LAND OF FAITH & MYTHS "UJJAIN"

Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, the popular destination for all the Hindus, I ended up here few days ago with less faith, more for relaxing holidays but the serene and powerful impact of surroundings be it air, land and people make me to fall over indispensable faith again. Believe me, whether you are theist or atheist, a trip to Ujjain is promising to all. You can see some of the magical powers always chasing you in form of prayers, chants and god. It is called as land of miracles, and it is really one of its kind, ruled by generous, yet powerful king Vikramaditya, one can still find some traits of him in the public over there. My trip to Ujjain started with Guruji who resides there, giving his life in devotion to Mahakal (Lord Shiva).

A portrait of King Vikramaditya

I took a direct express train to Ujjain from New Delhi which is the cheapest, yet comfortable mode for travel. We reached in the morning  to Ujjain station at 9 am and it seemed like it's quite afternoon, the land and air both are heating up my soul.

Chirping of birds at railway station

I took an autorickshaw to Mahakal temple where my arrangements were previously done by Guruji. It was amazing feeling to experience over there, the devotees were roaming all around, you can feel the pious presence of God and Goddesses all around there. It is said that there exist 33 crores of God and Goddesses in Hindu religion, and trust me no matter whom you have a faith on, you can feel his sacred presence on that piece of land.

Inspite of being so reverent place, the land of Ujjain can also promise you showing  your childhood fantasies in reality. You, might have heard about the stories of Vikram Betaal, so one can see that famous tree where Betaal used to hang still there on the ghats of Shipra river. 

The famous Vikram Betaal tree

Alongside of Shipra river, it is believed that ones who had afflictions(doshas) can be freed from them by serving prayers for them. So, myriad of priests are residing there, promising to entangle you out from your doshas. Also, the famous Kalpvriksha(the tree which is used to fulfill all the wishes) exist there. So, there are countless scopes where you will be listened by god.

Priests doing rituals for getting rid of afflictions

Next destination is Manglnaath temple, the only temple dedicated to Mars planet in the world. The nice thing about the temples in Ujjain is all of these temples are naturally originated and the way the shrines are adorned is just mesmerising and makes you hypnotized once.

The most attention seeker is Kalbhairov Mandir there, the uniqueness about there is that you will get all the liquor shops outside the temple, and hold on, it is not at all offending, the liquor is given to Bhairo Baba in form of Prasad and yes, you will get one too for your way back home to share it with your family and friends...!! How amazing is that..!

Kalbahiron Baba shrine

You will be surprised to know that Baba is capable of drinking entire liquor offered to them in a day which is poured by the priest in the plate and many researches have been done to know the scientific reason behind it but none is able to find where that liquor goes.

In the evening, I got a chance to see Harsiddhi Mata Mandir where the elbow of Matarani has fallen, so you may predict how pious this place can be. One could fall for her the way she is adorned, seeing the kindness in her eyes makes you forget everything at an instance. I reached there at the time of evening prayers offered to Mata, the best thing about Hindu prayers is the intonating and lavishing music they used to deliver to the goddesses letting all your negativity out of you and pleasing to your ears. I also saw the ignition of the famous traditional deepmala there also, which is ignited by the devotees only when their wish has been fulfilled by the Mata . It was an enlightened feeling there taking you to centuries ago.

Inside view of Gribhashaya of Harsiddhi Mata Mandir

Harsiddhi Mata

In a way, we ought to see the famous Ram Mandir lying on the banks of Shipra river where the spectacular Kumbh Mela is going to be held, one can find huge preparations going on by the government these days. 

Also, there one can observe the footprints of Lord Krishna as he had taken his teachings from Sandipani Guru, one can still see some of his remains in the form of museum protected by his heirs and the government. 

I took my first meal for the day in the evening and I must say, if you are a foodie, then Ujjain will definitely going to disappoint you as you won't get anything special out there to eat. So, after dinner, I am going to have my first step in Mahakaleshwar temple, where the sacred shrine of Mahakal resides.

To know more about Mahakal, follow me on my next post LORD OF LORDS "MAHAKAL".