{"id":642,"date":"2023-02-23T10:36:21","date_gmt":"2023-02-23T05:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/?p=642"},"modified":"2023-02-23T10:40:40","modified_gmt":"2023-02-23T05:10:40","slug":"baijnath-vaidyanath-ancient-temple-palampur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/baijnath-vaidyanath-ancient-temple-palampur\/","title":{"rendered":"Baijnath or Vaidyanath &#8211; The Ancient temple of Palampur"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Vaidyanath temple or more popularly known as Baijnath temple is a very ancient temple located in Palampur, in&nbsp;the Kangra District of Himachal Pradesh. Lord Shiva is commemorated here as Vaidyanath (the Lord of Physicians) and is claimed to be one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the most sacred abodes of Shiva. &nbsp;Believed to be established by the very powerful demon king Ravana,&nbsp;there is a very interesting mythological&nbsp;story&nbsp;associated to this temple.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Baijnath-Temple-Himachal-Pradesh.jpg\" alt=\"Baijnath or Vaidyanath - The Ancient temple of Palampur\" class=\"wp-image-643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Baijnath-Temple-Himachal-Pradesh.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Baijnath-Temple-Himachal-Pradesh-150x120.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Baijnath-Temple-Himachal-Pradesh-300x240.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_87 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #f58120;color:#f58120\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #f58120;color:#f58120\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/baijnath-vaidyanath-ancient-temple-palampur\/#Legend\" >Legend<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/baijnath-vaidyanath-ancient-temple-palampur\/#Dussehra_not_celebrated\" >Dussehra not celebrated<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/baijnath-vaidyanath-ancient-temple-palampur\/#Architecture\" >Architecture<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/baijnath-vaidyanath-ancient-temple-palampur\/#Festivals_and_events\" >Festivals and events<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:25px\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Legend\"><\/span>Legend<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The legend goes like this. During Treta Yug, Ravana the king of Lanka,the conquerer of the three worlds: Earth, Heavens and the Netherworlds (Patala), worshipped Lord Shiva in Kailash in order to have invincible powers.<br>He was not able to please Lord Shiva the first time, and to impress Shiva further Ravan began cutting off his 10 heads one by one. As he kept cutting each of his head off, he kept placing them in the Havan Kund. As he was going to cut off his 10th head,Lord Shiva stopped him. Influenced by this extraordinary deed, Lord Shiva \u00a0descended to cure Ravana who was injured. Because\u00a0he acted as a doctor, he is referred to as <i>Vaidya<\/i> (&#8220;doctor&#8221;). This aspect of Shiva, not only restored Ravana&#8217;s 10\u00a0heads but also bestowed him with powers of invincibility and immortality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ravana then requested if he could take Lord Shiva with him to Lanka. Shiva consented to the request of Ravana and converted himself into Shivling. Lord Shiva also warned Ravana that,he should not place the Shivling down on the ground on his way. If he did place the Shivling on the ground, he will not be able to move it and he would have to build the Shiv temple in that very spot . Ravana carried the Shivling with him, started moving south towards Lanka and reached Baijnath where he felt the need to answer nature\u2019s call. On seeing a shepherd, Ravana explained everything to him and handed over the Shivling to him and went away to get himself relieved. On finding the Shivling very heavy, the shepherd put the linga on the ground. Ravan returned and tried to remove the Shivling from the ground. The mighty Ravan could not do so even with all his strength. And thus the Shivling got established in the town of Baijnath and the Shiva temple was eventually built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:25px\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Dussehra_not_celebrated\"><\/span>Dussehra not celebrated<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In honour of Ravana, Baijnath town does not celebrate Dussehra. While the effigies of Ravan is consigned to flames all across the country as part of the celebration, Dussehra is not celebrated here. This is a unique aspect about this temple town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:25px\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Architecture\"><\/span>Architecture<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The structure of this temple is the early medieval North Indian style of architecture. The &#8216;Nagara&#8217; architectural style has been imbibed from Orissa, which is very unique for\u00a0the state of Himachal Pradesh. The history of Baijnath temple is inscribed on the stone slabs inside the complex.Baijnath Mandir was re-built by the two native merchants by the name of Ahuka and Manyuka in 1204 A.D.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"405\" src=\"https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/baijnath-temple.jpg\" alt=\"Baijnath or Vaidyanath - The Ancient temple of Palampur\" class=\"wp-image-12870\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/baijnath-temple.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/baijnath-temple-300x203.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/baijnath-temple-150x101.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:25px\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Festivals_and_events\"><\/span>Festivals and events<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The temple attracts a large number of tourists and pilgrims from all over India and abroad throughout the year.<br>Makara Sankranti, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/maha-shivratri-puja\/\">Maha Shivaratri<\/a>, Vaisakha Sankranti and Shravana Mondays are celebrated with great zeal and splendour. Every Monday of Shravan there is special puja and prayers offerred to Lord Baijnath. A five-day state level function is held here on Maha Shivratri every year. It is believed that all the desires and wishes of\u00a0the visitor of this temple will be fulfilled by Lord Baijnath.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Vaidyanath temple or more popularly known as Baijnath temple is a very ancient temple located in Palampur, in&nbsp;the Kangra &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/baijnath-vaidyanath-ancient-temple-palampur\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Baijnath or Vaidyanath &#8211; The Ancient temple of Palampur<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-rituals"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartpuja.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}