Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga is a Hindu temple dedicated to Bhagwan Shiva and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, shrines that are said to be the holiest abode of Shiva. It is located in the ancient city of Ujjain in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Mahakal corridor 'Mahakal Lok' in Ujjain. Mahakal Lok in Ujjain is emerging in the form of such an attractive and convenient temple complex, which will give a feeling of supernatural bliss.
Architecture of Mahakal Lok
❀ Mahakal Corridor is 900 meters long, this corridor has 190 sculptures, which show different forms of Bhagwan Shiva.
❀ There are two grand entrance gates – Nandi Gate and Pinaki Gate. It has 108 pillars of trishul design. Also 50 murals depicting stories from Shiva Purana have been made.
❀ Here, the horticultural species mentioned in Kalidasa's 'Abhigyan Shakuntalam' have also been planted in the corridor. It has 40-45 species of religious importance like Rudraksha, Bakul, Kadam, Belpatra and Saptparni.
❀ Special sandstone imported from Bansi Paharpur in Rajasthan has been planted here. Artists from Rajasthan, Gujarat and Odisha have prepared this corridor.
❀ Under the first phase of Mahakal Lok, the temple expansion plan has been made keeping in mind the pedestrian, crowd management, pilgrim facilities, culture and heritage security and environment.
Facilities at Mahakal Lok
About 20 thousand pilgrims can come to Mahakal Lok at a time. In this, two gates, landscape with sculptures, garden area, Rudrasagar beach area, Shiva pillar, Saptarishi are established. There is also an open air theater and a free sky stage. About 130 shops of food courts, handicrafts, religious items and flowers have been built here. E-rickshaw facility is also available with 400 car capacity parking.
Mahakaleshwar is the only Dakshin Mukhi Jyotirlinga among the 12 Jyotirlingas mentioned in the Puranas. When Bhagwan Krishna had come to Ujjain to take education, he sang the Mahakal stotra. Tulsidas has also mentioned the Mahakal temple.
The mention of Mahakal temple is also found in many poetic stories. Mahakal is also mentioned in the first part of Meghadootam, written in the 4th century. Kalidas also mentions Mahakal. Kalidas has also told about the Mahakal temple. Ujjain has also been a big center of education. In ancient times it was called Avantika.