Mahakaleshwar Temple

Mahakaleshwar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is one of JYOTIRILINGAMS, located in the city of Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. The jyotirilinga shrines are the places where Shiva rose as a column of light. The deity here is in the form of linga deriving its power from “Shakti”and also symbolizes the infinite nature of Lord Shiva.

HISTORY

There is a story related to Mahakaleshwar Temple. Once there was a boy named Shrikar. He saw King Chandrasena worshipping Lord Shiva all day. He took a stone and started worshipping it considering as a linga. People considered it as a game of a child, but as his devotion increased, Lord Shiva took jyotirlinga form and started resided in the Mahakal forest.

It is also believed that there was a demon that attacked the residents of Avanti. Seeing all this Lord Shiva appeared from the ground and defeated the demon. All the people of Avanti requested Lord Shiva to stay, and Lord Shiva took permanent abode as MAHAKALESHWAR JYOTIRLINGA.

Mahakaleshwar Temple As a Shakti Peeth

“SHAKTI PEETH is the shrines that are enshrined with the presence of Shakti due to the falling of body parts of the corpse of goddess sati while LORD Shiva carried her. Each of 51 Shakti Peethas has shrines for Shakti and Kalabhairva. The upper lip of Sati Devi is said to be fallen here and Shakti is called as Mahakali.”

The Temple & Subsidiary Shrines

Idol of Mahakaleshwar is known as DAKSHINAMURTHI( Facing south)
Omkareshwar Mahadev
Ganesh
Parvati
Kartikeya
Nagachandresvara
Nandi

Pooja Timings

4:00 AM-11:00PM
All rituals like Archana, Abhishekaarti are regularly performed in the temple.
BHASM AARTI: It is the prime attraction of the temple; it is the only jyotirlinga temple where aarti is performed. The idol of the god is worshipped with the scared ashes brought from the Ghats, the ashes are applied to the lingam and prayers are performed.

Online tickets are also booked for this aarti; all you need is to apply a day in advance that too before 12:30 PM.

Festivals/Major Events

Mahashivratri
Nitya yatra: Devotees take bath in the holy sipra and then visits for darshan.
Sawari: The LORD passes through the streets on every Monday for a particular time period. This procession makes much more attractive on the Vijaydashami festival.

Tips for Visiting the Temple

If you do not want to stand in long queues then, you can purchase VIP passes which will cost for Rs 250 per person.
Carry your ID-proof for Bhasm aarti.
Women and men are required to wear sari and dhotis respectively during Bhasm aarti.

How to Reach

Nearest airport : Indore (51km away)
Nearest railway station: Ujjain junction, Vikram Nagar, Chintaman and Pingleshwar.
Bhopal will be nearest as compared to others via road (188km).