Vaidyanath

Form of the god Shiva, in his manifestation as the “Lord of Physicians” (vaidya).
A temple is named for him at Deoghar
in the state of Bihar. Shiva is present at
Vaidyanath in the form of a linga, the
pillar-shaped image that is his symbolic
form, and the Vaidyanath linga is one of
the twelve jyotirlingas, a network of
sites deemed especially sacred to Shiva,
and at which Shiva is uniquely present.
Vaidyanath’s charter myth is associated
with the demon-king Ravana, who is
said to be a great devotee (bhakta) of
Shiva. Ravana travels to Shiva’s home on
Mount Kailas and practices harsh
asceticism for years, hoping to gain a
vision of Shiva. When his asceticism
proves unsuccessful, the ten-headed
728
Vachaspati Mishra
Ravana proceeds to cut off his heads,
one by one, and to offer them to Shiva.
As he is about to cut off the last of his
heads, Shiva appears before him and
grants Ravana a boon. Ravana asks for
Shiva to come and live in his palace in
Lanka, a request that would have made
Ravana invincible. Shiva agrees to come
in the form of a linga, but warns Ravana
that wherever the linga touches the
earth, it will stay there forever. As
Ravana begins traveling back to Lanka,
he feels the urge to urinate (which in
some versions is described as being
caused by Shiva himself, because the
other gods have begged Shiva not to go
to Lanka). Given the condition of his
boon, he cannot put the linga down;
moreover, since urination renders one
ritually impure, the linga would be
defiled if he holds it while answering
nature’s call (or touches it before he has
taken a purifying bath). Ravana ends up
handing the linga to a cowherd, giving
him strict orders to keep it off the
ground. The linga is so heavy, however,
that the cowherd eventually has to let it
rest on the ground, where it sticks fast,
and remains there to this day.