Mahakaleshwar

महाकालेश्वर

Shiva · Mahakal

Jyotirlinga

Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh · Shaiva tradition

Madhya Pradesh Tourism states that Mahakaleshwar is the only Shiva temple where Shivaratri is celebrated over nine days.

The story begins: “Avanti — the city later called Ujjayini — is home to a brahmin named Vedapriya.”

Read the story
Directions

At the gate

Darshan hours
  • 4:00 am – 11:00 pm · Darshan
Next aarti or puja (India time)
See the schedule below
What to wear
To offer prayers in the inner sanctum, men wear a dhoti and women a saree.
Phones and bags
Mobile phones and cameras are not allowed inside the temple premises; gadgets are deposited in a locker room.
Getting there
Train: Ujjain JunctionAir: Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport, Indore

Not yet confirmed: entry for visitors of other faiths, walking distance. Ask at the temple office or enquiry counter — and if you know, tell us. hello@aalayakatha.com

Full visiting details

Sthala purana

The story of this place

2 accounts are recorded. Each is told separately, in the words of its own tradition — they are never merged.

Family note: this story includes violence or death.
Told in: The Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 16

The god who came out of the ground

Avanti — the city later called Ujjayini — is home to a brahmin named Vedapriya. He studies the Vedas, keeps the sacrificial fires, performs the Vedic rites and worships an image of Shiva every day. He has four sons, Devapriya, Priyamedhas, Sukrita and Dharmavahin, and all four are devoted to Shiva as he is. The Purana credits their merit with the prosperity of the city.

On a hill called Ratnamala lives Dushana, a king of the Daityas. Boons from Brahma have made him contemptuous of the whole universe. He drives out the gods and sets about ending Vedic and Smarta rites across the earth, halting worship at shrine after shrine.

Dushana marches on Avanti with a large army. He sends four Daityas ahead with an order: the brahmins are to give up the worship of Shiva and the study of the Vedas, or be killed. The Daityas surround the city. The townspeople come to the brahmins in fear and ask what is to be done. The brahmins answer that they have no army and no weapons, and that apart from Shiva they have no refuge.

They make an earthen linga and sit before it in worship. Dushana orders them to be killed or bound, but they are absorbed in meditation and do not hear him. Then the ground beside the earthen linga caves in with a loud report, and Shiva rises out of the chasm in a fearsome form. He names himself Mahakala — great Kala, death to the wicked. With a single sound, "Hum", he burns Dushana and his army to ashes, and the soldiers who survive are routed. The gods, led by Vishnu and Brahma, arrive.

Shiva offers the brahmins a boon. They ask for two things: release from the cycle of worldly existence, and that Shiva remain in this place to protect its people. He agrees to both. He stays in the chasm, the brahmins attain liberation, and he is named Mahakaleshvara.

The story explains the name of the deity and the shape of the shrine: a linga that came up out of the earth at a place where devotees, with no other protection, asked their god to stay.

Where this account comes from

  • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 16.1-52 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org
Told in: The Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 17

King Chandrasena and the cowherd's pebble

King Chandrasena of Ujjayini owns the wish-jewel Chintamani, and rival kings besiege the city to take it. He worships Mahakala without eating. A five-year-old cowherd boy copies the king's worship with a pebble; his mother throws it away. When the boy wakes from his grief, the cowherds' camp has become a golden Mahakala temple. The besiegers make peace, and Hanuman appears, names the boy Shrikara, and foretells that Krishna will be born in his line.

Read this account

Chandrasena, king of Ujjayini, is a disciplined ruler, learned in the shastras and devoted to Shiva. His friend Manibhadra, a chief among Shiva's attendants, gives him the jewel Chintamani. Anything of bell-metal, copper, tin or stone that touches its surface turns to gold.

Other kings want the jewel. Chandrasena refuses them, and in anger they bring their armies and surround all four of Ujjayini's main gates. Chandrasena takes refuge in Mahakaleshvara. He worships Mahakala day and night without eating.

A cowherd woman and her five-year-old son, whose father is dead, watch the king at worship. The boy goes home and copies the rite. He picks up a smooth pebble, sets it up as a linga, and offers it whatever he can find in place of scents, grains and flowers. His mother calls him to eat; he does not come. She beats him and throws the pebble away, and his worship is ruined. The boy cries until he faints.

When he wakes, the cowherds' camp has become a golden temple of Mahakala with a jewelled linga inside it. His mother is wearing divine ornaments. The king comes to see, and is overjoyed.

The besieging kings hear of it and conclude that Shiva is on Chandrasena's side. One of them says that if they offend Shiva they will be destroyed. They give up the siege, make peace, and honour the cowherd boy, appointing him chief of the cowherds in their lands.

Then Hanuman appears among them, and the kings bow to him. He tells them that the worship of Shiva is the one true goal for a human being, and praises the boy for having reached it without any mantra. He foretells that in the eighth generation of the boy's line a cowherd named Nanda will be born, and that Vishnu will be born as Nanda's son, Krishna. He names the boy Shrikara and initiates him into the worship of Shiva, and vanishes.

Shrikara and Chandrasena go on worshipping Mahakala for the rest of their lives and in the end reach Shiva's realm. The story is told as the second half of the Mahakala chapters: after the god who came out of the ground to destroy an army, the god who answers a child's pebble.

Where this account comes from

  • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 17.1-78 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org

In one minute

Why Mahakaleshwar matters

Each line says who it comes from and how settled it is. What the labels mean

  1. The Shiva Purana's list of the twelve Jyotirlingas names Mahakala at Ujjayini.

    Source for: The Shiva Purana's list of the twelve Jyotirlingas names Mahakala at Ujjayini.
    • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 1.21-24 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org

  2. The linga faces south, and is known for this as Dakshina Mukhi.

    Source for: The linga faces south, and is known for this as Dakshina Mukhi.
    • Government: Madhya Pradesh Tourism, Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga Temple, Ujjain mptourism.com · seen 2026-10-09

  3. The Bhasma Aarti is held every day at 4 a.m., and attending it requires a prior booking.

    2 sources for: The Bhasma Aarti is held every day at 4 a.m., and attending it requires a prior
    • Government: Madhya Pradesh Tourism, Bhasm Aarti at Mahakaleshwar and Ujjain mptourism.com · seen 2026-10-09
    • Government: Madhya Pradesh Tourism, Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga Temple, Ujjain mptourism.com · seen 2026-10-09

  4. Madhya Pradesh Tourism states that Mahakaleshwar is the only Shiva temple where Shivaratri is celebrated over nine days.

    Source for: Madhya Pradesh Tourism states that Mahakaleshwar is the only Shiva temple where
    • Government: Madhya Pradesh Tourism, Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga Temple, Ujjain mptourism.com · seen 2026-10-09

Shilpa

When you visit, look for…

Mixed

Madhya Pradesh Tourism describes the building as blending Bhumija, Maratha and Chalukya styles, and dates its construction to the fourth and fifth decades of the 18th century. It describes the temple as five-storied, and states that historians hold the temple had no shikhara until the Gupta period.

  • Sanctum

    The south-facing linga

    The linga in the sanctum faces south — the feature behind the name Dakshina Mukhi.

  • Detail

    Nagchandreshwar shrine

    A shrine on the premises that is opened to visitors only on Nag Panchami.

  • Detail

    Ganesha and Parvati shrines

    Two further shrines on the premises, to Ganesha and to Parvati.

  • Temple tank

    Rudra Sagar

    The old lake beside the temple, now flanked by the Mahakal Lok corridor.

  • Detail

    Mahakal Lok corridor

    A corridor of more than 900 m along Rudra Sagar, with 108 pillars, around 200 statues and murals of stories of Shiva.

  • Sacred water

    Rudra Sagar

    The lake beside the temple.

Yatra

Plan your visit

Darshan times

DarshanNo afternoon closure, per Madhya Pradesh Tourism.4:00 am – 11:00 pm
Bhasma AartiPrior online booking required.4:00 am – 6:00 am
Morning puja7:00 am – 7:30 am
Evening puja5:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Shree Mahakal Aarti7:00 pm – 7:30 pm

Confirm on the day. Times change on festival days and without notice. These times are not from the temple’s own notice.

Before you go

  • Dress: To offer prayers in the inner sanctum, men wear a dhoti and women a saree.
  • Camera: No photography
  • Mobile phones and cameras are not allowed inside the temple premises; gadgets are deposited in a locker room.
  • Bhasma Aarti requires a prior booking; booking about a month ahead is recommended.
  • Entry to the garbhagriha is restricted during the Bhasma Aarti, which is shown on screens inside the temple.

Walking, steps and access

We have not yet confirmed how much walking or climbing is involved, or whether there is wheelchair access. If you are travelling with elders, ask at the temple office or the devasthanam enquiry counter before you set out.

Crowds: Queues for the Bhasma Aarti are long; Madhya Pradesh Tourism recommends arriving an hour or more before it begins.

Getting there

  • By air: Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport, Indore · about 55 kmPer Madhya Pradesh Tourism.
  • By train: Ujjain JunctionIn the heart of the town, per Madhya Pradesh Tourism.
  • By road: Dewas Gate bus stand, UjjainMain bus stand, 600 m from the railway station; Nanakheda bus terminus is about 5 km away. Buses run to Indore, Omkareshwar and Bhopal, per Madhya Pradesh Tourism.

PIN 456006 (not yet checked with India Post)

Sevas

Prices as published by the temple when we checked. They change; the temple’s booking site is final.

The order of darshan

No published source gives the order in which to visit the shrines here, so we have not invented one. Follow the queue and the temple staff.

Festivals

  • Maha Shivaratri

    Feb–Mar · Magha, Krishna paksha, Chaturdashi · 9 days

    Celebrated over nine days with special abhishekam, shringar and chanting; the last day has a Panchamrit Abhishek and the Bhasma Aarti puja.

  • Mahakal Sawari

    Jul–Sep · Shravana

    On Mondays of Shravan and Bhadrapada the deity is carried in a palanquin through Ujjain to Ramghat on the Shipra for abhishekam, after a police salute outside the temple. The last procession is the Shahi Sawari.

  • Nag Panchami

    Jul–Aug · Shravana, Shukla paksha, Panchami · 1 day

    The one day the Nagchandreshwar shrine on the premises is opened to visitors.

  • SimhasthaSimhastha Kumbh

    The Kumbh Mela held on the banks of the Shipra at Ujjain once every twelve years.

Customs you will see here

Itihasa

Through time

Two registers, kept apart on purpose: what the Puranas tell, and what the historical record shows. They answer different questions and we do not force them to agree.

In the Puranas and tradition

  1. Shiva rises from the earth as Mahakala

    The Shiva Purana's origin account: Shiva emerges beside an earthen linga to destroy Dushana and stays at the brahmins' request. No yuga is given in the source.

    Source for: Shiva rises from the earth as Mahakala
    • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 16.1-52 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org

  2. The golden temple of the cowherd boy

    The Shiva Purana's second Mahakala episode, in Chandrasena's reign. Hanuman's prophecy places it eight generations before Nanda, foster-father of Krishna; no yuga is named.

    Source for: The golden temple of the cowherd boy
    • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 17.1-78 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org

In the historical record

  1. c. 1730–1749

    Present temple built

    Madhya Pradesh Tourism dates the construction of the temple to the fourth and fifth decades of the 18th century. The builder is not named on that page.

    Source for: Present temple built
    • Government: Madhya Pradesh Tourism, Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga Temple, Ujjain mptourism.com · seen 2026-10-09

  2. Mahakal Lok corridor built

    A corridor of more than 900 m around the old Rudra Sagar lake, with 108 pillars, around 200 statues and murals of Shiva's stories. The year of completion is not given on the source page.

    2 sources for: Mahakal Lok corridor built
    • Government: Madhya Pradesh Tourism, Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga Temple, Ujjain mptourism.com · seen 2026-10-09
    • Government: Madhya Pradesh Tourism, Destination: Ujjain mptourism.com · seen 2026-10-09

Around here

Worth the detour

  • Place

    Mahakal Lok

    The corridor of statues and murals along Rudra Sagar, beside the temple.

  • Temple

    Mahakali Shakti Peetha, Ujjain

    Ujjain's place among the eighteen Ashtadasha Shakti Peethas.

  • Temple

    Omkareshwar

    The fourth Jyotirlinga, on the Narmada; buses run there from Ujjain.

  • Ghat

    Ramghat, Shipra river

    Where the Mahakal Sawari procession halts for abhishekam.

Sources

Where this page comes from

  • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 1.21-24 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org
  • Government: Madhya Pradesh Tourism, Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga Temple, Ujjain mptourism.com · seen 2026-10-09
  • Government: Madhya Pradesh Tourism, Bhasm Aarti at Mahakaleshwar and Ujjain mptourism.com · seen 2026-10-09
  • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 16.1-52 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org
  • Purana: Shiva Purana, Koti-rudra Samhita 17.1-78 (tr. J. L. Shastri) wisdomlib.org
  • Government: Madhya Pradesh Tourism, Destination: Ujjain mptourism.com · seen 2026-10-09
  • Government: Madhya Pradesh Tourism, Mahakaleshwar Temple, Ujjain mptourism.com · seen 2026-10-09

Cite this page

Aalaya Katha Foundation, “Mahakaleshwar”, Aalaya Katha, version last reviewed 2026-10-09. https://www.aalayakatha.com/temple/mahakaleshwar-ujjain (accessed ).

Last reviewed 2026-10-09. How we label sources and confidence