Skip to main content

Featured Post

Newasa - Encountering an unique form of Vishnu, and Sant Jnaneshwar

The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their

A journey to the heart of India - Glimpses of Ujjain


The ad for the MPTDC (Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development corporation) saysih<dustan ka idl deoae”, in English – “Come and see the heart of India”. This is the line that keeps cropping up as I walk along the busy streets of Ujjain.

Ujjain might be a modern city today, with developments happening all over, but at heart, it remains the spiritual capital of central India – a position it holds since ancient times. This is one of the twelve mokshapuris in India – places where it is believed that one can get deliverance from the bondage of life and rebirths. These are:  Kashi (Varanasi), Ayodhya, Kanchi (Kanchipuram), Mathura, Mayapuri (Haridwar), Dwaraka and Avantika (Ujjain).





At the very first glance, the similarities between Kashi and Ujjain are apparent – the Shipra River is to Ujjain what the Ganga is to Kashi. On one side of the river are Ghats with temples built by people of all sects from all over India, every temple with its own legend and story to support its existence and importance. 











Again, as at Kashi, one of the most important Ghats is the one where funeral pyres burn day and night and an especially interesting fact is that till recently, the hot ashes from one of these pyres used to be the main offering to Mahakaleshwar – the lord of this region, who is said to be the true king of the city. 







Also adding to the similarities are the streets filled with shops selling milk and milk products. We were there the week before Diwali and the city was all geared up for the festive season – lights and decorations all over the place, homes and shops all decked up, beautiful clay diyas (oil lamps) and clay idols of Ganesha and Lakshmi (for the Lakshmi puja on Diwali) at every corner, and of course, the aroma of desi ghee (clarified butter) which pervaded the atmosphere thanks to the sweets getting ready for the feasts, was enough to overcome any pangs of guilt of a dietary conscience………..






Another interesting thing about Ujjain is the assortment of vehicles which greet you at your arrival – auto rickshaws, cycle rickshaws and some kind of modified tempos (sometimes called "Vikrams" )which carry more people than they are designed for, and hence are the cheapest and most convenient mode of transport at Ujjain.


While I take my time writing in detail about the places I visited, here are a few useful facts about the city:

How to reach:

Ujjain is situated in the state of Madhya Pradesh at a distance of about 180 Kms from the state capital, Bhopal.
The nearest airport is at Indore, 53 Kms away.
Ujjain is an important railway station on the western railway and is well connected by train to all the major cities in India.

Where to stay:

There is no dearth of options for accommodation at Ujjain.

MP Tourism has two hotels - Shipra residency and Hotel Avantika (Yatri Niwas). The first is a 3 star accommodation and the second is a budget one, mainly catering to the pilgrims who throng the city. Bookings can be made online.

There are plenty of hotels near the railway station as well as the temple, catering to all budgets. We stayed at the Kabir Hotel, right opposite the railway station, simply because my in-laws had already stayed there before. This is a simple and clean hotel with an attached restaurant which serves typical north Indian cuisine. Double rooms cost Rs. 600/- while they also have four bedded rooms costing Rs.1000/-.

The Mahakaleshwar temple authorities have recently built rooms, both AC as well as non AC, and these rooms can by booked by phone. Call them up at 0734-2550563. These rooms are within the temple compound, and are well maintained and comfortable.


What to see:

Ujjain is a city of temples, where we come across ancient ones at every nook and corner. However, there are around 13 of them which are considered the most important.

These are:
  1. Mahakaleshwar Mandir
  2. Bada Ganpati Mandir
  3. Char Dham Mandir
  4. Harsiddhi Mata Mandir
  5. Mangalnath Mandir
  6. Siddhavat
  7. Kal Bhairav Temple
  8. Sandipani Ashram
  9. Gadkalika Devi Mandir
  10. Bhartruhari Gufa
  11. Chintamani Ganesh Mandir
  12. Shani Mandir
  13. Navagraha Mandir (Triveni)


There are other interesting places too, such as the observatory and the Kalideh Palace. While the former was on our route and we were able to visit it, the car driver firmly refused to take us to the palace saying that there was nothing of interest there. Since I have returned, I have read numerous accounts of the palace and wished I had insisted a bit more.

A visit to all these temples takes about 3-4 hours. MP tourism conducts daily tours to all these places by a mini bus at extremely affordable rates, and even a tour of the entire city by car costs about Rs.500/-. 




Comments

  1. Thanks for the info. Will be handy when plan MP trips. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Long time and you are back with travelogues lovely! I like the temples in the third picture, although i never been to kashi,I can see in pictures that they look much similar. Thanks for the info someday I would take my parents too :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. That's a nice piece of info. you have provided Anu. I a sure you had a fantastic time.

    ReplyDelete
  4. @ Bindhu : Thanks...

    @ Srivats: you should take your parents to both kashi as well as ujjain.... they will enjoy it.

    @ chitra: Thanks...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey, "Vikrams" seem to be the only mode of transport for the 'common' man in Kanpur too. BTW, a variation is seen in Aurangabad and the outskirts of Hyderabad.

    ReplyDelete
  6. @ Vineshkumar : thanks a lot!!!

    @ USha : yes,I have seen variants at a lot of places..... but this is the first time i saw such big ones!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. hey i'm from ujjain.....wonderful description...but u didn't mention prashanti Dham...its very big saibaba temple.

    ReplyDelete
  8. i am reading your blog from last one hour and i want to read more about it. thank you very much for keeping us updated. next time i plan to go somewhere i would like to read your blog first.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment for me so that I will know you have been here....

Popular posts from this blog

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw

Review of Executive Lounges at New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS)

During my recent trip to Uttarakhand , I was faced with a problem I had never encountered before. We were passing through Delhi, but we had hardly any time in the city. On earlier visits when I have had to change trains/flights at Delhi, I have always arrived in the morning and left again at night, visiting relatives in between. This time, I was arriving in the city at night, and leaving again early in the morning. There was hardly any time to visit people. I would only have a couple of hours with them before I’d have to leave again. For the first time, we considered booking a hotel, but there again, we were hesitant about the actual hotels, the costs involved, and the logistics of getting from the airport to the railway station and then back again from the station to the airport.  That’s when we remembered reading something about a corporate-managed lounge at Delhi station. We soon figured out that we could book online and pay by the hour. Besides, we also learnt that there wasn’t ju

Rama Temple, Gokarna

To my right , the waves rush to the shore, eager to merge with the sand. To my left, the same waves crash against the rocks, their spray diverting my reverie as I ponder over the beauty of nature, and wonder what first brought people here. Was it this beauty that encouraged them to build a temple here, or was it the fresh, sweet spring water flowing from the hill here that made this place special? No matter what the reason, I am glad my auto driver brought me here. We are at the Rama temple in Gokarna, just a few minutes away from the Mahabaleshwara Temple, yet offering so different a perspective.