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Jharkhand Basukinath Temple
The temple of Basukinath is located in the Dumka district in the state of Jharkhand. The temple is situated on the highway that joins Deoghar and Dumka and is in the northwest direction at a distance of 25 km from Dumka. This is one of the famous pilgrims for Hindus. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and large number of devotees comes to visit the temple. The best time to visit the temple is during the time of Shravan. People from all over the country come to visit the temple.
The gate of both the temples are opened in the evening and during the duration when gates are opened no one is allowed to stand in front of the gates of both the temples because as per the beliefs of the priests of the temple this is the time when Lord Shiva and Mata Parvati meet each other. This is one of the most ancient temples of Lord Shiva. Along with the temples of Lord Shiva and Mata Parvati there are many other small temples of other deity and deities that are part of the compound of Basukinath temple.
Basukinath Mahatam and Basukinath Chalisa has been written in the Basukinath temple and have been written by Late Pandit Naina Lal Jha and Pradhan Tirth Purohit.
Architecture
There are temples of both Shiv and Parvati and they are constructed in a manner where they stand just in-front of each other.
How to Reach
By Rail
The nearest rail line to reach the temple is Basukinath Railway station. There is also a new rail line that is closer to reach temple is Jasidih Dumka rail line and is just at a distance of 75 km from Dumka. One can hire taxi or local buses to reach Dumka.
By Air
The nearest airport is the Ranchi airport. Local buses and Taxi can be hired to reach Dumka.
By Road
To reach via road one can take the Dumka Deoghar highway that is at a distance of 24 km from Dumka.
Attractions
Shravan Mela
The temple is famous for the Sharavan mela that is held in the months of July and August. The devotees reach this place from all over the country to offer the holy water of Ganges that they carry all along and walk on their foot and cover a distance of 135 km. They get this holy water from Sultanganj or Bhagalpur that are the districts in Bihar. The devotees who carry this holy water generally wear saffron clothes and they are available on all the stretch that goes from Bhagalpur to Basulinath. These devotees chant the “Bol Bam” all along their expedition to reach the temple. It takes them around 4 to 5 days to complete the journey. There are many rest places made all along this path for the rest of the pilgrims. Another group that takes part in this journey is named as “Dak Bam”. This group travels their entire journey without taking any break all along the journey that goes from Bhagalpur to Basukinath. After offering the holy water in the temple of Basukinath they later offer their prayers in the temple of Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga that is in Deogarh.
Ram Janki Vivah Utsav
The other festival celebrated by the Hindus in Basukinath temple is the Vivah Panchmi that has been associated with the marriage of Lord Ram and Mata Sita. This is celebrated on the Shukla paksha that falls on the fifth day or as per the Hindu calendar the Margashirsha month that fals in the months of November and December that is also known as a month of waxing phase of moon. Fowling people have been linked to the celebration of this festival in Basukinath and they are named as Late Pandit Nainalal Jha and Pradhan Tirth Purohit Baba Basukinath. They celebrated the festival with full zest and zeal. The baraat of Lord Rama is accompanied by the elephants and horses. This was named as “Palki Utsav”. In today’s time son of Late Pandit Nainalal Jha whose name is Pandit Tara Kant Jha performs the lead in the celebration of this festival.
Accomodation
There are many small and big hotels that vary in different budgets are available in Dumka. Pilgrims can stay in the hotels that suit their budget.
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