Situated by the side of Rudrasagar Lake is Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga, a third of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. The temple is popular for proving unparalleled peace of mind and serenity. Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga is quite an ancient pilgrimage destination. It is believed that Parmar Raja Bhoj built this temple around 1050 AD. After this, Maharaja Ranoji Scindia restored the temple in 1732. It was constructed in the 5th decade of the 18th century.
History is evident that Ujjain was ruled by Yawans from 1107 to 1728 AD. The ancient religious traditions of Hindus, which were established about 4500 years of Avanti during their reign, were destroyed. But in 1690 AD, the Marathas invaded the Malwa region and on 29 November 1728, the Maratha rulers established their authority in the Malwa region. After this, Ujjain regained the lost glory and from 1731 to 1809 the city remained the capital of Malwa. The reconstruction of Mahakaleshwar temple and Jyotirlinga took place.
Jyotirlinga means the place where Lord Shiva had established himself. In the compositions of great poets like Puranas, Mahabharata, and Kalidas, this temple has been described beautifully. In the Puranas, the name of Shiva came in the form of ‘Rudra’. Rudra is the god of wars and welfare. Like Vishnu, many other incarnation forms of Shiva are described in the Puranas. The importance of Shiva is the highest among all other deities of the Puranas.
Some scholars also believe that Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga is the center point of the whole earth, and King Lord Mahakal of the entire world is here to feed the earth. So this temple has great importance. Here devotees are fascinated, but few people know about how Lord Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga was born. Today we will tell you that Jyotirlinga was manifested by twelve-ray of the Sun God.
King Chandrasena of Ujjain was a great devotee of Lord Shiva and he uses to worship Lord Shiva. Shrikhar, a son of a farmer came to inform the king that the rivals of Ujjain Ripudaman and Singh Aditya are strategically planning to attack Ujjain. King started praying to Lord Shiva to save and protect his city. In the mean, the city was attacked by the rival kings and they were successful in plundering the city and started attacking the devotees of Lord Shiva.
By seeing the devotion of the king and the priest, Lord Shiva emerged as Mahakal and defeated Ripudaman and Singh Aditya. At the request of Shrikhar and Vridhi, Mahakal agreed to stay in Ujjain to protect the city and his devotees.
Anyone who worships the lingam is supposed to be free from death and diseases and is also blessed by the Lord for the rest of his life.
It is said that when the universe was created, the first 12 rays of the sun fell on the earth. All the 12 Jyotirlingas were made by these 12 initial rays of the sun. Ujjain Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga is also built from one of the sun’s first 12 rays. Since then, Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain is worshipped by devotees. The entire land of Ujjain is called the “Usar Bhumi”. i.e. the land of Cremation. The face of Lord Mahakal is towards the south direction, hence, the Ujjain Mahakala temple has very special significance in terms of system actions. For information, please let me tell you that Lord Sri Krishna also took his education from Ujjain. Ujjain’s fame has been seen as a religious city since ancient times. There was a long reign of King Maharaja Vikramaditya.
The pinnacle of the three-storied temple has been built in a very artistic way with the supreme proficiency of architecture and sculpturing. The sculpture on the top of the temple offers a magnificent appearance to the temple. The pictures of all the 12 Jyotirlingas are well crafted on the walls inside. The visitors can enjoy a glimpse of Nagchandreshwar on the festive of Naga Panchami.
In the city of Mahakal, Lord Harsidhi, Kalbhairav, Vikrant Bhairav, etc. is the Lord. There are many temples of several deities in the Mahakaleshwar Temple complex in Ujjain. From the main gate to Mahakal’s Darshan, the devotees queue up to reach there.
The temple also has an ancient “Kund” aka “Koti Tirtha” that is said to be holy by bathing here, all the problems of sins and crises are washed off. Mahakaleshwar temple is in three sections. In the lower part, Mahakaleshwar is himself. In the middle part is Omkareshwar. In the upper part, Lord Nagchandreshwar is there.
Mahakalesvara’s lingam is quite huge. The silver-coated Naga Jaladhari and the adorned and obscure silver plate wrapping the roof of “Garbhagriha” give that added richness to the shrine. Other than the Jyotirlinga, you can even find interesting images of Ganesa, Kartikeya, and Goddess Parvati in the Garbhagriha.
Pooja Timings at Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga
How to Reach Mahakaleshwar Temple?
By Train: Ujjain is well connected to all major railway stations like Ahmadabad, Mumbai, Indore, Jabalpur, Delhi, Banaras, Hyderabad, and Jaipur.
By Road: Many buses run between Ujjain to Indore, Gwalior, Ahmadabad, and Bhopal.
By Air: The nearest airport is Ahilya-Devi Airport in Indore which is 60 km from Ujjain. The airport has wide domestic & international air connectivity.
Best Months to visit?
Jan, Feb, Mar, Oct, Nov, and Dec are considered the best time to visit the Shree Mahakaleshwar temple.
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Explore the beauty of the top places to visit in Ujjain and here we will provide you with a Ujjain Trip Guide. It will help you to know all about this place if you want to make your journey to Ujjain. About Ujjain: Ujjain is an ancient city in the Indian state which is located in Madhya Pradesh, this temple popular tourist destination because it is home to the Mahakaleshwar Temple. In this p...