The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
The ad for the MPTDC (Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development corporation) says “ ih<dustan ka idl deoae”, in English – “Come and see the heart of India Ujjain
At the very first glance, the similarities between Kashi and Ujjain are apparent – the Shipra River is to Ujjain what the Ganga is to Kashi. On one side of the river are Ghats with temples built by people of all sects from all over India
Again, as at Kashi, one of the most important Ghats is the one where funeral pyres burn day and night and an especially interesting fact is that till recently, the hot ashes from one of these pyres used to be the main offering to Mahakaleshwar – the lord of this region, who is said to be the true king of the city.
Also adding to the similarities are the streets filled with shops selling milk and milk products. We were there the week before Diwali and the city was all geared up for the festive season – lights and decorations all over the place, homes and shops all decked up, beautiful clay diyas (oil lamps) and clay idols of Ganesha and Lakshmi (for the Lakshmi puja on Diwali) at every corner, and of course, the aroma of desi ghee (clarified butter) which pervaded the atmosphere thanks to the sweets getting ready for the feasts, was enough to overcome any pangs of guilt of a dietary conscience………..
Another interesting thing about Ujjain is the assortment of vehicles which greet you at your arrival – auto rickshaws, cycle rickshaws and some kind of modified tempos (sometimes called "Vikrams" )which carry more people than they are designed for, and hence are the cheapest and most convenient mode of transport at Ujjain
While I take my time writing in detail about the places I visited, here are a few useful facts about the city:
How to reach:
The nearest airport is at Indore
Where to stay:
There is no dearth of options for accommodation at Ujjain
MP Tourism has two hotels - Shipra residency and Hotel Avantika (Yatri Niwas). The first is a 3 star accommodation and the second is a budget one, mainly catering to the pilgrims who throng the city. Bookings can be made online.
There are plenty of hotels near the railway station as well as the temple, catering to all budgets. We stayed at the Kabir Hotel, right opposite the railway station, simply because my in-laws had already stayed there before. This is a simple and clean hotel with an attached restaurant which serves typical north Indian cuisine. Double rooms cost Rs. 600/- while they also have four bedded rooms costing Rs.1000/-.
The Mahakaleshwar temple authorities have recently built rooms, both AC as well as non AC, and these rooms can by booked by phone. Call them up at 0734-2550563. These rooms are within the temple compound, and are well maintained and comfortable.
What to see:
Ujjain is a city of temples, where we come across ancient ones at every nook and corner. However, there are around 13 of them which are considered the most important.
These are:
- Mahakaleshwar Mandir
- Bada Ganpati Mandir
- Char Dham Mandir
- Harsiddhi Mata Mandir
- Mangalnath Mandir
- Siddhavat
- Sandipani Ashram
- Gadkalika Devi Mandir
- Bhartruhari Gufa
- Chintamani Ganesh Mandir
- Shani Mandir
- Navagraha Mandir (Triveni)
There are other interesting places too, such as the observatory and the Kalideh Palace
A visit to all these temples takes about 3-4 hours. MP tourism conducts daily tours to all these places by a mini bus at extremely affordable rates, and even a tour of the entire city by car costs about Rs.500/-.
Thanks for the info. Will be handy when plan MP trips. :)
ReplyDeleteLong time and you are back with travelogues lovely! I like the temples in the third picture, although i never been to kashi,I can see in pictures that they look much similar. Thanks for the info someday I would take my parents too :)
ReplyDeleteThat's a nice piece of info. you have provided Anu. I a sure you had a fantastic time.
ReplyDelete@ Bindhu : Thanks...
ReplyDelete@ Srivats: you should take your parents to both kashi as well as ujjain.... they will enjoy it.
@ chitra: Thanks...
Hey, "Vikrams" seem to be the only mode of transport for the 'common' man in Kanpur too. BTW, a variation is seen in Aurangabad and the outskirts of Hyderabad.
ReplyDelete@ Vineshkumar : thanks a lot!!!
ReplyDelete@ USha : yes,I have seen variants at a lot of places..... but this is the first time i saw such big ones!!
hey i'm from ujjain.....wonderful description...but u didn't mention prashanti Dham...its very big saibaba temple.
ReplyDeletei am reading your blog from last one hour and i want to read more about it. thank you very much for keeping us updated. next time i plan to go somewhere i would like to read your blog first.
ReplyDelete