வைத்தியநாதர் கோயில் (பைத்யநாத் தாம்)Baidyanath (Vaidyanath) Temple, Deoghar

Sthala Mahātmyam

Vaidyanath Dham (Baba Baidyanath) at Deoghar, in the Santhal Parganas of Jharkhand, is venerated as the Jyotirlinga where Shiva is the Lord of Physicians, the divine healer. The presiding legend tells of Ravana, who performed intense penance in the Himalayas, offering his heads one by one to Shiva. Pleased, Shiva granted him a lingam to carry to Lanka on condition it never touch the ground on the way. The gods, fearing Ravana's growing power, contrived through Vishnu, appearing as a cowherd, to have the lingam set down at Deoghar, where it became immovably fixed; a thumb-mark Ravana is said to have pressed into it is still shown. Shiva then healed Ravana's self-inflicted wounds, and so is worshipped as Vaidyanath. The complex is also revered as a Shakti Pitha, its main shrine linked to the Parvati temple by sacred threads. The month-long Shravani Mela, when millions of saffron-clad Kanwariyas carry Ganga water from Sultanganj (about 108 km) to bathe the lingam, is the greatest festival.