Historical Geography of Ancient India c8.127

c8.127

*Baidyanātha*.—It is also known as Hārddapīṭha and Deoghar. It is a small town four miles to the south of Jasidih Junction Station of the East Indian Railway and about 200 miles due west of Calcutta. During the later Moslem rule, it formed a part of the Birbhum district. It is now included in the Santal Parganas in Bihar. It is a place of Hindu pilgrimage. It is situated on a rocky plain, having a small forest on the north, a low hill on the north-west, a large hill called the Trikūṭaparvata about five miles to the east and other hills to the south-east, south and south-west at varying distances. Immediately to the west of the town there is a small rivulet called Yamunājor. Its area is about two miles. The soil is fertile and the crops are rich. It is a sub-division of Dumka. The temple of Baidyanātha is one of the famous temples in Bihar. It is visited by pilgrims throughout the year. Its antiquity is carried back in some of the Purāṇas ¹ to the second age of the world according to Dr. Rajendralala Mitra. The temple of Baidyanātha stands in the middle of the town and is surrounded by a courtyard of an irregular quadrilateral figure. The principal temple is a plain stone structure. Its surface is cut into a check pattern by plain perpendicular and horizontal mouldings. The presiding deity of the temple is the *Jyotirliṅga* or *Baidyanātha*. The ritual of worship is simple enough. The mantras are few and the offerings limited. This temple has now (Sept. 25, 1953) been thrown open to all Hindus irrespective of caste. There are many small temples at Deoghar (now called *Baidyanāthadhām*), e.g., that of Pārvatī, the consort of the presiding deity in the main temple; that of Kālā Bhairava; that of Sandhyādevī, the goddess of Vesper or the Sāvitrīdevī, the wife of the Sun.²