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Har Har Mahadev

09 / 12 · Ninth Jyotirlinga

वैद्यनाथ

The Lordwho heals.

📍 Vaidyanath · Deoghar (Baba Baidyanath Dham), Jharkhand

Deoghar means the home of the gods. Here Shiva is Vaidyanath, the divine physician, and every Shravan more than a million people walk 105 kilometres from Sultanganj carrying Ganga water on their shoulders to pour over him.

Darshan & timings Read the legend

Also calledBaba Dham, Ravaneshwar Dham

Complex22 temples in one courtyard

Shravani Mela105 km barefoot from Sultanganj

Photo: Pinakpani · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Checking…Timings Booking Before you go Reach Photos FAQ

Ravana carried Shiva south.One condition: do not set him down.He set him down here.

The legend

Why Shiva is here, and not somewhere else — as the Shiva Purana and local tradition tell it.

The ten heads offered

Ravana wanted Shiva in Lanka. He did penance in the Himalaya and, when that was not enough, began cutting off his own heads and offering them into the fire — nine of them, one after another.

The condition

Before the tenth, Shiva appeared, healed him — this is why he is Vaidyanath, the physician — and gave him the lingam to carry, on one condition: it must not touch the ground before Lanka. The gods, alarmed, sent Varuna into Ravana's body. Desperate to relieve himself, Ravana handed the lingam to a cowherd boy.

What was set down cannot be lifted

The boy was Ganesha. He set the lingam on the earth and it rooted there forever. Ravana pushed at it with his thumb until the stone bore a hollow, and it has borne that mark ever since. Deoghar has been called Ravaneshwar Baidyanath Dham since.

Also called

Baba Dham, Ravaneshwar Dham

Complex

22 temples in one courtyard

Shravani Mela

105 km barefoot from Sultanganj

Panchshool

Five tridents on the spire — found almost nowhere else

Darshan

Timings & the daily aartis

Times shown in IST. The status above is live against the temple's published hours.

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Now in India--:--

Morning4:00 AM – 3:30 PM

Evening6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

The temple opens around 4:00 AM for morning rituals with a closure in the afternoon for bhog and cleaning. Hours extend substantially during Shravani Mela and Maha Shivaratri.

Aarti & ritual schedule

4:00 AM – 5:30 AMKapat opening & Sarkari PujaThe morning rituals before public darshan
6:00 PM – 7:00 PMShringar Puja
6:00 PM – 6:30 PMSandhya Aarti
8:00 PM – 9:00 PMNight AartiBefore the temple closes

ⓘTimings change on festival days, during Shravan and at short notice. Verified 13 August 2026 — confirm against the official temple portal before you travel.

Booking

Darshan, aarti & registration

What can be booked, what is free, and where the official channel actually is.

Shighra Darshanam

The official paid fast-track pass — around ₹500 for Indian nationals and ₹1,000 for foreign nationals. In Shravan even the VIP line can take well over an hour.

Deoghar district portal ↗

General darshan & jalabhishek

Free. Devotees pour Ganga water over the lingam themselves — the jalabhishek is the whole point of coming here.

Shravani Mela arrangements

During the mela the district administration runs the route, the queues and the timings. Check deoghar.nic.in for the year's advisory before travelling.

Mela advisory ↗

Before you go

Dress code, rules & what it costs

Dress code

Men

Traditional dress is customary; kanwariyas wear saffron. Ordinary modest clothing is accepted.

Women

Saree or salwar-kameez. Saffron during the mela.

Not permitted inside

Leather itemsCameras inside the sanctumMobile phones during peak mela hoursLarge bags

What it costs

General darshanFree
Shighra Darshanam≈ ₹500 (₹1,000 foreign nationals)
Puja samagriBought outside the complex

Practical advice

Shravani Mela 2026 runs roughly 30 July to 28 August. If you want a calm darshan, come at any other time of year.
The 22 shrines in the courtyard are part of the visit — the Parvati temple, whose spire is tied to Baidyanath's by a sacred thread, especially.
Buy your water pot, flowers and bel leaves outside the gate; nothing is sold within.
Even with a VIP pass in Shravan, budget half a day.

Getting there

How to reach Vaidyanath

Deoghar (Baba Baidyanath Dham), Jharkhand — 24.492°N, 86.7°E

✈

By air

Deoghar Airport (DGH)

~12 km

Opened in 2022 with flights from Kolkata and Delhi. Patna (~250 km) and Ranchi (~250 km) are the alternatives.

🚉

By rail

Jasidih Junction (JSME)

~7 km

The main railhead, on the Delhi–Howrah main line. Baidyanathdham (Deoghar) station is a short branch line closer to the temple.

🚌

By road

By bus or car

Direct

Patna ~250 km, Ranchi ~250 km, Kolkata ~370 km, Sultanganj ~105 km — the last being the kanwar route walked every Shravan.

🗺️ Open in Google Maps ↗

When to come

Best time to visit

October to March is comfortable and comparatively quiet. Shravan (Jul–Aug) is when Deoghar becomes one of the largest gatherings on earth — extraordinary to witness, exhausting to navigate. Summer is hot and humid.

Shravani Mela≈ 30 Jul – 28 Aug 2026A month-long procession of saffron down the 105 km from Sultanganj.
Maha ShivaratriFeb / MarThe Shiva–Parvati marriage is celebrated; a large local fair.
Basant PanchamiJan / FebTilakotsav — the ceremonial betrothal.
Bhadra PurnimaSepA second, smaller kanwar season.

Around the shrine

What else is here

Parvati temple

Same courtyard

Its spire is bound to Baidyanath's by a sacred thread — couples tie a knot here for a lasting marriage.

Naulakha Mandir

~2 km

A tall Bengali-style temple named for the nine lakh rupees it cost to build.

Tapovan Hills & caves

~10 km

Caves where sages meditated, and a Shiva shrine on the hill.

Basukinath

~42 km

The traditional final stop of the kanwar yatra; a darshan at Deoghar is said to be incomplete without it.

Photographs

Vaidyanath in pictures

Freely-licensed photographs from Wikimedia Commons. Each is credited to its photographer.

Baidyanath temple and temple complex, Deoghar 03 — Photo: Pinakpani · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Baidyanath temple and temple complex, Deoghar 02 — Photo: Pinakpani · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Baidyanath temple and temple complex, Deoghar 01 — Photo: Pinakpani · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

⚖Images are reused under their Creative Commons licences. Follow any photograph to its Commons page for the full licence terms.

Questions

What pilgrims ask

When is Shravani Mela 2026?

Roughly 30 July to 28 August 2026. Over a month, more than a million kanwariyas walk the 105 km from Sultanganj to Deoghar carrying Ganga water.

What does the Shighra Darshanam cost?

Around ₹500 for Indian nationals and ₹1,000 for foreign nationals. It bypasses the general queue, though during Shravan the VIP line itself can take an hour and a half.

Can I pour water on the lingam myself?

Yes. Jalabhishek by the devotee is the central act at Baidyanath Dham, which is what distinguishes it from most jyotirlingas.

Why is it called Vaidyanath?

Vaidya means physician. Shiva healed Ravana's self-inflicted wounds here, restoring the heads he had cut off, and is worshipped as the divine healer.

Is Deoghar a jyotirlinga or is it Parli in Maharashtra?

There is a long-standing dispute — Deoghar in Jharkhand, Parli Vaijnath in Maharashtra and Baijnath in Himachal all claim it. Deoghar is the most widely accepted and by far the most visited.

How do I reach Deoghar?

Jasidih Junction is 7 km away on the Delhi–Howrah main line. Deoghar Airport opened in 2022 with flights from Kolkata and Delhi.

Have you had darshan here?

Light a lamp for Vaidyanath and it stays lit across the site — your progress towards all twelve is remembered on this device.

Page last updated 13 August 2026 · All twelve jyotirlingas