Late medieval · Hindu · India

Baidyanath Temple (Baba Baidyanath Dham)

Deoghar, Jharkhand · 24.4859°, 86.6947°

Shiva (Vaidyanath, the healer-lord)Gidhaur eraNagaraJyotirlingaShakti Peetha

Sacred since

1596 CE

first attestation / structure

Standing structure

main shrine dated 16th c.; site ancient

Gidhaur era

History & significance

Counted among the twelve Jyotirlingas and — as the resting place of Sati's heart (Hridaya Peetha) — among the Shakti Peethas too. Each Shravan, over a month, millions of saffron-clad kanwariyas walk ~105 km barefoot from Sultanganj carrying Ganga water for the linga: one of the largest recurring pilgrimages on earth.

Sthala katha — the legend

Ravana offered his ten heads to win Shiva's linga for Lanka; warned it must never touch ground en route, he was tricked — Varuna filled his belly, Vishnu as a cowherd set the linga down at Deoghar, where it rooted. Shiva, as the Vaidya (physician), restored Ravana's heads.

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