Deoghar

(“God’s home”) Sacred site (tirtha) in
the southeastern corner of the modern
state of Bihar, about 130 miles southeast of the city of Patna. Deoghar is
famous throughout India as the site for a
temple to the god Shiva, in his form as
Vaidyanath, the “Lord of Physicians.”
Vaidyanath is one of the twelve jyotirlingas, a group of sacred sites deemed
especially holy to Shiva, and at which
Shiva is believed to be uniquely present.
Deoghar hosts an enormous religious
gathering on the festival of Shivaratri
(February—March) and during the
lunar month of Shravan (July—August),
both of which are times deemed particularly sacred to Shiva. On both occasions, pilgrims draw water from the
Ganges at Sultanganj, more than sixty
miles from Deoghar, and then walk
to Deoghar to present the water as
an offering to Shiva. This particular
observance combines devotion to God
with the willingness to suffer hardship; it
is often performed to fulfill a vow made
when asking for some divine favor. As in
many Hindu holy places, pilgrim traffic
peaks at Deoghar at certain festival
times and at other times of the year
drops off to almost nothing.