Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga (Hindi: ) is one of the most famous Hindu temples

dedicated to Lord Shiva and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingams, which are supposed to be the most
sacred abodes of Lord Shiva. It is located in the ancient city of Ujjain in the state of Madhya
Pradesh, India. The temple is situated on the side of the Rudra Sagar lake. The presiding deity, Lord
Shiva in the lingam form is believed to be Swayambhu, deriving currents of power (Shakti) from
within itself as against the other images and lingams that are ritually established and invested with
mantra-shakti.

Mahakaleshwar Jyothirlinga Temple

Contents
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1Jyotirlinga

2The Temple

3The Mahakaleshwar Temple as a Shakti Peeth

4As referenced in Hindu scriptures

5History

6See also

7References

8Notes

9External links

Jyotirlinga[edit]

As per Shiva Purana, once Lord Brahma (the Hindu God of creation) and Lord Vishnu (the Hindu
God of sustenance) had an argument in terms of supremacy of creation. [1] To test
them, Shiva pierced the three worlds as a huge endless pillar of light, the jyotirlinga. Lord Vishnu and
Lord Brahma split their ways to downwards and upwards respectively to find the end of the light in
either directions. Brahma lied that he found out the end, while Vishnu conceded his defeat. Shiva
appeared as a second pillar of light and cursed Brahma that he would have no place in ceremonies
while Vishnu would be worshipped till the end of eternity. The jyotirlinga is the supreme partless
reality, out of which Shiva partly appears. The jyothirlinga shrines, thus are places where Shiva
appeared as a fiery column of light.[2][3] There are 64 forms of Shiva, not to be confused with
Jyotirlingas. Each of the twelve jyothirlinga sites take the name of the presiding deity - each
considered different manifestation of Shiva.[4] At all these sites, the primary image
is lingam representing the beginningless and endless Stambha pillar, symbolizing the infinite nature
of Shiva.[4][5][6] The twelve jyothirlinga are Somnath in Gujarat, Mallikarjuna at Srisailam in Andhra
Pradesh, Mahakaleswar at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, Omkareshwar in Madhya
Pradesh,Kedarnath in Himalayas, Bhimashankar in Maharashtra, Viswanath at Varanasi in Uttar
Pradesh, Triambakeshwar in Maharashtra, Vaidyanath at Deogarh in Jharkhandor
at Baijnath in Himachal
Pradesh, Nageswar at Dwarka in Gujarat, Rameshwar at Rameswaram in Tamil
Nadu and Grishneshwar at Aurangabad in Maharashtra.[1][7]

The Temple[edit]
Sapta Puri

Sita & Lakshmana leave Ayodhya

Dwarka: Dwarakadheesh temple

Haridwar

VaranasiTemples

Ujjain: Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga

Kanchipuram: Kamakshi Amman Temple

Mathura Krishna Temple

The idol of Mahakaleshwar is known to be dakshinamurti, which means that it is facing the south.
This is a unique feature, upheld by the tantric shivnetra tradition to be found only in Mahakaleshwar
among the 12 Jyotirlingas. The idol of Omkareshwar Mahadev is consecrated in the sanctum above
the Mahakal shrine. The images ofGanesh, Parvati and Karttikeya are installed in the west, north
and east of the sanctum sanctorum. To the south is the image of Nandi, the vehicle of Lord Shiva.
The idol of Nagchandreshwar on the third storey is open for darshan only on the day of Nag
Panchami. 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 shikhar or the spire is adorned
with sculptural finery. Brass lamps light the way to the underground sanctum. It is believed
that prasada (holy offering) offered here to the deity can be re-offered unlike all other shrines. [8]
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 faade 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.[9] In the precincts of the Mahakaleshwar
temple is Shri Swapaneshwar Mahadev temple, where devotees pray to Shiva as Mahakaal, to
realize the most important dreams of their lives. Sadashiv Mahadev is so empathetic, benevolent
and easy to please that devotees are sure to be granted the boons they wish for with a pure heart in
this temple, it is believed. Here Mahadev is Swapaneshwar and Shakti is Swapaneshwari. [10] The
temple is open from 4 am to 11 pm.The temple is also glorified in 7th century.C.E , tamil tevaram
hymns of tirugnanasambandar, sundarar, tirunavukkarasar and they refer to the same as tiru oonjai
maakalam, oonjai being tamil name of word ujjain.