The temple’s founding legend centers on Ravana, the demon king of Lanka, who is said to have performed intense penance in the Himalayas to please Lord Shiva, offering nine of his own heads in sacrifice. As he prepared to offer his tenth, Shiva appeared, moved by his devotion, and granted him a boon: the Atma Linga, a portable form of himself. Shiva warned Ravana never to set the linga down before reaching Lanka, or it would root itself permanently at that spot. Through divine intervention — the gods, wary of Ravana gaining such power, arranged for him to be tricked into setting the linga down at Deoghar — the Jyotirlinga came to rest there instead, and Shiva is said to have healed Ravana’s wounds afterward, earning him the name Vaidyanath, the Lord of Physicians.

Historically, the temple’s prominence is documented from at least the 8th century AD, during the reign of the Gupta emperor Adityasena, making it one of the older continuously worshipped Jyotirlinga sites in India. Records also note a visit by the Mughal emperor Akbar in the 16th century, reflecting the temple’s standing across shifting political eras. Over the centuries, the site drew patronage from regional rulers, including the Maharaja of Gidhaur, whose gold vessel donations still crown the temple spire today. The temple gained further prominence during British colonial rule, when pilgrimages to Deoghar were documented in growing numbers, and the Shravani Mela expanded into the mass pilgrimage it is today. In more recent times, a formal temple trust — the Baba Baidyanath Temple Management Board — was established to manage daily operations, pilgrim facilities, and charitable activities at the site.