Ujjain: Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga temple
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Contents |
A backgrounder
Divya A, Oct 11, 2022: The Indian Express
After Vishwanath temple in Varanasi and the Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand, Mahakal temple is the third ‘jyotirlinga’ site to see a major upliftment exercise. The Rs 800-crore Mahakal corridor is four times the size of the Kashi Vishwanath corridor, which the PM had inaugurated late last year.
Why does the Mahakal temple in Ujjain hold a high significance in Hinduism? We explain.
Puranas say that Lord Shiva pierced the world as an endless pillar of light, called the jyotirlinga. There are 12 jyotirlinga sites in India, considered a manifestation of Shiva. Besides Mahakal, these include Somnath and Nageshwar in Gujarat, Mallikarjuna in Andhra Pradesh, Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh, Kedarnath in Uttarakhand, Bhimashankar, Triyambakeshwar and Grishneshwar in Maharashtra, Viswanath at Varanasi, Baidyanath in Jharkhand, and Rameshwar in Tamil Nadu.
Mahakal is the only jyotirlinga facing the south, while all the other jyotirlingas face east. This is because the direction of death is believed to be the south. In fact, people worship Mahakaleshwar to prevent an untimely death.
A local legend says that there once was a king called Chandrasena who ruled Ujjain and was a Shiva devotee. The Lord appeared in his Mahakal form and destroyed his enemies. Upon the request of his devotees, Shiva agreed to reside in the city and become its chief deity.
The Mahakal temple finds a mention in several ancient Indian poetic texts. In the early part of the Meghadutam (Purva Megha) composed in the 4th century, Kalidasa gives a description of the Mahakal temple. It is described as one with a stone foundation, with the ceiling on wooden pillars. There would be no shikharas or spires on the temples prior to the Gupta period.
The city of Ujjain was also one of the primary centres of learning for Hindu scriptures, called Avantika in the 6th and 7th centuries BC. Later, astronomers and mathematicians such as Brahmagupta and Bhaskaracharya made Ujjain their home.
Also, as per the Surya Siddhanta, one of the earliest available texts on Indian astronomy dating back to the 4th century, Ujjain is geographically situated at a spot where the zero meridian of longitude and the Tropic of Cancer intersect. In keeping with this theory, many of Ujjain temples are in some way connected to time and space, and the main Shiva temple is dedicated to Mahakal, the lord of time. In the 18th century, an observatory was built here by Maharaja Jai Singh II, known as the Vedh Shala or Jantar Mantar, comprising 13 architectural instruments to measure astronomical phenomena.
It is said that during the medieval period, Islamic rulers gave donations to priests for offering prayers here. In the 13th century, the temple complex was destroyed by Turk ruler Shams-ud-din Iltutmish during his raid on Ujjain. The present five-storeyed structure was built by the Maratha general Ranoji Shinde in1734, in the Bhumija, Chalukya and Maratha styles of architecture. A century later, its marble walkways were restored by the Scindias.
Unique south-facing Shivalinga
August 14, 2024: The Times of India
The Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, is one of the most holy temples of Lord Shiva. It is one of the few temples where ‘Bhasm aarti’ (worship with ashes) is done and devotees flock from far and wide to see this form of Lord Shiva.
And while the ‘Bhasm’ used is made from burning organic things like tree barks, cow dung, and the likes, it is said that a long time ago the Bhasm aarti was done with ash from the cremation grounds.
Who is Mahakaleshwar?
Mahakaal, the name itself is grand and majestic and is used to refer to someone who has the power to change and adjust the way of time, and so it makes for the perfect name for Lord Shiva. And the way he is covered with ash during the Bhasm aarti is like a symbol about how he has conquered the fear of death, death itself, and how his devotees too can do the same.
The world’s Adiyogi and ultimate ascetic has no fear of death or what comes with it, and so, in Mahakaleshwar he faces the door of death!
How? Read on to know.
The direction of death
The most unique feature of the Mahakaleshwar temple is that it has a south-facing Shivalinga, the only one of its kind among all the Jyotirlingas.
In Hindu tradition, the south direction is associated with Yama, the god of death, and is generally considered inauspicious. But, the south-facing Shivalinga at Mahakaleshwar defies this belief, and is seen and respected as Shiva's mastery over death. This is why it is said that Shiva is the one who conquers death and its fear, and protects his devotees from untimely death.
In Hinduism, the south direction is called ‘Dakshin’ and is the direction one faces during funeral rites and ceremonies related to death. Yamraj, the lord of death, is believed to reside in the south, and takes care of the afterlife and the fate of the souls who pass through.
But in Mahakaleshwar, Lord Shiva looks in the South direction, right at Yamraj, the one who controls life after death.
The conqueror of death
And as the only Jyotirlinga that faces South, Mahakaleshwar becomes unique and distinct, offering people a glimmer of hope against ‘death’. When people have grown hearing that ‘death is inevitable’ and ‘death can come at any time’, visiting the Mahakaleshwar temple is like a sense of protection from untimely death, freedom from the fear of death, and blessings for a peaceful departure from this world. Many also believe that by worshipping at Mahakaleshwar, they can remove the negative effects of planetary positions and other astrological influences, which are thought to be governed by Shiva as the lord of time, the Mahakal.
Rules, practices
Apportionment of RO water
The Supreme Court gave its nod to new norms for worshipping at the ancient Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga temple in Ujjain city of Madhya Pradesh, including allowing only 500 ml of reverse osmosis water for the ceremony .
The apex court approved eight points of the resolution passed by the temple management committee in consonance with the recommendation of an expert committee of officials of the Archeological Survey of India and Geological Survey of India. A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and L Nageswara Rao said the recomendations of the expert committee need to be implemented to preserve the lingam (symbol of the deity). As per the new approved norms, the devotees would be permitted a fixed amount of water measuring 500ml in an appropriate small pot per person for Jalabhishek (worshipping by offering water). It said that the water for Jalabhishek shall be taken from the Reverse Osmosis (RO) machine installed during Simhastha (religious fair), 2016, for which aconnection shall be provided near the sanctum sanctorum.
The new resolution says that from now on, during the Bhasma Aarti, the lingam would be fully covered with dry cotton cloth during the prayers. Curbs were also placed for Abhishek and only up to 1.25 litres of milk or panchamrut (mixture of honey , liquid jaggery , milk, yogurt and ghee) per devotee shall be allowed. After the Jalabhishek which concludes at 5pm every day , the lingam will be cleaned and dried to minimise water content.
