Mahakaleshwar

Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar, Benares, Kanchipuram, Dwarka and Ujjain are considered to be the seven holy cities and very important  pilgrimage centers of India.
Ujjain is one of the holiest cities of India and it drew me inexplicable and strongly. It is not very touristic and I felt some anxiety and pressure which was suddenly resolved in feeling of unusual easiness and shanti here. And it is natural because this is a place of the dakshinmukhi ( facing the South ) jyotirlinga - the great Mahakaleshwar. The first stop in Ujjain is always the Mahakal.  This one purpose is worthy of it.
Actually, this temple is the whole small city consisting of temples. Set of small temples are located in its territory, in everyone passes pujas and daily rituals, and you can easily separate from crowd for lonely meditation here. It is known that Mahakal premises is referred as home of gods. There are more than 42 temples in Mahakal temple premises. This include Lakshmi Narasimha, Riddhi-Siddhi Ganesha,Vitthal Pandharinath Temple, Sriram Darbar Temple, Avantika Devi, Chandradityeshwar, Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga in Garbhagriha, Omkareshwar Mahadev, Nagchandreshwar Temple, Nagchandreshwar Pratima, Riddhi-Siddhi Vinayaka.

But as Mahakal is the principal and also among all rituals of a temple is a main ritual here - the "bhasm aarti" or the ash ritual, the only one of its kind in the world, that involves smearing the linga with hot ashes from the burning ghats. This sacrifice is a mark of respect the Destroyer of the Universe, Lord Shiva. You know, the ashes have huge value in shaivism (need to write separately about it). In brief, this unique form of worship is symbolic of death, and symbolic death also, of all eternal forces that permeates all life in the universe. And the ash is also one of the purest forms of matter purified by sacred fire.

It is difficult to tell when did the Mahakala temple first come into existence.  Puranas narrate that it was first established by Prajapita Brahma. There is a reference to the appointment of Prince Kumarasena by King Chanda Pradyota in 6th century BC for looking after the law and order situations of Mahakala temple. The punch-marked coins of Ujjain, belonging to 4th-3rd century BC, bear the figure of Shiva on them. Mahakala temple is also mentioned in several ancient Indian poetic texts. According to these texts, the temple had been very magnificent and the unique example of art and architecture.
But for me personally, the most important is the remained unique atmosphere of this place. In this temple, the things very strange and illogical occurred to me but as in such sacred places it is not perceived as a miracle but as a certain perfect reality here. This place has very strong influence on me and I grateful for every minute spent here.

 Mahakaleshwar eulogies:


Lord Mahakala is the creator of all beings and the Universe. He rests in the subtle hearts of the deeply mediating seers. He is decorated with Somalekha, Kapala (skull) and the mahi-valaya (girdle of serpent). His glory has been sung by the resident of Avantika throughout the ages. The people at large surrender Him all their virtues and vices in order to attain the deliverance.
We bow down to Lord Siva who in the lingam form is Taraka in the Heaven, Hatakesvara in Patala (the world beneath ) and Mahakala in this mortal world.
He is the OMKARA whose body is adored with the Kundali (girdle of the playful king of the serpents, the who sky is His anusvara, the whole creation is His physique equally glamerous and who sits in the Avantika city which is like the heart-lotus of Lord Vishnu, that merciful Divinity should redeem the devotees form the fear of Death.
O Mahakala, You are the cosmic body and the owner of the Universe : Also the great Yogin. We bow down to You.
O Mahakala, You are the generator of the Time wheel and the superb courage, We bow down to you.

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA NAMAH MAHAKALESHWARAYA