Lord Shiva as “Mahakaal” Worshiped in Ujjain, who denotes
the Most Powerful and Eternal Inclination of Lord Shiva on the Earth. Out of
the 12 Jyotirlings, only MahaKaaleshwar of Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh is situated
in the south direction.
The local residents of Ujjain believe Mahakaal to be
their king and therefore worship the God as their king and well-wisher .The Size
of Ling (Shiva Statue) of Mahakeshwar is the largest among all other
Jyotirlings.
The temple complex of Mahakaal is very big in size. It
includes more than 40 temples in it. Some of these temples are here since the
10th century. The temple has 3 floors where The Mahakaal Jyotirling is placed
in the bottom of the temple (the” garbh grah”). In the middle level,
Omkareshwar Shivling is present and the top most part of the temple Nagchandraieshwar
opening. The lingam of Mahakalesvara is colossus. The silver plated Naga
Jaladhari and incredible sliver plating is done on roof of the garbhagrha add
extra spark to the shrine. Besides Jyotirlinga, the whole Shiv pariwar (Lord
Shiva Family ) of Ganesha, Kartikeya and Parvati is present in garbhagrha. All
around the walls classical eulogies in the praise of Lord Siva are exhibited
which tells the local mythological stories about lord Shiva.
The Nanda Dipa always remains lit. In front of garbgrah
there is a wide hall in which a most attractive metal quoted stone Nandi (A Ox,
Lord Shiva personal ride), in the sitting humble pose may be witnessed. A very
large-sized Kunda (Water pound) named Koti Tirtha also exists in the
temple-complex. The pound (Kunda) is built in the sarvatobhadra style. The
Kunda and its water both are treated as very celestial. Some follower takes a
dip here and offers its water to the Jyotirling. But Kunda is closed when major
festival occurred like shiv ratri, shavan and Maha Kumbh Simhasth. Various type
of Pujas is also helped at these holy Kunda.
On the path adjoining the stairs of the Kunda, may be seen
many images representing the sculptural grandeur of the temple built during the
Paramara period. In the east of the Kunda is a large-sized Veranda in which
there is the entrance to the path leading to the “garbh grah”.
Bhasam Aarti (Worship with the Ashes): The world
famous Bhasam Aarti is offered to lord Mahakaal Daily at Bhrama Moharat (Early
Morning 04:00 am) which is spectacular and very holy worship held from
ancient time. In Olden days the ancient story says that Lord
Shiva in his MahaKaaleshwar form is satisfied by Hindu
graveyards body ashes and it’s true that up to recent century this ritual is
followed daily. But Indian government banned the use of human ashes in the
bhasam aarti and now days it will be performed by ashes of cow dong
which is as pure as human ashes according to Hindu mythology. During these
Ritual only men’s are allowed in garbh grah but in “Dhoti” only (Indian
traditional attire made up of single cotton piece). To join these you should
have to be lucky because Queue for bhasam aarti is being generating since
mid night 12’o clock. If guide or persist is with you, there is more chance
to get entered.
Ancient story about MahaKaaleshwar Jyotirling establishment:
Although no one knows exactly when this temple was established, however, its
history goes back to thousands of years. There was a ruler of Ujjain called “Chandrasena”,
who was a pious devotee of Lord Shiva and worshiped him all the time. One day,
a farmer's boy named ” Shrikhar” was walking on the grounds of the palace and
heard the King chant the Lord's name and rushed to the temple to start praying
with him.
However, the guards removed him by force and sent him to the
outskirts of the city near the river Kshipra. Rivals of Ujjain, primarily King “Ripudamana”
and King “Singhaditya” of the neighboring kingdoms decided to attack
the Kingdom and take over its treasures around this time. Hearing this, Shrikhar
started to pray and the news spread to a priest named “Vridhi”.
He was shocked to
hear this and upon the urgent pleas of his sons, started to pray to Lord Shiva
at the river Kshipra. The Kings choose to attack and were successful; with the
help of the powerful demon “Dushan”, blessed by Lord Brahma to be invisible,
they plundered the city and attacked all the devotees of Lord Shiva. Upon
hearing the pleas of His helpless devotees, Lord Shiva appeared in his Mahakaal
form and destroyed the enemies of King Chandrasena.
Upon the request of
his devotees Shrikhar and Vridhi, Lord 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, Lord Shiva resided in His
light form as Mahakaal in a Lingam that was formed on its own from the powers
of the Lord and His consort, Parvati (known as Mata Harsiddhi in Ujjain).
The Lord Shiva also blessed his devotees and declared that
people who worshiped Him in this form would be free from the fear of death and
diseases.
How to reach:
Mahakaal Mandir is just one kilometer from Nanakheda
bus stand and every single public transport like taxi, rickshaws, tricycle
vehicle can also drop you in front of the temple. During Mahakubh Mela Electric
bikes are also available at affordable price.
Visitors advise: 1) Don’t take any plastic packing with them
because its banned.
2) Taking flowers and garlands, milk or Bilpatras for
offering Lord Shiva is wasting your money because during holidays and festival
like shivraatri, shaavan and kumbh mela no body except chief pundit can enter
the garbh grah. It you want to offer visit any normal day except explained
above.
3) No Vehicle is allowed to park near temple so don’t bring
vehicles and if you have then park it far from temple.
4) Don’t carry
Mobile, Camera or any electronic item, along with leather items like purse,
footwear into the temple area, it’s prohibited.
5) So research about food items because temple lacking hygienic
food facilities. One option Is “Apna Sweets” in front of temple complex.
6) Beware of fraud persist or guides.
7) Take a VIP RECEIPT if you are in hurry.
No comments:
Post a Comment