Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga, also known as Baidyanath, Vaijnath and Baijnath is one of the twelve

Jyotirlinga A Jyotirlinga () or Jyotirlingam is a devotional representation of the Hindu god Shiva. The word is a Sanskrit compound of ('radiance') and ('sign'). The Śiva Mahāpurāṇam (also ''Shiva Purana'') mentions 64 original ''jyotirlinga'' ...

s, the most sacred abodes of

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

. However, the location of the Jyotirlinga is contested as the Government of India hasn't notified one of these temples as the Jyotirlinga. The claimed temples with their locations are: * Shri Vaijnath Temple,

Parli, Maharashtra Parli Vaijnath is a city and a municipal council in Beed district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Parli is Second largest city in terms of size and population in Bid district. It is the headquarters of the Parli taluka of Beed district.There ...

Baidyanath Temple Baidyanath Temple (IAST: Baidyãnath), also known as Baba Baidyanath Dham, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. It is located in Deoghar, in the Santhal Parganas division of the Indian state of Jharkhand. The temple complex comprises the cent ...

Deoghar, Jharkhand Deoghar (pronounced ''Devghar'') is a city and a Municipal corporation (India), municipal corporation in Deoghar district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Jharkhand. It is also the administrative headquarters of Deoghar ...

Baijnath Temple Baijnath Temple (Devanagari: बैजनाथ मंदिर) is a Nagara style Hindu temple situated in a small town of Baijnath located in Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh, India, and was built in 1204 AD by two local merchants named Ahuk ...

Kangra, Himachal Pradesh Kangra is a city and a municipal council in Kangra district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Himachal Pradesh. It is also known as ''Nagarkot''. Meaning of Kangra Kangri word in Ladakh/Lahaul means snow on top of moun ...

Background

In ''Dvādaśa Jyotirliṅga Smaranam'', the 12 jyotirlingas are described as follows: While in ''Dvādaśa Jyotirliṅga Stotram'', the 12 jyotirlingas are described as follows: All three temples are reluctant to relinquish their claim despite the ancient Stotram mentioned Shri Vaijnath Temple of parali

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

Additionally, In January 2018,

Government of Madhya Pradesh The Government of Madhya Pradesh (abbreviated as MP) or Madhya Pradesh Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and its 55 districts. It consists of an executive, led by the governor of Madhya Prade ...

and the management committee of

Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga () is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, shrines which are said to be the most sacred abodes of Shiva. It is located in the ancient city of Ujjain in the state of Madhya Pradesh, I ...

organized a congregation of priests from all the 12 Jyotirlingas where the priests from Shri Vaijnath Temple was invited. The priest community of

Deoghar Deoghar (pronounced ''Devghar'') is a city and a municipal corporation in Deoghar district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is also the administrative headquarters of Deoghar district. It is a holy place of Hinduism. The city is primarily ...

took strong exception to this move and registered their protest with the

and the management committee of

References

Jyotirlingas {{Hindu-temple-stub