Vaidyanatha Jyotirlinga

Ravana, in spite of being evil-minded and wicked, was a great tapasvi and a great devotee of Mahadeva. His life was always a conflict between his ego and his devotion.

Once, he observed tapasya in Kailasa. Even after a long time, Bhagawan Sri Rudra was not pleased with him. Ravana intensified his tapasya.

During summer, he would perform panchagni sadhana—lighting fire on all four sides, sitting in the middle, with the scorching summer sun above him. During rains, he would remain in the open, drenching himself. During winter, he would stay in ice-cold water. This went on for quite some time.

Still, the Lord was not pleased. Ravana then took an extreme step. He started cutting his heads one by one and offering them to the Lord. When he had cut off nine of his heads and only one remained, Bhagawan appeared before him and asked what he wanted.

Ravana said he wanted to be the strongest in the universe. Bhagawan granted his wish. Ravana also requested Mahadeva to come to Lanka with him.

The Lord, however, was not keen on leaving Kailasa. But Ravana had done very intense tapasya, so not granting his wish was not possible. Mahadeva gave Ravana a Shivalinga and told him,
'Take this with you to Lanka and install it there. I will reside in this linga in Lanka. But there is one condition: you must not place it on the ground anywhere.'

Ravana was happy and, carrying the linga, started traveling back to Lanka through the sky in his Pushpaka Vimana. Midway, he felt a great urge to attend to nature's call. So he descended to the earth.

However, he could not place the linga on the ground. He saw a cowherd standing nearby and handed the linga to him, asking him to hold it until he returned. Ravana went to relieve himself, but it took longer than expected. The cowherd, unable to bear the weight, placed the linga on the ground.

When Ravana returned, he found that the linga had become fixed to the ground, and he could not move it. This linga is known as Vaidyanatheshwara, one of the twelve Jyotirlingas.

Vaidyanatheshwara grants all enjoyments and moksha to the devotees of Mahadeva. The darshana of Vaidyanatheshwara removes all sins. Ravana, though dejected, went back to Lanka. However, he used to visit Vaidyanatheshwara every day to worship Mahadeva.

When the Devas and Rishis came to know about this incident, they came and performed the proper sthapana of the linga and built a temple around it.

There is a small controversy about the exact location of Vaidyanatha Jyotirlinga. Three places claim to be Vaidyanatha Jyotirlinga:

1. Deogarh in Jharkhand:
   According to the Dwadasha Jyotirlinga Stotra of Srimad Shankara Bhagawadpada:
   पूर्वोत्तरे प्रज्वलिका निधाने सदा वसन्तं गिरिजासमेतम्।
   This refers to the northeastern region, and Deogarh is in the northeastern part of India, in Jharkhand.

2. Parali in Maharashtra:
   As mentioned in the Dwadasha Lingam Smaranam:
   परल्यां वैद्यनाथं च।

3. Baijnath in Himachal Pradesh:
   Baijnath is near Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh.

Which one is the real Vaidyanatha Jyotirlinga? Does it really matter? Shouldn’t we be thankful that the Lord has blessed three parts of the country with his gracious presence?

Mahadeva is called Ashtamurthy. His eight forms are:

1. क्षिति-मूर्तिः सर्वः (Earth)
2. जलमूर्तिः भवः (Water)
3. अग्निमूर्तिः रुद्रः (Fire)
4. वायुमूर्तिः उग्रः (Air)
5. आकाशमूर्तिः भीमः (Sky)
6. यजमानमूर्तिः पशुपतिः (Sacrifice)
7. चन्द्रमूर्तिः महादेवः (Moon)
8. सूर्यमूर्तिः ईशानः (Sun)

Before that, we must know that he is the only one—the only one who has ever existed. He divided himself into two: matter and consciousness (Prakriti and Purusha). He alone controls the three—past, present, and future. He is described in the four Vedas.

He is beyond the five elements (bhutas): earth (bhumi), water (jala), fire (agni), air (vayu), and space (akasha).

As Dakshinamurthy, the Lord of all knowledge, he gave us the six angas of the Vedas so we can understand them better.

His position is beyond the seven worlds: Bhuloka, Bhuvarloka, Swarloka, Maholoka, Janoloka, Tapoloka, and Satyaloka. He resides beyond all of these, as the eternal truth.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi