Baidyanath Dham, Deoghar

The Baidyanath Dham or Baidyanath Temple, one of the twelve Jyotirlingams in India is one of the major tourist destinations of Jharkhand. There is a very famous story behind the foundation of this temple. According to Hindu mythology, Lord Shiva impressed by Ravana's prayer gave him a lingam which Ravana had to carry to his kingdom by completing an uninterrupted journey.

The gods were not happy to let the divine lingam pass on to the enemy kingdom and so Lord Vishnu disguised himself as a brahmin and successfully made Ravana drop the lingam and thus it remains in Deoghar. The temple was established in the year 1596. The lost lingam was found by a man named Baiju and then it was named as the Baidyanath temple.

In the Puranas, the significance of Baidyanath is also given. It is also a shaktipith. Naulakha Temple is also situated nearby. Every year the famous Shravani Mela is held in Jharkhand and thousands of devotees visit the temple during this 30-day festival.

The devotees of Lord Shiva offer the holy water on the Shiva lingam. However, the small shops and the small eateries around the place selling a variety of delicacies and local sweets like peda are also a major draw for the tourists visiting there. The temple opens at 4 am in the morning and closes at 9 pm at night.