mahadev also asked Ravana not to place or transfer this lingam to anyone and also it should not break in his journey. And if he placed Lingam anywhere on earth then it would remain fixed at that place forever.The devs and Gods didn’t like Mahadeva to be Ravana’s protector. They devised a plan. They planned that God Varuna will enter into the belly of Ravana that made Ravana felt a severe urge to release water. At that time Vishnu appeared before Ravana as a Brahmin. Unknown Ravana handed over the lingam to the Brahmin. The Brahmin meanwhile placed the lingam at a place now known as Baidyanathdham.
Ravana tried to remove the lingam but failed to do so. Realizing his unability to do so he returned to Lanka and visitied daily to worship the lingam and continued it forever. The place where Ravana visited is known as Harilajori which is about four miles north of Baidyanathdham and the place is now called Deoghar and the lingam is known as Baidyanath Jyotirlingam.
Another story related to Baidyanath at Deoghar is of Satya yuga . It is said that when Sati, the wife of Shiva committed suicide for the discourtesy shown to her husband. In grief Shiva, stuck the body of his dead wife on the point of his trident and roamed about like mad god. It made Vishnu to cut up the body with Chakra. The body was cut into 52 parts which fell at different place in India. The heart, is said to fall at Deoghar and hence that place is called Baidyanathdham. The shrine of Baidyanath Jyotirlingam is at Deoghar and Haridrapeetha lay here. The place where the heart of Sati fell, is called Hardyapeetha.
Architecture of the Temple
The architecture of the temple lies under Nagar style. It is a Shringvat temple. The Kati, Mekhala, and Shring of the temple falls under Nagara style. It is believed that the temple was built by Vishwakarma, the architect of gods. The temple is divided into 3 parts i.e., the main temple, the middle part of the main temple, and the entrance part of the main temple. The main temple is very old. It is believed to be of the age of Rama, the king of Ayodhya. The presence of Chandrakant Mani is also its glory.It is also one of 52 peethas. There are 22 temples in the in the temple campus belonging to different Gods and Goddesses of whihc Lord Shiva is being the supreme. The shrines are of both old and new styles. The temple of Shiva which is 72 feet tall and is lotus shaped faces the east. The top of the temple has three gold vessels donated by Maharaja of Gidhaur, Raja Puran Singh. There is also a famous and rare 'PUNCHSULA' (Five knives in Tridenta shape). The main 'LINGAM' (Lord Shiva) is also very rare. There is a large vat in the east of the northern verandah into which flows the water and milk offered as ablution. The lingam is a cylindrical shaped 5 inches in diameter and about 4 inches from the center of a large slab of basalt. The lingam is buried in the ground, the statistics of buried lingam are not known. The top of the lingam is broken with an uneven surface. There are several porches in the temple. One of the porch leads the lingam. The second porch with a row of pillars, spanned by blocks of basalt lies on the front. On the right side is a sandstone bull statue. Several bells are hanging from the ceiling. There eleven other temples in the temple complex belonging to Kal Bhairav, Maa Parvathi, Maa Jagat Janani, Maa Kali, and Lakshminarayan. To show the unity of Shiva and Shakti, Maa parvathi temple is tied up with the main temple, with huge red sacred threads.
How to reach Babadham
Babadham or Deogarh is located in north-eastern Jharkhand at a distance of four miles from Jasidih railway station. The Jasidih railway station lies on main line of the Eastern Railway from Howrah to Delhi. A small railway branch line connects Babadham to Jasidih. The railway station is called Baidyanath Dham. Many trains are available for Jasidih railway station from different part of the country. Regular trains are available from Jasidih railway station to Baidyanath Dham. Babadham lies near G.T. Road connecting Calcutta with Delhi. Devotees from Kolkata or other eastern part of our country prefer to take the route via Jamtara.Passenger buses are regularly available from Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Bhagalpur, Hazaribag, Patna, Dumka, Munger, Gaya, and other places in Jharkhand and Bihar to Deogarh. Taxis and Rickshaws are readily available at Babadham and Jasidih railway station.
Nearby Airports: Gaya, Ranchi, Patna and Kolkata.
Where to Stay
Uma Bhavan is located inside the Baba Baidyanath Temple Complex. The rooms and dormitory have all facilities. The bookings can be made by contacting :Baba Mandir Office, Deoghar - Phone No. 06432-232295
Devotees can also prefer to stay in hotels near the temple. Some of the hotels are:
Hotel Jyoti
Near Tower Chowk, Ram Ratan Bakshi Road, B Deoghar HO,
Deoghar-Jharkhand - 814112
Phone: 9431783930, 8578880146
Hotel Mahadev Palace
Near Bazla Chowk, Biharilal Chakraborty Road, Castair Town, B Deoghar Ho,
Deoghar-Jharkhand - 814112
Phone: 9234605435, 9234600433, 9234207708
Hotel Raj
Om SAI Raj International Complex, Near ICICI Bank, RAI And Company Chowk, Satsang,
Deoghar-Jharkhand - 814116
Phone: 8603431371, 8603448934
Amrapali Clarks Inn
Near Tower Chowk, R R Baxi Road, B Deoghar Ho,
Deoghar-Jharkhand - 814112
Phone: 8877666600
Baidyanath Hotel
Near Jain Mandir, B Deoghar Ho,
Deoghar-Jharkhand - 814112
Phone: 6432-233112
Baidyanath Temple Darshan Timings
On a normal day, the day at Baidyanath Jyotirlingam starts at 4 AM with the head priest worshipping with Shodashopachar. Then the devotees starts the worship of the lingam. In the beginning the priests of the temple pour kuchcha Jal on the lingam first and then other pilgrims pour water and offer flowers and Vilva leaf to the lingam. The Puja continues till 3.30 PM. And then the temple doors are closed. At 6 PM again the doors of the temple are opened for devotees/ pilgrims. In the evening Shringar Puja takes place.The pooja is preceded by spreading scent over the lingam and then water is poured over the lingam. Followed by pasting Sandal paste of Malayagiri on the head of the lingam. An interesting tradition followed since the British time is that a snake like throne of flowers (Jata Mukut) is also placed on the lingam which is regularly brought from the Deoghar Jail.
At 9 PM the temple doors are closed.
During various religious occasions, the darshan timings are extended.
Special passes and memberships are offered by the temple
Life Time Individual Membership Offer
Contribution Amount: Rs 4.00 Lac
Facility: Total four (4) persons are given passes of VIP Puja /Sarkari Puja during every Shrabani Mela for one time only.
Life Time Corporate Membership Offer
Contribution Amount: Rs 10.00 Lac
Facility: Total fifteen (15) persons are given passes of VIP Puja /Sarkari Puja during every Shrabani Mela for one time only.
Special Offer for VIP Puja during Shrabani Mela
Contribution Amount: Rs 25,000
Facility: Total one (1) person is given pass of VIP Puja/ Sarkari Puja in one Shrabani mela for one time only.