Harsiddhi Temple, Ujjain

हरसिद्धि माता मंदिर, उज्जैन

Harsiddhi · Harsiddhi Mata

Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh · Shakta tradition

The Ashtadasha Shakti Peetha Stotram names 'Mahakali at Ujjayini' ninth among its eighteen seats of the goddess.

Read the story
Directions

At the gate

Getting there
Train: Ujjain railway stationAir: Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar International Airport, Indore

Not yet confirmed: darshan hours, dress code, phone rules, 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

Family note: this story includes violence or death.
Told in: The Devi Bhagavata Purana, Book 7 (the Sati frame); Ashtadasha Shakti Peetha Stotram (the name Mahakali at Ujjayini); Madhya Pradesh Tourism (the images in the sanctum)

Mahakali at Ujjayini

The account begins with the frame shared by every Shakti Peetha. In the Devi Bhagavata Purana, Sati, the daughter of Daksha, is married to Shiva. Daksha later insults Shiva, and Sati resolves to give up the body born of Daksha; she burns it in a fire that rises out of yoga. Shiva destroys Daksha's sacrifice, lifts Sati's body onto his neck and wanders from country to country, until Vishnu cuts the body to pieces with his arrows. Wherever a part falls, Shiva remains there in another form, and the place becomes a seat of the goddess.

The Ashtadasha Shakti Peetha Stotram names eighteen of those seats in a fixed order. Its fifth line opens with the ninth: "Ujjayinyam Mahakali" — Mahakali at Ujjayini, the old name of Ujjain. The stotram is traditionally attributed to Adi Shankara; no scholarly source confirming that attribution has been traced. The Devi Bhagavata's own, longer list of seats has an entry at Mahakala, Ujjain's Shiva shrine, but gives the goddess there a different name, Maheshvari. Neither text says which part of Sati's body fell at Ujjain, and none is offered here.

The temple the stotram's Mahakali is identified with is the Harsiddhi temple. The temple's own account of how the goddess came to be called Harsiddhi has not yet been checked against a primary text, so it is left out rather than retold from secondhand versions.

What a visitor finds is recorded by Madhya Pradesh Tourism. In the sanctum the principal image, which the department identifies as Annapurna, is painted in vermilion and sits between images of Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati. Outside, two lamp pillars stand before the entrance, each made to hold 1008 lamps, and the department notes that the lamps are best seen during Navaratri.

The frame explains why a goddess shrine in Ujjain, a city better known for its Jyotirlinga, is counted among the eighteen seats: in the stotram's list, Ujjayini's seat belongs to Mahakali.

Where this account comes from

  • Purana: Devi Bhagavata Purana, Book 7, ch. 30, vv. 26–50 (Sati's death and the division of her body) and vv. 53–102 (list of seats: 'as Mahesvari in Mahakala'), tr. Swami Vijnanananda sacred-texts.com
  • Hymn: Aṣṭādaśa Śakti Pīṭha Stotram, line 'Ujjayinyāṃ Mahākālī, Pīṭhikāyāṃ Puruhūtikā'. Traditionally attributed to Adi Shankara; that attribution is unverified. hindupedia.com · seen 2026-10-09
  • Government: Madhya Pradesh Tourism, 'Ujjain' destination page — Harsiddhi Temple mptourism.com · seen 2026-10-09

In one minute

Why Harsiddhi Temple, Ujjain matters

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

  1. The Ashtadasha Shakti Peetha Stotram names 'Mahakali at Ujjayini' ninth among its eighteen seats of the goddess.

    Source for: The Ashtadasha Shakti Peetha Stotram names 'Mahakali at Ujjayini' ninth among it
    • Hymn: Aṣṭādaśa Śakti Pīṭha Stotram, line 'Ujjayinyāṃ Mahākālī, Pīṭhikāyāṃ Puruhūtikā'. Traditionally attributed to Adi Shankara; that attribution is unverified. hindupedia.com · seen 2026-10-09

  2. Two tall lamp pillars (deepastambhas) stand before the entrance, each made to hold 1008 lamps, and they are lit to their fullest effect during Navaratri.

    Source for: Two tall lamp pillars (deepastambhas) stand before the entrance, each made to ho
    • Government: Madhya Pradesh Tourism, 'Ujjain' destination page — Harsiddhi Temple mptourism.com · seen 2026-10-09

  3. The pillars of the temple's ardhamandapa date to the 11th century, while the present temple was restored in the Maratha period.

    Source for: The pillars of the temple's ardhamandapa date to the 11th century, while the pre
    • Government: Madhya Pradesh Tourism, 'Ujjain' destination page — Harsiddhi Temple mptourism.com · seen 2026-10-09

Shilpa

When you visit, look for…

Architectural style not yet identified

Madhya Pradesh Tourism dates the ardhamandapa pillars to the 11th century and the present temple to a Maratha-period restoration, but gives no style. No published architectural study has been found yet.

  • Detail

    The two lamp pillars

    The two tall deepastambhas before the entrance, each made to hold 1008 oil lamps (Madhya Pradesh Tourism).

    Where to stand: In the courtyard facing the entrance, after dusk during Navaratri when the lamps are lit.

    Maratha period

  • Front hall

    The 11th-century pillars

    The pillars of the ardhamandapa, which Madhya Pradesh Tourism dates to the 11th century — older than the Maratha-period temple around them.

    11th century

  • Sanctum

    Three goddesses in the sanctum

    The vermilion-painted principal image seated between Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati (Madhya Pradesh Tourism).

Yatra

Plan your visit

Darshan times

We could not confirm the opening times from the temple’s own notice, so we are not printing any. Please check with the temple office or the devasthanam before you travel.

Before you go

  • No dress code or entry rules have been confirmed for this temple yet. Traditional, modest clothing is always the safe choice; ask at the entrance.

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.

Getting there

  • By air: Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar International Airport, Indore · about 55 km
  • By train: Ujjain railway stationMadhya Pradesh Tourism describes the station as in the heart of the town.
  • By road: Dewas Gate bus stand, UjjainAbout 600 m from the railway station; Nanakheda bus terminus is about 5 km away. Buses run from Indore, Omkareshwar, Maheshwar and Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh Tourism).

PIN 456006 (not yet checked with India Post)

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

  • Navaratri

    Sep–Oct · Ashvina, Shukla paksha

    Madhya Pradesh Tourism notes that the deepastambhas are best seen during Navaratri, which Ujjain celebrates with much zeal.

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. A seat of the goddess at Ujjayini

    In the Devi Bhagavata Purana's account the places where parts of Sati's body fall become seats of the goddess; the Ashtadasha Shakti Peetha Stotram names Mahakali at Ujjayini among them. Neither text says in which yuga this happened.

    2 sources for: A seat of the goddess at Ujjayini
    • Purana: Devi Bhagavata Purana, Book 7, ch. 30, tr. Swami Vijnanananda sacred-texts.com
    • Hymn: Aṣṭādaśa Śakti Pīṭha Stotram. Traditionally attributed to Adi Shankara; that attribution is unverified. hindupedia.com · seen 2026-10-09

In the historical record

  1. c. 1000–1099

    Ardhamandapa pillars

    Madhya Pradesh Tourism dates the pillars of the ardhamandapa to the 11th century.

    Source for: Ardhamandapa pillars
    • Government: Madhya Pradesh Tourism, 'Ujjain' destination page — Harsiddhi Temple mptourism.com · seen 2026-10-09

  2. Temple restored in the Maratha period

    The present temple was restored during the Maratha period, and the two deepastambhas were raised outside its entrance. The source gives no year.

    Source for: Temple restored in the Maratha period
    • Government: Madhya Pradesh Tourism, 'Ujjain' destination page — Harsiddhi Temple mptourism.com · seen 2026-10-09

Around here

Worth the detour

  • Temple

    Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga

    One of the twelve Jyotirlingas, known for its daily Bhasma aarti, for which Madhya Pradesh Tourism says prior registration is required.

  • Temple

    Kal Bhairav Temple

    Shrine to the chief of the eight Bhairavas across the Shipra, where liquor is offered to the deity (Madhya Pradesh Tourism).

  • Ghat

    Ram Ghat

    Bathing ghat on the Shipra where the Kumbh Mela is held once in twelve years (Madhya Pradesh Tourism).

Sources

Where this page comes from

  • Purana: Devi Bhagavata Purana, Book 7, ch. 30, tr. Swami Vijnanananda sacred-texts.com
  • Hymn: Aṣṭādaśa Śakti Pīṭha Stotram, tr. P. R. Ramachander. Traditionally attributed to Adi Shankara; that attribution is unverified. hindupedia.com · seen 2026-10-09
  • Government: Madhya Pradesh Tourism, 'Ujjain' destination page — Harsiddhi Temple mptourism.com · seen 2026-10-09

Cite this page

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

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