Ujjain Kshetram

All the ancient Puranas say that many years ago there was a war between the devas (gods) and the daityas (demons) and the gods lost this war. They prayed to Vishnu to rescue them from the oppression of the demons. Vishnu told Brahma and the other gods that they should have a temporary truce with the demons. The two sides should get together to churn the ocean.
Vishnu would ensure that the devas benefited more from this churning of the ocean than the daityas did. The truce was agreed upon and the two sides got ready to churn the ocean. The mountain Mandara was used as a churning rod and great snake Vasuki as the rope for churning. The devas grasped Vasuki’s tail and the daityas grasped Vasuki’s head. But as the churning began, the mountain Mandara which had no base, started to get immersed in the ocean. What was to be done? Lord Vishnu came to the rescue. He took the form of a turtle and the peak was balanced on the turtle’s back. As the churning continued, 'Halakala' poison spewed out from the depths of the ocean killing every thing all round. To save the devas Siva swallowed the poison. To prevent the poison going into Siva's body Parvathi devi held his neck tight. The poison got stuck in Siva’s throat and the throat became blue. He is therefore known as Neelakantam (blue of throat). Shiva himself became reddish like a fire in "Jyothi swaroopam".  But the Siva puranam  speaks about how Mahakalar became luminous -Jyothir swaroopam. There was a brahmin called Vedhapriya living in Avanthi (current name is Ujjain). This place was located on the banks of the sacred river Shipra. He was a vedic scholar and he had four sons. They all were saivates - Lord Siva's followers.  Close to Avanthi there was a mountain kingdom called Ratnamala ruled by a cruel demon called Dooshanan. He did penance for many years to Brahma and gained strength and power. He was very proud and ill treated all the people of the country . He was giving more trouble to the devotees of Gods. One day according to his minister's advice Dooshanan occupied Avanthi.  All the pandits were very sad. Hence all went to pandit Vedhapriya's house. There Vedhapriya and his sons were doing Siva pooja. The pandits explained to Vedapriya and his sons about Dooshanas cruelty. Vedhapriya's first son Devapriya consoled them and told them "O vedha pandits we are all normal human beings. We are not strong enough to destroy the demon king. Do not worry, almighty Lord won't let us down. We will do our duty and for the rest God will look after."  Dooshan came to know all about this through his spies and went with his demon soldiers  to kill Vedapriya and his sons and destroy all Siva lingas.  Nearby the place where the people of that place had been taking mud to make Siva lingas for years and years became a shallow area like a pond. Suddenly there was an explosion and from the middle of this pond emerged a Siva linga luminous like a million suns and the heat of the light burnt King Dooshana and his army of demons. The Pandits worshiped the Linga and called it Maha Kallar Jyothir linga. Lord Siva in the Linga granted all the wishes of the devotees and to this day remains a protector of the universe. From the hearer the main deity, Siva linga form is believed to be a Swayambhu (Self Incarnation), deriving currents of power (Sakthi) from within itself as against the other images and lingas which are ritually established and invested with mantra-shakti. The idol of Mahakaleshwar is known to be dakshinamurti, facing the South. This is a unique feature, upheld by tantric tradition to be found only in Mahakaleshwar among the 12 jyotirlingas. The idol of Omkareshwar (Siva ) is dedicate in the sanctum above the Mahakaleswarer. The images of Ganesh Parvathi and Subramanyar are installed in the west, north and east of the sanctum sanctorum. To the south is the image of Nandhi. The idol of Nageswrer on the third storey is open for darshan only on the day of Nagapanchami . The temple has five levels one of which is underground. The temple itself is located in a spacious courtyard surrounded by massive walls near a lake. The sikaram  , acutely pointed pyramidal roof is decorated with sculptural decoration. Brass lamps light the way to the underground sanctum. This place is also one of a Sakthi peetam .. .Harsiddima sthalam at Ujjain is one of the 51 sacred devi sthals in India. The elbow bone from the burnt body of Maheswari Dhakshayani fell in this place. Hence the temple here dedicated to 'Devi Sri Harsiddi-maa' became one of devi's abodes. This temple is called Siddha peetam. In the sanctuary the shrines for Devi Sri Lakshmi and Sri Saraswathi are on the two sides. Harsiddimaa adorns the center. In this temple there is an idol of Maha-maya in an underground cave where there is also an 'akanda-jyothi'.  An inscription dated 1447 says that In the 13th century there was an ancient temple here and a river opposite to it. The Legendary  king Vikramaditya ruled over Ujjain. He is said to have worshiped in this temple. He was a great 'Devi upasaka' having mastered 'Ashta-maha-siddhi'. He ruled the kingdom for a long time. The famous poet and writer Kalidasa is reported to have worshiped Devi Sri Kali in Ujjain and received her blessings which transformed him from an illiterate cowherd to become the foremost Sanskrit scholar and writer of the ancient times.

Incidentally the soil around the Mangalnath temple - the consort of Devi- in Ujjain is said to be similar to the soil in the planet Mars. It is reported in a daily in ujjain that the western astronomers have averred that it is best to start a journey to mars from here as the distance is the shortest. The Siva linga here is situated right on the line of equator which gives it an added importance.

This temple recognized a special place in the galaxy of ancient sacred spots of Ujjain. The temple is dedicated to Annapoorani , seated between the idols of Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswathi., the Annapoorani is painted with a dark vermilion color. The Sri Yantra, the symbol of power or Sakthi, is also enshrined in this temple. The Skanda puranam says the manner in which the Chandi Devi acquired the Harsiddhi, means 'one who vanquishes all'. Further it says once Siva and Parvathi were alone in their abode Mount Kailash There were two demons named Chanda and Prasanda forcibly tried to go in. Lord Siva felt incline to bestowed upon Parvathi Harasiddhi.

The temple was reconstructed during the Maratha period and has two pillars adorned with lamps, which is a special features of Maratha art.

Other than this temples to visit:

•  Bada Ganesh Temple
•  Chintaman Ganesh Temple
•  Kala Bhairava temple
•  Mangalnath temple
•  Gopal Mandir
•  Navagraha Mandir (Triveni)
•  Ram Janardhan Temple.
•  Harihara Tirtha.
•  Mallikarjuna Tirtha.

Some interesting places other than Temples:

Pir Matsyendranath:

This is very attractive spot on the banks of Shipra River , quite close to the Bhartri Hari Caves and the Gaddess kalika temple. The shrine is dedicated to a leader of the Natha sect of Saivisam- Matsyendranath . inscriptions, monuments, and other such remains, especially those that have been excavated in the 6th and 7th century BC.

Siddhavat
Features an enormous Baniyan tree on the banks of the Shipra, considered sacred and extremely old one. This banyan tree has got the same significance as that of akshayavata in Prayag, Gaya, Vasistavatha in Vrindavan, Panchavadha of Nasik. Thousands of people take dip in the Shipra River from the bathing ghats built here. Traditionally belief that Parvathi devi performed penance in this place, . The little village of Bhairogarth near Siddhawat is famous for its tie-and-die printing for centuries. In ancient times, when the trade with other counties flourished, finely printed cloth from Bairograh used to find its way to Rome and China.

Bhartrihari Caves

The Bhartrihari caves belongs king vikramaditya's step brother and is believed he lived and meditated here after wordly life. His famous works, Shringarsathaka, Vairagyasthaka, and Nitishataka, were possibly written here.

Kaliadeh Palace

It is situated on the banks of Shipra river a beautiful ancient site. It is believed that there was once a majestic Sun temple at this site. The Avanti-mahatmyam of Skandha Puranam has recorded a descriptions of the Sun temple and two tanks, The Surya Kunda and the Brahma Kunda. Remains of old temple are scattered all around. A broken inscription of this place records building of the palace in 1458 AD, in the time of Mohamd Kilji The central dome of the palace is a beautiful example of Persian architecture. The palace was broken by the Pindaris and was restored by Madava Rao Scindia in 1920.

Sandipani ashram

Ujjain in ancient times, enjoyed the reputation of being a great seat of learning as early as the Mahabharatham period. According to ancient traditions, in the Asramam of Guru Sandipani, Krishna , Sudama received their education. The area near the ashrama is known as Ankapatha . The numerals 1 to 100 found on a stone are believed to have been engraved by Guru Sandipani There is a reference found in Siva puranam and Skandha puranam about the Gomthi Kundam . was the source of water supply to the ashrama in the olden days. An idol of Nandhi , belonging to the Sunga period, is to be found near the tank.

Durgadas Ki Chhatri

Durgadas a freedom fighter of Jodpur against the wishes of Auranzeb.. he died at Rampura in 1718, the funeral right performed in the bank of the river shipra . The rulers of Jodhpur built the Chatri as Memorial to Durgadas, . This structure built in Rajpur style of architecture, housed a statue of Durgadas which tumble down.

Gad kalika

Kalika Devi temple situated two miles away from the city of ujjian It is said that Poet Kalidasa worshiped this deity in this temple. this temple was renovated byHarshavardhana in the 7th century AD, and again during the Paramara period. The temple has been rebuilt in the modern time.

The shopping attractions:

Bamboo Work, Metal and Iron Craft, Tribal Accessories, carpets and Dhurries, Dhokra, Silk, Maheshwari and Chanderi Saris, Pottery, Leathe Items, Beaded Purses and Fabrics

Unconventional Tribal Jewellery, Terracotta Artifacts, Silk and Saris.

Ujjain : Outside Mahakaleswar Temple for lacquer ware, and bead work.

Warning: Bargaining skill is a must and check the prices of the Items from the locals before buying things.

The Transport details

Location:
Ujjain is about 4 hours journey by bus from Bhopal-
the Capital city of Madhya Pradesh.
Train services and taxis are also available. 

Bhopal well connected by train and air services

to allover India, and International as well.

For further details please contact local tourism board.

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