Mahakaleshwar Temple - Ujjain
Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingams, shrines which are said to be the most sacred abodes of Lord Shiva. The temple is among the most famous temples of India. It is located in the ancient city of Ujjain in the state of Madhya Pradesh on the banks of Rudra Sagar lake in India. The temple is situated on the side of the holy river Shipra. The presiding deity, Lord Shiva in the lingam form is believed to be Swayambhu, deriving currents of power (Shakti) from within itself as against the other images and lingams that are ritually established and invested with mantra-shakti.
Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga
Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingams, shrines which are said to be the most sacred abodes of Lord Shiva. The temple is among the most famous temples of India. It is located in the ancient city of Ujjain in the state of Madhya Pradesh on the banks of Rudra Sagar lake in India. The temple is situated on the side of the holy river Shipra. The presiding deity, Lord Shiva in the lingam form is believed to be Swayambhu, deriving currents of power (Shakti) from within itself as against the other images and lingams that are ritually established and invested with mantra-shakti.
About Jyotirlingas
As per the Hindu Shiva Purana, Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu once had an argument over who was supreme in the creation. To test them, Shiva pierced the three worlds as an endless pillar of light, the jyotirlinga. Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma decide to travel along the pillar downwards and upwards respectively, to find the end of the light. Brahma lied that he had found the end, while Vishnu conceded his defeat. Shiva appeared as a second pillar of light and cursed Brahma that he would have no place in ceremonies while Vishnu would be worshipped till the end of eternity. The jyotirlinga is the supreme partless reality, out of which Shiva partly appears. The jyotirlinga shrines, thus are places where Shiva appeared as a fiery column of light. There are 64 forms of Shiva, not to be confused with Jyotirlingas. Each of the twelve jyotirlinga sites take the name of the presiding deity - each considered different manifestation of Shiva. At all these sites, the primary image is lingam representing the beginningless and endless Stambha pillar, symbolizing the infinite nature of Shiva. The twelve jyotirlinga are Somnath in Gujarat, Mallikarjuna at Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh, Mahakaleswar at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh, Kedarnath in Himalayas in Uttrakhand State, Bhimashankar in Maharashtra, Viswanath at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Triambakeshwar in Maharashtra, Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga, Parali| Vaidyanath at Parali in Maharashtra or at Baijnath in Himachal Pradesh, Nageswar at Dwarka in Gujarat, Rameshwar at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and Grishneshwar at Aurangabad in Maharashtra.
There is a big campus in this temple surrounded by large walls. There are five levels in this temple, one of which is underground. In this temple, Omkareshwar Mahadev Linga is placed in upper part of the temple in Garbha-graha. The idols of Ganesha, Parvati and Katikeya are placed in West, north and East garbha-graha. The idols of the Nandi, the vehicle of Lord Shiva is placed in South.
Mahakaleshwar temple Ujjain is one among the 12 jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva. It is very famous and big temple. Here Lord Shiva is present in the form of a Linga. One of the quality of this temple is that the Linga of Lord Shiva is facing South in this temple only and because of this reason this temple is also known as Dakshin-mukhi Mahakaleshwar. The Shiv-linga here is Swayambhu which means that the Shiv-linga here originated from the Mother Earth.
There is a story associated with the establishment of Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga. According to the story, there was a king named Vrushbhasen in the Avantika state. King Vrushbhasen was a great devotee of Lord Shiva who used to spent a lot of time daily in the devotion and praise of Lord Shiva. A king from a neighbouring state once attacked his state and King Vrushbhasen was able to defeat him with his courage and valour. At this, the defeated king decided to attack him again using another way and took help from a demon who had a boon to become invisible. The demon used his boon and attacked King Vrushbhasen many times. To protect the kingdom from the demon, the king Vrushbhasen decided to take shelter at Lord Shiva’s feet.
Listening to the prayers of His devotee, Lord Shiva appeared there and saved the kingdom from the demon. The King then prayed to the Lord Shiva and requested Him to stay there for the protection of the people from the demon in the future also. The Lord Shiva agreed to his request and appeared in the form of Jyotirlinga there. Since the Mahakaleshwar is worshipped in Ujaain.
The devotees also see the ash(bhasm) used during worship of Lord Shiva otherwise they feel that the punya is reduced. Because of this reason to have a glimpse of the ash, there is a big congregation of devotees at the time of aarti. During the aarti, the burning ash is used to decorate Mahakaleshwar.
There is a kund near to Dakshin-mukhi Mahakaleshwar. The kund is also known as Koti kund. It is believed that this kund has water from different pilgrims(teertha).
Because of this, the devotees get the same fruits after taking bath in this kund as in other pilgrims. This kund was established by the great devotee of Lord Rama, Hanumana. The festival of MahaShivratri is celebrated with great shows and a big fete is also organised on this festival here.
Short information
Location : Mahakaleshwar Road, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.
Timings : Opening Time 3.00 am to 11.00 pm,
Aarti Timing Winter :
Morning Pooja :7.00 am to 7.30 am.
Mid-day Pooja :10.00 am to 10.30 am
Evening Pooja- 5.00 pm to 5.30 pm.
Aarti Shree Mahakal : 7.00 pm to 7.30 pm
Summer :
Morning Pooja :7.30 am to 8.00 am.
Mid-day Pooja :10.30 am to 11.00 am
Evening Pooja- 5.30 pm to 6.00 pm.
Aarti Shree Mahakal : 7.30 pm to 8.00 pm.
Nearest Railway Station : Ujjain Railway Station, The temple is located at a distance of about approx 2 km from the railway station.
Nearest Airport: Indore Airport, which is around 53 km away from the temple.
Mahakaleshwar Temple Management Committee, Ujjain.