Mahākāleśvar, Ujjain

Śiva as Lord of Time · Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh

Mahākāleśvar in Ujjain is the only Jyotirliṅga facing south (dakṣiṇāmukhī), the direction associated with Yama, which is why Śiva here is honoured as Mahākāla, the Lord of Time and conqueror of death.

Its best-known ritual is the Bhasma Āratī before dawn, for which devotees book in advance. Ujjain is also important in Indian astronomy: the old prime meridian of Indian time-reckoning passed through it. The Siṃhastha Kumbh is held here on the Śiprā river. October to March is the most comfortable season; Śrāvaṇa Mondays bring the Mahākāl procession (savārī).

According to the Śiva Purāṇa, a demon named Dūṣaṇa terrorised the devout people of Avantī and disrupted their worship. When they prayed, Śiva burst out of the earth in a terrible form, destroyed the demon, and at the devotees’ request remained there as Mahākāla to protect the city. Another tradition tells of a little boy, Śrīkara, whose simple devotion moved the whole city.

Madhya Pradesh · Bhasma Āratī · Siṃhastha Kumbh · Mahāśivarātri

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