Shravani Mela is organized along the 108 km route that links Sultanganjand Deoghar in Jharkhandin the Hindu month of Shravan; that is, the lunar month of July-August.Lakhs
of "kanwarias" or pilgrims, wearing saffron, collect water from the sacred river Gangaat
Sultanganjand walk barefoot to Deogharin Jharkhand where they bathe a sacred Shivalinga
with the water brought from Sultanganj as their holy offering or service.
Deogharor Devagriha, the abode of gods, is located four miles to the
south - east of Jasidih Junction on the Howrah-Delhi main line of the
Eastern Railway.There's a small branch rail line from Jasidih to Deoghar.
The railway station at Deogharis called Baidyanath Dham.
An all - weather road connects Deoghar with Kolkata and Delhi.
Passenger busesrun regularly to Deoghar from Bhagalpur,Dumka,Patna,
Gaya,Munger and other placesin Bihar.
Deoghar has picturesque surroundings.To the north of the town is a
wood called Data Jungle;to the north-west is a hill called Nandan Pahar
and to the east, about 10 miles away,there is a low range of hills known
as Trikuta parvata.
There are a number of small hills to the south-east,south and south-west. Two rivulets,Yamunajor and Dharua,flow nearby.The country side
is also dotted with water coursesand small hills. The climate is dry,and
Deogharis considered a health resort.
As a matter of fact, Deogharis a far bigger and more important town
than Dumka, the divisional HQ town. Deoghar has a large number of
temples.The temple of Baidyanath or Shiva is the most important of all
the temples and attracts a large number of pilgrims throughout the year.
Three other important fairs are also held here- Shri Panchmi Mela
in January,Shivaratri Mela in March and Bhadra Purnima Mela in
September.About one lakh people visit Shivaratri Mela in course of a
fortnight. A number of lodges are available for pilgrims. The"pandas"or
priests also rent out their houses to the pilgrims.
Several legends are associated with the Shiva Temple.One legend has
it that demon king Ravana of Lanka once propitiated Lord Shivaand
wanted Him to come over to Lanka.Shiva did not agree to it, but told Ravana that one of the twelve emblems of His divinity, Jyotirlingam
would be quite as effective as His presence and that he might take it
away on the condition that there should be no break in the journey and
the lingam would not be deposited any where on the earth. If the lingam
were put anywhere on the earth in the course of the journey, it would be
fixed to that spot forever.Ravana took the lingam and started his journey back to Lanka.
Other gods,however,dreaded the effect of the lingam being established at the seat of the
demon king.A ruse was devised and Varuna,the god of waters,entered Ravana's stomach and
the demon had to descendon the earth to relieve himself.Soon Vishnu, in the garb of an old
Brahmin,appeared here, and Ravan are quested the Brahmin to kindly hold the Jyotirlingam
for a few minutes so that he could relieve himself. Lord Vishnu obliged him, but the moment
Ravana turned his back to relieve himself,Vishnu left the Jyotirlingamon the spot and vanished
When Ravana came back,he found the Jyotirlingam firmly fixed to the earth and realized
that a trick had been playedon him. Furious,he even tried violence to remove the lingam, but
to no avail. In the process,however,the lingam was broken at the top.
Having failed to remove the lingam, Ravana paid obeisance to it and returned. He regularly
used to come from Lanka and worship the divinity.The spot where Ravan adescended on the
earth is believed to be Harlajori,about four miles north of Deoghar,and the placewhere the
lingam was deposited is known as Deoghar.
The present nomenclature of the lingam is Baidyanath,and there is a legend about it as
well. According to the Padma Purana,Lord Vishnu, after taking the lingam from Ravana,consecrated it with the water from a neighbouring tank. A Bhil witnessed it, and spilled the beans
. to Ravana. Ravana then dug up a well with an arrow and brought into it waters of all the sacred pools on the earth.
The lingam, after the death of Ravana, used to be worshipped by a hunter Baiju, and thus
it was named Baidyanath. The story of Baiju is more prevalent as a Santhal tradition.
Yet another legend has it that when Sati, the consort of Shiva and daughter of Daksha, committed suicide because of the discourtesy shown towards her husband by Daksha's father by
not inviting him to a yajna, Lord Shiva stuck the corpse of his wife on the point of his trident
and roamed around in a frenzy of fury.
Lest Shiva's anger and frantic movements should destroy the world, Vishnu cut the dead
body with his discus into 52 parts, which fell in different parts of India and became
Mahapeethasthans. According to the legend, the heart of Sati fell at Deoghar.
Yet another legend says Lord Shiva, in the first age of the world, manifested himself as a
lingam of light at twelve different places under different names, and Baidyanath was one of
those twelve places. Sati worshipped the emblem and lived in a nearby grove for the purpose.
This place is called Ketakivana.
The temple of Baidyanath faces the east and is a plain stone structure with a pyramidal
tower, which rises from a square base to a height of 72 feet from the ground. To the east of
the northern verandah of the temple there is a large vat into which flows the water and milk
offered to the lingam.
The lingam is of a cylindrical forming, about 5 inches in diameter and projects about 4 inches from the centre of a large slab of basalt. It is not possible to ascertain how much of the
lingam is buried.
There are different porches in the temple. One porch leads to the cell where the lingam is
fixed. The second porch is in front with a row of pillars spanned by blocks of basalt and on the
right side is a sandstone image of a bull. There are bells fixed in the ceiling and pilgrims are
supposed to pull the bell ropes to announce their approach to the divinity.
There's an inscription, which mentions that Puran Mal built the temple at the request of
Raghunath and tradition has it that the inscription was forcibly put up by Puran Mal after he had the temple repaired. This claim does not enjoy local support.
There's another inscription at the entrance of the temple of Baidyanath, which mentions
that Aditya Sena with his queen had built a temple of Vishnu and one Bala Bhadra had built
an image of the boar incarnation of Vishnu.
There is also an inscription on Mandar Hill, which mentions that Konadevi was the actual
name of Aditya Sena's queen and she had a tank excavated there, which is still in existence.
Pilgrims bring water' even from the source of the Ganga near Badrinath or from
Manasarovara Lake in Tibet for offering the same to the lingam at Deoghar. Many of the pilgrims worship the lingam and lie down on the bare pavement of the verandah till next morning for fulfilment of their wishes. In the morning, they worship the lingam, drink a mouthful of
water from the vat and lie down again. This continues for three days and three nights. It is said
that usually the pilgrim, if he is to be redeemed, has a dream about it.
According to the legend, Deoghar has many other names such as Harda Pitha, Ravanavana,
Ketakivana and Haritakivana. The sanctity of the place has been particularly referred to in the
Puranas.
In front of the main entrance to the courtyard there is a well called Chandra Kupa which is
said to have been brought into being by Ravana and contains the holy waters of all the sacred
pools on the earth.
There is a large tank nearby known as Shiva Ganga. The tank is also known as Manasarovara.
The rituals followed here consist of pouring water on the lingam, smearing it with sand,al
paste and offering flowers and a few grains of rice. Offerings of money, silver or gold or even
movable and immovable properties are made here.
