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UNIQUENESS
The sacred
shrine enshrining the Sivalinga with the marks of club on the top lies in Parli
and it is one of the twelve jyotirlingas adored over centuries by people in
their lacs. Surprisingly enough, many places in India are claiming this honour;
and strange to hear they are called Vaidyanath temples. And at each place, the
sthalagnas - local guides narrate elaborate accounts and corroborate them with
some evidence or the other. Among them, the temple at Deogarh in the Santhal
parganas in Bengal is one, another at Gangakhed in Maharastra, one more at
Kiragram in Punjab, and yet one more at Dakhoi are a few that are laying claims
and worshipping the Jyotirlingas of those places as one of the twelve
Jyothirlingas. And the story narrated about its origin too more or less is
similar and concurs in the essential aspects like the Sivalinga was brought here
by Ravana and given to him by Lord Siva himself. The deity is called Vaidya-surgeon
for the act of transplanting the nine heads of Ravana severed by him to obtain
boons. Each is a Saiva kshetra redolent of sivalilas. Festivals like
Mahasivaratri are celebrated with great eclat when thousands of devotees
congregate and offer several kinds of pujas. The thirthas of the places are
connected with Ravana and their efficacy is still felt when bathed, and hence
they are luring pilgrims round the year since the Treta yuga.
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