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Mahakaal in Ujjain, Omkareshwar in Amleshwar
Ujjain Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga is a lord Shiva shrine situated at the banks of Shipra river in Madhya Pradesh. Lord Shiva is worshiped in the Mahakal (fierce) form at this Jyotirlinga. Maha means great and Kal means time of death hence in Mahakal form lord Shiva is considered as the bringer of death to all.
Jyotirlinga means “Linga of Light” and it is believed that lord Shiva manifested himself in the form of Jyotirlingas on a special night of Aridra Nakshatra. There are 12 Jyotirlingas and each of them is highly revered amongst Hindus. It is believed that a person can see these Lingas as columns of fire piercing through the earth after he reaches a higher level of spiritual attainment. According to a story from Shiva Purana, lord Shiva tested the greatness of Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma by assuming the form of endless fire pillar called Jyotirlinga.
According to Shiva Purana, Mahakaleshwar is the third Jyotirlinga among 12 Jyotirlingas, first being Somnath and second being Mallikarjuna. Mahakaleshwar is the only Jyotirlinga which has a South facing idol. Mahakaleshwar is one of the places where Jyotirlinga and Shaktipeetha are together. Upper lip of Sati is believed to have fallen at Mahakaleshwar and here Shakti is called as Mahakali.
It is unknown as to when this temple was built originally but a lot of references are made to this temple in a number ancient texts. Kalidas made a reference to this temple in Raghuvamsha. Modern day structure of the temple was built in 1736 AD. The temple is divided in to three parts and each part has a Linga. The Linga in the lowest part is called Mahakaleshwara, Linga in the middle part is called Omkareswara and the Linga in the top most part of the temple is called Nagachandreswara. Pilgrims get to see the Nagachandreswara Linga only on the occasion of Nag Panchami.
Every morning at 4 AM a special Aarti called Bhasma (Ash) Aarti is performed at the temple. Bhasma Aarti is considered to be the toughest Puja at the temple and many devotee daily flock to the temple to witness this Aarti. Earlier this Bhasma used to come from the ash of the funeral pyre of any corpse but now this tradition is no more followed and ash from burning cow dung is used instead. Daily Shringar (beautification) is also done to the Jyotirlinga during the Bhasma Aarti. Devotees of Mahakal believe that whoever witnesses this Aarti wont die prematurely. Prior booking is required to attend this Aarti.
Legend of Mahakal: The story happened during the times when Ujjain was known by the name Avanti. There lived an ardent devotee of lord Shiva. He had four sons and the whole family used to worship lord Shiva daily. An Asura (demon) named Dooshana lived nearby on the hills of Ratanmala and this demon hated lord Shiva. He went around killing whoever worshiped lord Shiva. One day this demon along with his soldiers reached the house of the pious man started attacking their home. The demon entered the home and went on to attack the Shivalinga by raising the sword. As this demon was about to attack, a sudden deafening sound along with a dreaded form of lord Shiva appeared, which by his mere glance turned the demon and his entire army to ashes. Lord Shiva since then remains at Ujjain in the form of Mahakal – The destroyer of all elements.
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