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- The Mahakal Temple, one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, is a famous Shiva temple.
- It derives its name from "kaal" meaning end of life – death;
- Mahakal means Lord of Death.
Kapal Mochan
- Once, lord Shiva arrived at Mahakal forest with a skull in his hand.
- All the trees and vegetation were delighted to find him in their midst.
- They requested lord Shiva to remain their forever.
- Lord Shiva told them that it was not possible for him to stay there forever but on being
requested once again agreed to stay there for at least a year.
- After one year, when the time for departure came he released the skull from his hand as a
memorial.
Performance of Yajna
- When lord Brahma came to know of this incident, he instructed all the deities to reach
Mahakal forest without wasting any time
- so that a grand yagya could be performed at the
place where Shiva had left the skull.
- All the deities went to the said place and worshipped Lord Shiva by employing the rituals of
Pashupat vrata, which Lord Brahma had taught them.
Shiva’s protection
- Lord Shiva became pleased by their devotion and said–' Perhaps you all are not aware that
there was a specific objective behind my act of releasing the skull from my hand.
- This act of mine was done to protect your lives but it seems you are unaware of its
significance.
- Deities were amazed by Shiva's statements and were wondering what Shiva was trying to
convey.
- So, they requested Shiva to unravel the mystery so that they could understand what he meant
to say.
Shiva’s revelation
- Lord Shiva told them-' The followers of Maya were planning to kill you while you were busy
doing penance but no one of you was aware of their evil motive.
- I came to know about this in my deep state of meditation and dropped the skull from my
hand.
- As soon as the skull touched the ground a thunderous sound was made as the result of which
all the demons were killed instantaneously.'
- All the deities thanked Lord Shiva for protecting their lives.
- In course of time this particular place became famous as Kapalmochan and is presently
situated in Ujjain.
- By the blessings of lord Shiva the brahmin enjoyed a very happy and contented life.
- After his death, the brahmin's son continued the tradition of Shiva's worship.
Demon Dushan
- There was a mountain named Ratnamala on which a demon named Dushan used to live.
- Being intoxicated by the boons received from Lord Brahma, he used to torment all the people.
- He had all the surrounding area under his control except the house in which the brahmin
family lived.
- Dushan ordered his fellow demons to bring the brahmin after capturing them.
- All the demons went to Avantikapuri and created havoc.
- They went to the brahmins and told them about Dushan's order.
- The brahmins were busy chanting mantras at that time so they did not give ear to their words.
The brahmins continued with their chanting.
Shiva’s appearance
- Suddenly the earth cracked with a tremendous sound and lord Shiva manifested from within
the cracks.
- He shouted > I am mahakala, and destroy all of you demons.
- He killed all the demons.
- He again returned to the brahmins and expressed his desire of fulfilling their wishes.
- The brahmins expressed their desire of getting liberated from the bondage's of this world.
- They also requested him to remain at that place.
- Lord Shiva accepted their request and established himself in the form of Mahakala
Greatest Vaishnava
Nimna ganam yatha ganga, devanam achyuto yatha
vaisnavanam yatha sambhuh purananam idam tatha
- Just as the Ganga is the greatest of all rivers, Lord Acyuta the supreme among deities and Lord
Sambhu [Siva] the greatest of Vaisnavas, so Srimad-Bhagavatam is the greatest of all Puranas.
- Lord Siva is the greatest devotee of Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna
- Lord Brahma, Bhagavan Narada, Lord Siva, the four Kumaras, Lord Kapila [the son of
Devahuti], Svayambhuva Manu, Prahlada Maharaja, Janaka Maharaja, Grandfather Bhisma,
Bali Maharaja, Sukadeva Gosvami and I myself know the real religious principle.
History
- There was a ruler of Ujjain called Chandrasena, who was a pious devotee of Lord Shiva and
worshiped him all the time.
- Shiva’s associate Manibhadra offered him a special gem called ‘Chintamani’ which was highly
auspicious.
- King Chandrasena accepted it gratefully and wore it on his neck as Shiva’s mercy.
- Seeing such valuable gem, other kings became envious of him.
- One day, when the King was absorbed in chanting the Lord's name and offering his prayers…
- Rivals of Ujjain, primarily King Ripudamana and King Singhaditya of the neighboring kingdoms
decided to attack the Kingdom and take over its treasures around this time.
- The enemy Kings chose to attack and they plundered the city
- They attacked all the devotees of Lord Shiva.
Appearance of Mahakala
- Upon hearing the pleas of His helpless devotees, Lord Shiva appeared in his Mahakala form
and destroyed the enemies of King Chandrasena.
- Upon the request of his devotees Vridhi, Lord Shiva agreed to reside in the city
- He become the chief deity of the Kingdom and took care of it against its enemies to protect all
His devotees.
Shiva linga
- From that day on, Lord Shiva resided in His light form as Mahakala in a Lingam that was
formed on its own from the powers of the Lord and His consort, Parvati.
- The Lord also blessed his devotees and declared that people who worshipped Him in this form
would be free from the fear of death and diseases.
- Sanatkumar had revealed to him that all kinds of sins loosed their evil influence at
Mahakaalteerth.
- Anybody, who is fortunate of leaving his mortal body at this holy-place, is freed from the
vicious cycles of birth and death.
- This place is very dear to Lord Shiva and is also called by various other names like Mahakaal-
van and Vimukti-kshetra.
Dkashin Mukhi
- The Siva-linga in this temple is the only Jyotirlinga which faces south and hence it is known as
Dakshin mukhi or the south-facing lingam.
- Nandi is placed at south.
- Ganesh, Parvati, Kartikeya are at west, north, east.
Koti tirtha
- This Kund was established by Hanuman a great devotee of lord Ram.
- For the coronation of Sri Ram, Hanuman went to collect all holy tirthas.
- In his travel, he stopped at Ujjain, and offered some water here also from his Kalasha.
- having bath in this Kund is similar to having bath in at many spiritual places.
- Koti tirtha means millions of tirthas