Vaidyanath is the fifth Jyotirlinga in the Dvadasha Jyotirlinga Stotra, but its place is disputed: Baba Baidyanath Dham at Deoghar in Jharkhand and Parli Vaijnath in the Beed district of Maharashtra are both held to be the Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga. The stotra says "परल्यां वैद्यनाथं" (at Parli), while the Shiva Purana’s list says only "चिताभूमौ" (in the cremation ground); both views and their sources are below.
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- Deity
- Shiva (Vaidyanath)
- Tradition
- Shaiva
Where is Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga: 2 places are named
The sources do not agree on one place. Each place is given below; which source holds which view is under "Where the sources differ".
Deoghar (Baba Baidyanath Dham), Deoghar district
Jharkhand
The Deoghar district counts it among the twelve Jyotirlingas and also among the 51 Shakti Peethas. In Shravan the Shravani Mela is held here, when kanwariyas walk in with Ganga water from Sultanganj. We found no government source for the darshan hours, so none are given.
OpenStreetMapDeoghar district administration: Baba Baidyanath Dham
Parli Vaijnath, Beed district
Maharashtra
The trust displays the stotra with "परल्यां वैद्यनाथं" on its site, and Maharashtra Tourism calls Parli a Jyotirlinga. According to a Sanskrit inscription the trust quotes, Ahilyabai Holkar had the temple restored in Shaka 1706.
Darshan timings
| Ordinary days | 5 AM to 10 PM (3–5 PM bhasma puja, darshan then from the Kasav hall) |
|---|---|
| Mondays, Pradosh and Shivratri | 5 AM to midnight (8–10 PM bhasma puja) |
Summarised from the trust’s Marathi page, which gives in detail the hours for touch-darshan and abhishek.
Source: vaijnathjyotirling.comChecked:
The story of Vaidyanath: Ravana and the linga
According to the Shiva Purana (Kotirudra Samhita, chapter 28), Ravana did severe penance in a pit south of the Himalaya and offered up nine of his heads one by one. Before the tenth, Shiva appeared and joined his heads again like a physician (vaidya); the gods later named this linga Vaidyanatha.
Ravana wished to take the linga to Lanka; Shiva’s condition was that it would stay wherever it was set down on the ground. On the way, by Shiva’s maya, Ravana had to relieve himself; he handed the linga to a cowherd, who after a while set it down, and the linga stayed fixed there. This chapter of the Purana names no place. Later tellings make the cowherd Ganesha (the Deoghar tradition) or Vishnu (the Government of India’s Incredible India site).
How to reach Vaidyanath
- Deoghar: by rail Deoghar Junction, Baidyanathdham Junction and Jasidih Junction (about 7 km); Deoghar airport about 12 km from the city (Deoghar district).
- Parli: Parli has its own railway station; the nearest large airport is Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad), about 225 km (Beed district).
Main festivals
Where the sources differ
- Scripture: the Shiva Purana’s list (Kotirudra Samhita 1.23) says "वैद्यनाथं चिताभूमौ"; its English translator notes that it is not clear whether this means an ordinary cremation ground or a particular place. The Dvadasha Jyotirlinga Stotra says "परल्यां वैद्यनाथं", read as Parli. The longer Dvadasha Jyotirlinga Stotra attributed to Shankaracharya says "पूर्वोत्तरे प्रज्वलिकानिधाने" (in the north-east), with the variant reading "पारलिकाभिधाने". A note in the Gita Press abridged Shiva Purana also says that the reading "परल्यां वैद्यनाथं च" is found in some places.
- For Deoghar: the Deoghar district and the Government of India’s Incredible India site count it among the twelve; even Maharashtra Tourism’s Jyotirlinga leaflet lists "Vaidyanath (Deoghar, Jharkhand)".
- For Parli: Maharashtra Tourism’s Parli page calls it a Jyotirlinga, the Hingoli district counts five Jyotirlingas in Maharashtra (Parli among them), and the Parli trust displays the stotra with "परल्यां". So even the Maharashtra government’s own sources do not say one thing.
- The Government of India’s Incredible India site calls the Baijnath temple in Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh, one of the twelve, but the Kangra district’s own page does not call it a Jyotirlinga, so it is not listed here as a third place.
- Order: the Dvadasha Jyotirlinga Stotra names Vaidyanath 5th (this site follows that order); the Shiva Purana's list (Kotirudra Samhita 1.21–23) runs in another order and names it 9th.
Frequently asked questions
Is the real Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga at Deoghar or at Parli?
There is no single answer. Deoghar (Jharkhand) is better known, and the Deoghar district and the Government of India’s tourism site count it as the Jyotirlinga; for Parli (Maharashtra) there is the stotra’s "परल्यां वैद्यनाथं". The Shiva Purana’s list says only "चिताभूमौ", naming no town. Follow your own tradition.
Where is Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga?
Opinions differ. Deoghar (Baba Baidyanath Dham), Deoghar district (Jharkhand) and Parli Vaijnath, Beed district (Maharashtra) are each held to be Vaidyanath. Which source holds which view is given under "Where the sources differ" on this page.
Which lists of tirthas include Vaidyanath?
The 12 Jyotirlingas (number 5 of 12 in the list).
How to reach Vaidyanath?
Deoghar: by rail Deoghar Junction, Baidyanathdham Junction and Jasidih Junction (about 7 km); Deoghar airport about 12 km from the city (Deoghar district). Parli: Parli has its own railway station; the nearest large airport is Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad), about 225 km (Beed district).
Sources
- Deoghar district (Government of Jharkhand): Baba Baidyanath Dham, deoghar.nic.in/tourist-place/baidyanath-temple; history, deoghar.nic.in/history; Shravani Mela, deoghar.nic.in/shrawani-mela-2; how to reach, deoghar.nic.in/how-to-reach
- Incredible India (Government of India): Baba Baidyanath Dham, incredibleindia.gov.in/en/jharkhand/deoghar/baba-baidyanath-dham; Baijnath temple (Kangra), incredibleindia.gov.in/en/himachal-pradesh/kangra/baijnath-temple
- Vaijnath Devasthan Trust, Parli: vaijnathjyotirling.com (home, puja times /pooja.php, Parli /parali.php, about /about.php)
- Beed district: Shri Vaidyanath temple, Parli, beed.gov.in; Maharashtra Tourism: Parli Vaijnath, maharashtratourism.gov.in/temple/parli-vaijnath; Maharashtra Tourism Jyotirlinga leaflet (2024); Hingoli district: Aundha Nagnath, hingoli.nic.in
- Kangra district (Government of Himachal Pradesh): Shiv Temple Baijnath, hpkangra.nic.in/tourist-place/shiv-temple-baijnath
- Shiva Purana, Kotirudra Samhita, chapter 28 (J. L. Shastri's English translation, wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/shiva-purana-english/d/doc226529.html; numbered as in the Sanskrit text on sa.wikisource; the Gita Press abridged edition numbers chapters differently)
- Shiva Purana, Kotirudra Samhita 1.21–23 (the list of the twelve), Sanskrit text: sa.wikisource.org (शिवपुराणम्, संहिता ४, अध्यायः १)
- Shiva Purana, Shatarudra Samhita 42 (the translator’s note: the meaning of chitabhumi is not clear), wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/shiva-purana-english/d/doc226438.html
- Dvadasha Jyotirlinga Stotra ("सौराष्ट्रे सोमनाथं च …"), text: sanskritdocuments.org/doc_shiva/jyotirling.html
- The Dvadasha Jyotirlinga Stotra attributed to Shankaracharya ("पूर्वोत्तरे प्रज्वलिकानिधाने", variant "पारलिकाभिधाने"), sanskritdocuments.org/doc_shiva/dvAdashaJyotistotra.html
- Gita Press, Sankshipt Shivpuran, note on p. 498 (archive.org/details/sankshipt-shiv-puran)
- Wikidata Q1089897, Q60617890 (coordinates, CC0)
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