Painting of Priests performing Puja (Eighteenth Century)
Deoghar is a small district town in the state of Jharkhand. The topography and elevation had accorded this city with the honour of being called a hill station of Bihar before creation of the state of Jharkhand. The rising population, stripping of the forest cover, huge influx of People, haphazard industrial expansion etc. have unfortunately snatched away the honour of being a hill station from this picturesque town now.Nevertheless, the place is rocking, and why not? It is the earthly abode of the God of the Gods--- Lord Shiva, lovingly called 'Baba' by the devotees, who throng in hordes almost throughout the year, with the holy month of Shravan attracting millions of devotees. The perceived omnipresence of 'Baba' has granted this place a unique status among several millions of Shiva devotees from Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, Uttar pradesh, Nepal, locals from this state and scores from Southern as well western India. It is the biggest religious place of Bihar and Jharkhand.
The famous Shiva temple complex situated in the centre of the town is the nucleus around which the entire worldly and spiritual activities of this place revolve. Even if you go there as a pure tourist, the place still has a lot of spots of tourist attraction. However,you will be transformed as a devotee within no time, by merely spending a couple of hours in the Shiva temple complex. The aura, the ambience, the extremity of love and devotion towards the Lord, and still, the catholicity of the environment will simply captivate you-- there will be no escape, I bet.
The presiding deity of the temple complex is lord Shiva Himself, who is called as Baba Vaidyanath. 'Vaidya' is the Sanskrit synonym of 'Doctor' and Baba is credited with freeing the devotees of all ailments. The 'Shiva-ling' is said to have miraculous capacity to fulfill the desires of the people. Baba Vaidyanath is one of the twelve 'Jyotirlings' . The place is also a 'Shaktipeeth', as the heart of mother Goddess Sati had fallen here. The sacred Jyotirlinga is positioned exactly over the heart shaped Shaktipeeth, making the place a great centre of spirituality for the Hindus. Icing in the cake is another rare coincidence. The Baba temple complex is also traditionally considered as Baglamukhi peeth. Goddess Baglamukhi and mother Goddess Sati are considered as different manifestations of the supreme mother of the universe and Shiva is their husband.
Legends say that the ancient king of Lanka, Ravan, contemporary of Lord Ram of the Treta Yug, was a great Shiva devotee. He went to mount Kailash and worshipped Shiva for a long period, even offering his head to the God. The Lord became pleased and offered him a boon. Ravan requested Him to shift his headquarters to Lanka. Shiva, instead, gave him a powerful 'Shiva-ling', which was to ensure omnipresence of the Lord in Lanka. The condition was that the Shiva-ling was not to be left unattended between Mount Kailash to Lanka, failing which the lord will be compelled to make that place his earthly abode where the Shiva-ling would touch the earth. Ravan agreed and happily proceeded back vowing not to stop midway till Lanka. However, his enemies, the lesser Gods of the lower universe, conspired to deny this honour to Ravan. They prayed to the great lord Vishnu to stop Ravan from carrying the sacred lingam to Lanka to save them as well as the common people from his dictatorship. Lord Vishnu invoked his miraculous powers which compelled Ravan to stop midway for daily chores.
Subsequent events ensured that the great Shiva-ling was established at that place itself, i.e., present day Deoghar. Ravan had to return empty handed, after of course, pressing the Great Shiva-ling with his powerful thumb to crush it in anger and frustration. The long Shiva-ling still carries the sign of Ravan's wrath in the form of a depression at the top. Not that you will see it now! Lot many people, however, have seen it. Even the author of this blog has! The lingam has now been covered with solid silver, based on 108 pieces of the revered shaligram stone to protect it from the millions of devotees who press, touch and cajole Baba Vaidyanath to fulfill their worldly as well as spiritual aspirations. It's a great irony that the mightiest mythological devotee of the Lord, i.e., Ravan, could only be able to make a small dent in the lingam, while the huge rush of today's minnows, ordinary mortals like us, has forced the authorities to cover the Shivaling with silver armoury.
Deoghar is surrounded by a lot of smaller religious places, ashrams, yoga schools, spiritual centres, meditation kendras etc. Lest it should not be considered as only a religious town of Jharkhand, I want to inform the readers that the place is still a great tourist destination for people of various faiths with a lot of hills, gardens, great rock cuts, schools, markets, hotels etc dotting the landscape in and around the town. Surroundings are still lush green, picturesque and peaceful. Food is excellent and cheap. The place is worth a visit for a few days at least.
