A video recently went viral on social media in which an SPG commando was seen protecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi from getting hurt while doing Darshan in a temple. The incident took place at Baba Vaidyanath Temple in Deoghar in Jharkhand state.
As PM Narendra Modi completed the Puja rituals and stepped back to come out of the Sanctorum of the temple, he turned around to take Darshan of the deity for one last time. At this moment, he was standing just at the entrance of the Sanctorum which is built in stone masonry and has a low entrance. As the PM rose up, there was a chance of him getting his head hurt by the stones of the structure.
An SPG commando accompanying the PM instinctively extended his hand and spread his palm between the stone structure and the PM’s head, a moment before he got up.
— Janki (@jaankiii_) July 20, 2022
On 12th July 2022, PM Narendra Modi was on his tour to Jharkhand, where he inaugurated the Deoghar airport. During this tour, PM Modi also visited Baba Baidyanath Temple, which is one of the 12 Jyotirlingams of India. When PM Narendra Modi reached the Deoghar temple, he was greeted with Shankhnaad. PM Narendra Modi followed all the rituals to perform the Puja of Baba Baidyanath. Sardar Panda Gulab Nand Ojha and Purohit Shivshankar Naraune guided PM Modi in these rituals. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is known for his devotion to Lord Shiva.
Baba Baidyanath of Deoghar
The Baba Baidyanath Temple in Deoghar is considered to be one of the 12 sacred Shivlingas which are also known as Jyotirlingas in the country. The story behind this Jyotirlinga is linked to Ravana. Ravana, the mighty king of Lanka, was a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva. He pleased his deity and asked for a boon that Lord Shiva comes with him to Lanka and lives there forever. Lord Shiva, known for being kind to his worshippers, nodded and agreed to this and told Ravana that he will be there in Lanka in the form of a Shivling. So, he gave Ravana a Shivling with a condition that, if Ravana places it anywhere on the way to Lanka, Shivling will establish itself in that very place and Lord Shiva would proceed no further.
As Ravana left Lord Shiva’s abode Mount Kailash, there was unrest in the Kailash and amongst the Gods. Even Goddess Parvati did not want Lord Shiva to go to Lanka. Lord Vishnu found a way out with the help of Lord Ganesha who is the son of Lord Shiva. According to this, Lord Ganesh appeared as a shepherd in the jungles of Dandakaranya – presently one part of which falls in Jharkhand. On his return journey, when Ravana came to Dandakaranya, he was very thirsty. He spotted a shepherd in the jungle, who was actually Lord Ganesha himself. He asked the shepherd for some water. Lord Vishnu asked Lord Varuna to use his powers to fill all the water of a nearby lake in the water container of the shepherd. When Ravana emptied the container, he apparently had consumed a lake full of water to quench his thirst.
As Ravan needed to go to pee, he asked the shepherd to hold the Shivling and told him not to place it on the ground. But as Ravana went away, Lord Ganesha placed the Shivling there itself which is now called Baba Baidyanath. The name Baidyanath also comes with two reasons. One is that the shepherd Lord Ganesha appeared as was named Baiju. So Baidyanath means the Lord placed at the spot by Baiju. Another anecdote is that the area Dandakaranya is a jungle that was known to be home to many plants having medicinal usage. As a protector of that part of the land, Baba Baidyanath is the Lord worshipped by all the practitioners of ancient Indian medicine known as Vaidyas.
