Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga
| Mahakaaleshwar or Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga | |
|---|---|
Mahashivratri | |
| Location | |
| Location | Ujjain |
| State | Madhya Pradesh |
| Country | India |
  Location in Madhya Pradesh | |
| Geographic coordinates | 23°10′58″N 75°46′6″E / 23.18278°N 75.76833°E |
| Website | |
| shrimahakaleshwar | |
Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga (IPA:
Madhya Pradesh has two Jyotirlingas, the second one, Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga, is situated about 140 km south of Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga.
About Jyotirlingas
As per the
The Temple
Dwarakadheesh temple
Ayodhya: Ram ki Paidi Har ki Pauri Varanasi: Dashashwamedh Ghat |
|---|
The idol of Mahakaleshwar is known to be dakshinamurthi, which means that it is facing the south.
The presiding deity of time, Shiva, in all his splendor, reigns eternally in the city of Ujjain. The temple of Mahakaleshwar, its shikhar soaring into the sky, an imposing façade against the skyline, evokes primordial awe and reverence with its majesty. The Mahakal dominates the life of the city and its people, even in the midst of the busy routine of modern preoccupations, and provides an unbreakable link with ancient Hindu traditions.
On the day of Maha Shivaratri, a huge fair is held near the temple, and worship goes on through the night.[10]
The Temple has a shrine for Parvati known as avantika devi(goddess of ujjain city) behind the palki dwar at the back side of Ram Temple.[11]
The Mahakaleshwar Temple as a Shakti Peeth
The shrine is revered as one of the 18 Maha Shakti Peetham.[12][13][14][not specific enough to verify]
References in Hindu scriptures
According to the
Upon hearing the pleas of His helpless devotees, Shiva appeared in his Mahakala form and destroyed the enemies of King Chandrasena. Upon the request of his devotees Shrikhar and Vridhi, Shiva agreed to reside in the city and become the chief deity of the Kingdom and take care of it against its enemies and to protect all His devotees. From that day on, Shiva resided in His light form as Mahakala in a Lingam that was formed on its own from the powers of Shiva and his consort, Parvati. Shiva also blessed his devotees and declared that people who worshipped Him in this form would be free from the fear of death and diseases. Also, they would be granted worldly treasures and be under the protection of the Shiva himself.
Bharthari was the elder son of King Gandharva-Sena, and received the kingdom of Ujjain from the celestial god Indra and the King of Dhara.
When Bharthari was king of 'Ujjayani' (modern-day Ujjain) in his state there lived a Brahman who after years of austerities was given the fruit of immortality from the celestial tree of Kalpavriksha. The Brahman presented the same to his monarch, Raja Bharthari, who in turn, passed it on to his love, the beautiful, Pinglah Rani or Ananga Sena Raja Bhartrhari's last and youngest wife. The queen, being in love with the Head police officer of the state, Mahipaala, presented the fruit to him, who further passed it on to his beloved, Lakha, one of the maids of honour. Eventually, Lakha being in love with the king presented the fruit back to the king. Having completed the circle, the fruit revealed the downsides of infidelity to the king, he summoned the queen and ordered her beheading, and ate the fruit himself. After that, he abdicated the throne, and became a religious mendicant.
He later became a disciple of Pattinatthar who first indulged in an argument about samsari and sanyasi with king Bhartrhari. Later during the conversation pattinathar said that all women have 'dual mind' and it might be the true case even with Parameswari. King conveyed this news to Rani Pingalah and she ordered Pattinathar to get punished and to sit in kalu maram (tree, whose top portion would be sharpened like a pencil and whole tree is fully coated with oil, a person who is punished to sit in the top will be split into two pieces), they tried to kill Pattinathar, but Kalu Maram started burning and nothing happened to Pattinathar, the king received the news and went directly to Pattinathar and asked him to get ready to die the next day, but Pattinathar replied, "I'm ready right now, to die". The next day king came with tears in his eyes and released saint from jail because he actually noticed Queen Pingalah in love with horsemen that night, He threw away his empire, wealth, even full coat dress and dressed in a simple kovanam (loincloth), the king became a disciple of Pattinatthar and got moksha (salvation) in the Srikalahasteeshwara Temple in Andhra Pradesh which houses the Vayu Lingam, a part of the Pancha Bhoota Sthalams of Shiva.[15]
History
The temple complex was destroyed by Iltutmish during his raid of Ujjain in 1234–35.[17][18][19] The Jyotirlinga was dismantled and believed to be thrown into a nearby 'Kotiteerth Kunda' (a pond neighbouring the temple) with the Jaladhari (a structure supporting the Lingam) stolen during the invasion.[20] It was later reconstructed and revived by Maratha Diwan, Ramachandra Baba SukthankarRamchandara Malhar.[21]
After India became independent in 1947, the Mahakaleshwar Dev Sthan Trust was replaced by the municipal corporation of Ujjain. Nowadays it is under the collectorate office of Ujjain district.[17][18][19]
Connectivity
Nearest Airport: Indore[22][23] - The journey from Indore Airport to Ujjain Mahakaleshwar Temple takes approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes, covering a distance of 58 kilometers by road.
Nearest Railway Station: Ujjain Junction - The Mahakaleshwar Temple is 2 km by road from Ujjain Railway Station.
See also
- Ancient monuments in Ujjain
- Pashupathinath temple
- Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga
References
- ^ a b R. 2003, pp. 92-95
- ^ Eck 1999, p. 107
- ^ See: Gwynne 2008, Section on Char Dham
- ^ a b Lochtefeld 2002, pp. 324-325
- ^ Harding 1998, pp. 158-158
- ^ Vivekananda Vol. 4
- ^ Chaturvedi 2006, pp. 58-72
- ISBN 978-81-87952-12-1.
- better source needed]
- ^ "Ujjain temple".
- ^ "उज्जैन में एक नहीं, दो-दो शक्तिपीठ : एक हरसिद्धि, दूसरा अवंतिका देवी | Avantika Devi Shaktipeeth is set in the Mahakal temple". Patrika News. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
- ISBN 1419186418.
- ISBN 1417930160.
- ^ "Kottiyoor Devaswam Temple Administration Portal". Kottiyoor Devaswam. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- ISBN 81-7017-415-5
- ISSN 0970-8901.
- ^ ISBN 9781843530893.
- ^ ISBN 9780070635777.
- ^ a b Mahajan, Vidya Dhar (1965). Muslim rule in India. S Chand & Co. p. 80.
- ^ Archaeological Survey of India. "CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CIVIL APPEAL NO. 4676 2018 - Section 1.2 - RELIGIOUS AND HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE" (PDF). Supreme Court of India. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
- ^ Abhang, C.J. (2018–19). "The Religious Policy of the Marathas in Malwa" (PDF). Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 79: 323–328 – via JSTOR.
- ^ "How to Reach | Ujjain Division | India".
- ^ "Shree Mahakaleshwar".
Notes
- Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend, ISBN 0-500-51088-1, by Anna Dhallapiccola
- Chaturvedi, B. K. (2006), Shiv Purana (First ed.), New Delhi: Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd, ISBN 81-7182-721-7
- Eck, Diana L. (1999), Banaras, city of light (First ed.), New York: Columbia University Press, ISBN 0-231-11447-8
- Gwynne, Paul (2009), World Religions in Practice: A Comparative Introduction, Oxford: Blackwell Publication, ISBN 978-1-4051-6702-4.
- Harding, Elizabeth U. (1998). "God, the Father". Kali: The Black Goddess of Dakshineswar. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 156–157. ISBN 978-81-208-1450-9.
- Lochtefeld, James G. (2002), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M, Rosen Publishing Group, p. 122, ISBN 0-8239-3179-X
- R., Venugopalam (2003), Meditation: Any Time Any Where (First ed.), Delhi: B. Jain Publishers (P) Ltd., ISBN 81-8056-373-1
- Vivekananda, Swami. "The Paris Congress of the History of Religions". The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda. Vol. 4.
External links
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