Ujjain is a city and holy place (tirtha) on the Shipra River
in Madhya Pradesh, some 100 miles west of the state capital of Bhopal.
Ujjain is the Malwa plateau's historic capital and has a
long history as an economic, political, cultural, and religious hub.
Ujjain was formerly an important halt on the central trade
route, via which products from southern India were transported to destinations
farther north.
Ujjain is claimed to have been the capital of King
Vikramaditya, after whom the Vikram period was called, just before the Common
Era.
Bhartrhari, Vikramaditya's stepbrother, is most renowned for
his poetry and is said to have forsaken the crown to become an ascetic.
Ujjain thereafter became the de facto capital of Gupta king
Chandra Gupta II (r. 380–414 C.E. ), under whose patronage the greatest
Sanskrit poet, Kalidasa, is supposed to have labored.
Ujjain has many charms as a religious site, and this is its
primary source of current prominence.
It is one of India's Seven Sacred Cities.
It is thought that dying in one of these cities would offer
you liberty.
The Kumbha Mela is a bathing (snana) celebration held every
twelve years in Ujjain, however it is smaller than the melas held in Haridwar
and Allahabad.
Ujjain is dotted with notable religious sites as a result of
its history.
The shrine to Shiva in his incarnation as Mahakaleshvar, the
"Lord of Death," is the most significant site.
Shiva is present in Mahakaleshvar in the form of a linga,
Shiva's symbolic form, which is a pillar-shaped figure.
The Mahakaleshvar linga is one of the twelve jyotirlingas,
Shiva's distinctive presence at a network of places regarded highly important
to Shiva.
Matsyendranath, the religious teacher (guru) of Gorakhnath,
the founder of the Nathpanthi ascetics, is also remembered at Ujjain.
Ujjain also features a temple dedicated to the nine planets,
as well as one of the baithaks, a collection of 108 holy locations linked with
the philosopher Vallabhacharya's life and work.
The shrine to the god Kal Bhairav is the most peculiar sight
in Ujjain.
The usual offering at the temple is whiskey, which is
prohibited and condemned by "respectable" Hindus and therefore the
appropriate sacrifice for a minor god like Bhairava.
Kal Bhairav is another name for Bhairava, a horrible manifestation
of Shiva, and the traditional offering at the temple is liquor.
~Kiran Atma
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