Deoghar district


The Deoghar district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state in eastern India. Deoghar, the central city of the district, is also its administrative headquarters. This district is known for the Baidyanath Jyotirlinga shrine and is a part of the Santhal Pargana division. Deoghar is a Hindi word meaning abode of the Gods and Goddesses. Deoghar is also known as “Baidyanath Dham,” “Baba Dham,” and “B. Deoghar.”

History

The district was formed on 1 June 1981 by separating it from the former Santhal Pargana district.

Geography

The Deoghar district is located in western portion of Santhal Parganas. It shares its boundary with Banka and Jamui districts in the north, Dumka in the east, Jamtara in the south, and Giridih in the west. The district extends from 24.0.03' N to 23.0.38' N and from 86.0.28' E to 87.0.04' E; it has an area of 2481 km2. It had a population of people according to the 2011 Census of India.
The district contains several clusters of rocky hills covered by forest with a series of long ridges with intervening depressions. Most of the rolling highlands are cultivated by highland crops. The average elevation of the district is 247 m above mean sea level. There are some hill ranges like Phuljari, Teror, and Degaria. The general slope of the district descends to the southeast. Geologically, the district is mainly covered by Chhota Nagpur granite gneiss of Archean age with patches of alluvium, sandstone, and shale of Gondwana formations. Important rivers flowing in the district include the Ajay and the Paltro. These rivers gather a large number of tributaries that form the landscape full of Tanrs and Dons.

Cities and villages

Madhupur, Chitra, Sarsa Kushmaha, Majhiyana, Tharidulampur, Jamua, Charakmara, Palojori, Devipur, Sarwan, Sarath, Karon, Mohanpur, Rohni, Babangaua, Ghorlash, Jasidih, Koridih, Raihdih, Gidhaiya, Kalyanpur, Jitjori.

Climate

The district experiences hot summers which usually last from March to May. Heavy monsoon rains occur from June to September. Winters are cool, dry and generally last from October to February. The average annual rainfall is 1239 mm, mean summer maximum temperature is 43 °C, and the mean winter minimum temperature is 8 °C.
It is one of the 21 districts in Jharkhand currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme.

Sub Divisions and Blocks

The district is composed of two subdivisions: Deoghar and Madhupur.
The district comprises ten blocks: Deoghar, Karon, Madhupur, Mohanpur, Palojori, Sarath, Devipur, Margomunda, Sarwan, and Sonaraithari.
There are 3 Vidhan Sabha constituencies in this district: Madhupur, Sarath, and Deoghar. Madhupur and Deoghar are part of the Godda Lok Sabha constituency, while Sarath is part of Dumka Lok Sabha constituency.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, Deoghar district has a population of 1,492,073, which ranks it the 337th most populated district in India.
The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 28.02%. Deoghar has a sex ratio of 921 females to 1000 males and a literacy rate of 66.34%. 12.7% of the population is from Scheduled Castes, 12.1% from Scheduled Tribes.
At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 65.39% of the population in the district spoke Khortha, 13.92% Hindi, 9.83% Santali, 6.71% Urdu, and 2.19% Bengali as their first language.

Culture

Tourist Attractions

The city is holy and home to the Baidyanath Dham Temple.
  1. Baidyanath Dham: The Baba Baidyanath Temple complex enshrines a Jyotirlinga, along with 12 other temples. Located in Deoghar in the Santhal Parganas division of the state of Jharkhand in India, this large temple complex comprises the main temple of Baba Baidyanath, where the Jyotirlinga is installed, along with twenty-one other temples. The temple is mentioned in several ancient scriptures and continues to be mentioned even in modern-day history books. The story of the origin of this Jyotirlinga goes back to the Treta Yuga, in the era of Lord Rama. According to popular Hindu beliefs, the demon Ravana, king of Lanka, was injured and worshipped Shiva where the temple is currently located. Ravana offered his ten heads one after the other as a sacrifice to Lord Shiva. Pleased with this act, Shiva proceeded to descend to the Earth to cure Ravana. Since Shiva had acted as a doctor, he is referred to as "Vaidhya", and it is from this aspect of Shiva that the temple derives its name.
  2. Tapovan Caves and Hills: This series of caves and hills is located 10 km from Deoghar and has a temple of Shiva called Taponath Mahadeva. In one of the caves a Shiva lingam is installed, and it is said that Sage Valmiki came here for penance.
  3. Naulakha Mandir: It is a temple located 1.5 km from the 146 ft. high main temple. It is very similar to the temple of Ramakrishna in Belur and it is dedicated to Radha-Krishna. Since its construction cost ₹9 lakh, it is also known as Naulakha temple.
  4. Basukinath Temple: Basukinath is a place of worship for Hindus and is located in the Dumka district of Jharkhand on the Deoghar-Dumka state highway. Pilgrims visit the temple each year from all of India to worship the presiding deity Shiva. The crowd at the temple drastically increases in the month of Shravan. It is widely believed that the Basukinath Temple is the court of Baba Bhole Nath. The temples of Shiva and Parvati are located in front of each other in the Basukinath Temple. The gates to both of these temples open in the evening, and it is believed that Shiva and Parvati meet each other at this time. Devotees are asked to move away from the front gates of the temple. Other small temples that are dedicated to different Gods and Goddesses can also be found inside the compound.
  5. Satsang Nagar
  6. Rikhiyapith
  7. Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith
  8. Balanand shram

    Saawan Mela

The importance of Babadham increases during the month of Shrawan. During this period, many devotees crowd into the Baba Baidyanath temple. Most of the tourists first visit Sultanganj, which is 108 km from Babadham.
In Sultanganj, the Ganges flows to the north. Devotees collect water from the river in their kanwars and walk 109 km up to Baba Baidyanath temple at Babadham, reciting Bol Bam on the way.
On reaching Babadham, the kanwarias first take a dip in the Shivaganga to purify themselves and then enter the Baba Baidyanath temple, where the Ganges water is offered to the Jyotirlingam.
This pilgrimage continues during the whole of Shravan for 30 days, from July–August. This is the longest religious fair in the world.
The sight on the way from Sultanganj to Babadham is of a 109 km long human chain of saffron-clad pilgrims. It is estimated that during Shravan around 5.0 to 5.5 million pilgrims visit Babadham.
Besides the great pilgrimage of Shrawan, almost the whole year remains decently crowded with Shivaratri in March, Basant Panchami in January, Bhadra Purnima in September.
Also, here Rikhiya ashram famous in the world for its meditation camp along with the Ramniwas Ashram of Saint Balanand Brahmachari, Mohan Mandir of Mohananand Swami, Kailash Pahar Ashram-Jasidih of Swami Hansdev Avadhoot.

Education

Deoghar College in Deoghar city was founded in 1951. It is one of the constituent colleges of Sido Kanhu Murmu University at Dumka.
Other colleges include AS College and RD Bajla Mahila College.
Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, Deoghar is a residential school founded in 1922 and is known for its quality education in the secondary and higher secondary section. It is known as Bangla Vidyapith among the locals. This school is run and managed by Rama Krishna Math, Belur, and Kolkata. It has a residential secondary and senior secondary school, a well-equipped charitable medical unit with modern diagnostic facilities, a centre for academic coachings to school-going children from the surrounding low-income families, vocational training courses for local school drop-outs under the auspices of National Open School, and occasional activities of relief and rehabilitation work.
Recently a branch of B.I.T Meshra, Ranchi opened an extension centre in Deoghar district. It admits students through the JEE entrance examination and counseling.
Recently a new school Takshashila Vidyapith, Deoghar, has also been built with the latest facilities. There are two branches of the G.D. D.A.V. Public School: the G.D D.A.V. Public School Bhandarcola in the city suburbs, and G.D. D.A.V. Public School Castair's Town in the town center, near Tower Chowk.
A branch of All India Institute of Medical Science opened in 2019 at the extension centre in Deoghar district. It admits students through the AIIMS entrance examination and counseling. AIIMS Deoghar is conceptualized to have a hospital equipped with 750 beds, trauma centre facilities, and a medical college with an intake of 50 MBBS students in the first batch of 2019.