Baijnath

Sacred site (tirtha) and archeological
area in the Himalayan foothills of the
state of Uttar Pradesh, about forty-
80
Baiga
A baiga, or healer, uses spiritual techniques to remedy a person’s physical or emotional troubles.
five miles north and west of the town of
Almora. Baijnath contains a temple
complex believed to date from the thirteenth century C.E. Many of the temples
are quite well-preserved, although only
one is still used as a place of worship.
Although the name of the site is a vernacular form of Vaidyanath, a form of
the god Shiva, the presiding deity in the
temple is Shiva’s wife Parvati. Her main
image is over four feet tall and is a magnificent work of art, carved from a piece
of rose-colored granite. Smaller figures
carved into the image itself illustrate the
mythic story of Shiva’s wife Sati, her
rebirth as Parvati, and Parvati’s remarriage to Shiva. The statue is clearly the
work of a master sculptor, and it far
exceeds the quality of the artwork one
normally finds in such isolated places.
Another temple in a nearby village has a
statue of Vishnu made from a similar
type of stone and carved in a similar
style. The simplest explanation for this
correspondence is that a single
sculptor was commissioned to create
both images.