Do You Know The Story of Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga?

The word ‘Jyotirlinga’ is made up of two parts – Jyoti i.e. light and Linga i.e. the symbolic form of Lord Shiva. This is such a Shivling in which Shiva himself is revered as fire or light. According to the Puranas, when there was a dispute between Brahma and Vishnu regarding superiority, then Lord Shiva appeared in the form of a huge pillar of fire and made them realize his infinity. Jyotirlingas were established at 12 places as a symbol of that divine pillar.

We have told the story of the first and second Jyotirlingas in earlier articles.

To know the story of the first Jyotirlinga Somnath, click here and read our article.

To know the story of the second Jyotirlinga Mallikarjuna, click here and read our article.

We find the description of how this Jyotirlinga originated in the 16th chapter of Koti Rudra Samhita of Shiv Puran where Sutji Maharaj has mentioned the glory of Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga.

The story is something like this,

In ancient times, a Brahmin named Vedpriya lived in Avanti city. He was very religious and used to worship Lord Shiva by making a linga and worshipping him regularly in his house. He had four sons – Devpriya, Priyamedh, Sanskrit and Suvtra. All the sons of this Brahmin were very learned and religious like their father.

At the same time, a demon named Dushan was doing penance on Ratnamal mountain to please Brahma ji. He did severe penance of Brahma ji and received the boon of invincibility from Brahma Dev. After getting this boon, he became intoxicated with power and started harassing the saints and sages who were doing the work of religion. He created four more demons and started spreading terror here and there with his demon army. After this, the demon came to Avanti city with his army and started killing the saints, sages and Brahmins there.

Creating havoc, the demon also came to the hut of Vedpriya, but Vedpriya’s son, who was a devotee of Shiva, was not afraid. He did not choose the path of war and resorted to devotion and penance. He became engrossed in the worship of Lord Shiva with concentration.

When Dushan and his army tried to attack those four Brahmins, a pit appeared around the Shivalinga in their house in which the demons started falling. At that very moment Lord Shiva appeared from that pit.

He looked at the demons and said –

“I am Mahakaal, the destroyer of even time.“

Lord Shiva killed Dushan with his divine power and his army fled in fear.

Lord Shiva said to the sons of Vedpriya,

“I am Mahakal Maheshwar and pleased with the devotion of you four brothers, I grant you salvation. Tell me what boon you want. On this, the four Brahmin sons told Lord Shiva that we want you to reside here in the form of Jyotirlinga to grant salvation not only to us but to all the devotees. Lord Shiva, pleased with their wish, said that I will reside here in the form of Mahakal for the welfare of my devotees.”

As soon as Shiva started residing in that place, Jyotirlinga was established there and the divinity of this place spread far and wide. From that day this place was called Mahakaleshwar.

Among all the twelve Jyotirlingas of India, Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga which is Dakshinmukhi (facing towards the south). Dakshinmukhi is a form of Lord Shiva in which he imparted divine knowledge to the four Manasputras of Brahma Ji. Read our article to know more about Dakshinamurti form of Lord Shiva.

Ujjain is called the city of Kaals i.e. Mahakaal.

Here Shiva is not only the god of death, but also the giver of salvation.

Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga is the main center of Tantra Sadhana, Mukti Marg and festivals like Mahashivratri. The Bhasma Aarti here is especially famous, in which Lord Shiva is bathed with ashes – this Aarti takes place at 4 am and can be seen through special reservations.

It is best to visit Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga between October to March. The weather is favorable at this time.

Darshan and Aarti Information:

Temple opening hours: 4:00 am to 11:00 pm

Bhasma Aarti: 4:00 am to 6:00 pm (pre-booking mandatory)

Special events are held here during Mahashivratri, Shravan month and Navratri. Read our article to know more about the temple.

Other pilgrimage sites in Ujjain like Kaal Bhairav ​​Temple, Sandhya Ghat, Harsiddhi Temple and Ram Ghat are also close to Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga.

Ujjain is well connected by rail and road network, and the nearest airport is in Indore.