Mahakaleshwar Temple

Mahakaleshwar Temple

It is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of India. This is the main temple of Lord Mahakaleshwar, located in Ujjain city of Madhya Pradesh state. Beautiful descriptions of this temple are found in the works of great poets like Puranas, Mahabharata and Kalidas. Due to being self-made, grand and south facing, Mahakaleshwar Mahadev has extremely virtuous significance. It is believed that one attains salvation just by seeing it.The great poet Kalidas has praised this temple while discussing Ujjaini in Meghdoot. After the destruction of this ancient temple by Iltutmish in 1235 AD, all the rulers who lived here paid special attention to the restoration and beautification of this temple, that is why the temple has been able to attain its present form. This temple is decorated every year and before Simhastha.

History

History shows that Ujjain was ruled by the Yavanas from 1107 to 1728 AD. During his reign, the ancient religious traditions of the Hindus, established in Avanti for about 4500 years, were almost destroyed. But in 1690 AD, the Marathas attacked the Malwa region and on 29 November 1728, the Maratha rulers established their supremacy in the Malwa region.After this, the lost glory of Ujjain returned and from 1731 to 1809 this city remained the capital of Malwa. Two important events took place here during the reign of Marathas – first, the reconstruction of Mahakaleshwar temple and the re-establishment of Jyotirlinga and the establishment of Simhastha festival bath, which was a huge achievement. Later, Raja Bhoj expanded this temple.