The Baidyanath Temple, situated in Deoghar in Jharkhand, is a famous Hindu shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, considered the most sacred Shiva temples in India.
The legend of Baidyanath Dham goes something like this. Ravana, the demon king of Lanka (Ceylon), was performing penance in the Himalayan region to appease Shiva. He requested him to come over to Sri Lanka, so that his capital may become invincible.
Pleased with Ravana’s devotion and penance, Lord Shiva asked what boon he desired. Ravana, a devout follower of Shiva, expressed his desire to take Shiva from Himalayan Mount Kailash (Lord Shiva’s abode) to Lanka. The demon king attempted to lift the holy mountain, Mount Kailash, and take it with him to his capital. However, Shiva crushed him with his finger, and Ravana prayed to him and sought his mercy, after which Shiva gave him one of the twelve Jyotirlingams with the condition that if it was placed on the ground it could not be moved. Hence Ravana had to carry it back on his trek to his capital.
Celestial gods became worried upon hearing that Shiva had departed from his abode on Mount Kailash. Then Varuna. the God of water, entered Ravana’s stomach and caused him to feel the need to urinate in the vicinity of Deoghar.
Vishnu then came down in the form of a shepherd named Baiju Gadariya and volunteered to hold the Jyotirlingam as he relieved himself. But before Ravana could return, the Shepherd placed the jyotirlingam on the ground to which it became rooted. A disappointed Ravana offered severe penances to Shiva here, and cut off nine of his heads as a part of his repentance. Shiva revived him and joined the heads to the body, like a Vaidya or a physician, hence this Jyotirlingam goes by the name Vaidyanath.
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