Ujjain is know as the city of Temples in India. There many famous temples to visit in Ujjain. In this article we are going to describe about Mahakaleshwar temple of Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.
Shree Mahakaleshwar temple is among 12 famous Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva in Ujjain. As the deity (Shivlinga) in the temple faces south direction and known as Dakshinmurti. The Lord is called Mahakaal as per a mythological belief. People who enjoys Darshan of Mahakaal can avoid ‘Akaal Mrityu’. That is death in a small age due to accident or fatal disease. The temple is located near the Rudrasagar Lake.
Mahakaleshwar Temple Ujjain Historical Importance
Apart from being the holy place of Jyotirlinga, this temple is famous among one of the 51 Shaktipeeths. It believes that the upper lip of Goddess Sati fell here when Lord Shiva carried her dead body. This shaktipeeths name is Mahakali.
Read Also: Kamakhya Devi Temple – Another story of Lord Shiva.
Regarding the history of the temple, name of king Chandrasena has been mentioned in ancient books. He was great devotee of Lord Shiva and he carried out the significance construction of the temple. Later, king Bhartrahari became the king of the Ujjain city and took care of the temple. During the year 1234 – 1235, the temple was destroyed by Sultan Shamsuddin Iltutmish during his raid to the city.
The renovation of the temple (present structure) was carried out in 1736 by the Maratha general Ranoji Scindia. The management and development of the temple were done by other members of the Scindia dynasty. The temple was under Devsthan’s trust which was later replaced with the municipal corporation of the city after independence. Now, the temple is under the Ujjain Collectorate Office.
Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga: Architecture
Shikhar of the temple built in a very creative manner with the utmost expertise of architecture and sculpturing. This sculptural finery of the shikhar offers a majestic appearance to the temple. When we reach the gate of the Mahakaleshwar Temple during winter vacation. We saw a huge crowd of devotees in the queues for darshan. The arrangements for proper queue and comfort of devotees are good there.
All the queues moved smoothly without any hassles. When we entered the primes, we could see the pictures of all 12 Jyotirlingas on the walls inside. The interior architecture was very grand and delightful; also the environment was divine enough to offer calmness to our body and soul.
We had the pleasure of Lord Darshan without any complications. The exit of the temple led us towards the open area in the temple premise. Some small temples are there with a speculating view have the same design as the main temple. In front of every temple, a miniature of a black marble bull is made called Nandi. It believes that saying your wishes in the ear of Nandi makes your wish become true.
Click for Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple, Ujjain Darshan
THINGS TO KNOW:
Q. Who Built Mahakaleshwar Temple?
A. Sultan Shamsuddin Iltutmish
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