Basukinath

Basukinath
city
Basukinath Show map of Jharkhand Basukinath Show map of India Location in Jharkhand, India
Coordinates: 24°23′N 87°05′E / 24.39°N 87.08°E / 24.39; 87.08Coordinates: 24°23′N 87°05′E / 24.39°N 87.08°E / 24.39; 87.08
Country	India
State	Jharkhand
District	Dumka
Languages
• Official	Hindi, Santali
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Vehicle registration	JH

Basukinath is a city and a notified area in Dumka district in the Indian state of Jharkhand.

Location

Basukinath is located in Dumka District of Jharkhand. It lies on the Deoghar – Dumka state highway and is around 25 km northwest of Dumka. It is a place of pilgrimage for Hindus. Basukinath Temple is the main attraction here.It is situated on Jasidih Dumka New Railway line and Basukinath Railway Station is the nearest railheads. Ranchi Airport is the nearest airport. It is situated at Jarmundi Block on Dumka Deoghar State Highway at a distance of 24 km from the District Headquarters Dumka. In a year lacs and lacs people from different parts of country come here to worship Lord Shiva. In the month of Shravan people of several country also come here to worship Lord Shiva. For more details, kindly follow :http://www.bababasukinath.com ^[1]

Demographics

As of the 2001 Indian census,^[2] Basukinath had a population of 14,119, males constituting 52% of the population and females 48%. Basukinath has an average literacy rate of 54%, lower than the national average of 59.5%; with 62% of the males and 38% of females literate. 17% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Religion

Basukinath serves as a place of pilgrimage for Hindus.^[3] The Basukinath Temple is a popular attraction.^[3]It is said that Basukinath temple is the court of Baba Bhole Nath. In Basukinath Dham, Shiva and Parvati temple are just in-front of each other. In the evening when gates of both the temples are opened then the devotees are suggested to move away from in-front of the gates as there is a belief that Lord Shiva and Mata Parvati meet each other at this time.^[4]

Shravan Mela

Basukinath is famous for the mela of Shraavana (a month of the Hindu calendar), between July and August. Many devotees visit the place from various parts of India and offer holy water of Ganges to the deity collected from Sultangunj, Bhagalpur district in Bihar, which is almost 135 km from Basukinath. An unbroken line of people in saffron-dyed clothes stretches over the path between Bhagalpur and Basukinath is seen during the fair. Whether Some pilgrims are called "Bol Bam" they put the holy water on the shivling after 4–5 days journey. They can stop many places during the journey. While some pilgrims which are called Dak Bam and they do not stop even once in their journey from Bhagalpur to Basukinath. The pilgrims to Basukinath later visit the Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga in Deogarh.^[5]

Ram Janki Vivah Utsav

Vivah Panchami is a Hindu festival celebrating the marriage of Ram and Sita. It is observed on the fifth day of the Shukla paksha or waxing phase of moon in the Margashirsha month (November – December) as per Hindu calendar. The day is observed as the Vivah Utsav of Sita and Rama in temples and sacred places associated with Sri Rama. Late Pandit Nainalal Jha, Pradhan Tirth Purohit Baba Basukinath, started the festival of "Ram Janki Vivah Utsav" in Basukinath. He used to celebrate this festival with lot of enthusiasm. A baraat which included elephants and horses participated in the procession. He used to call it "Palki Utsav". Prenently it is taken forward by his son Pandit Tara Kant Jha. For more details, kindly follow :http://www.bababasukinath.com/e/ramjankivivahutsav.html

References