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Many temples galore the city of Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh! It is an important centre of pilgrimage for the Hindu community, with some important Hindu temples located in the city of Ujjain. Of these temples, there is a unique temple in Ujjain which has an unconventional custom. Let's travel to Kal Bhairav temple in Ujjain which is one amongst the most important temples in the city that attracts hundreds of devotees daily.
A temple of Kal Bhairav, the chief among the eight Bhairavs!
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Kal Bhairav temple in Ujjain is an important temple in the city which is frequented by flocks of pilgrims. Dedicated to Kal Bhairav, the guardian deity of the city, it is located on the banks of Shipra river. It is one of the most active temples in Ujjain.
Temple structure
The original temple is believed to have been built by an obscure king named Bhadrasen. It has been mentioned in the Avanti Khanda of the Skanda Purana! The present-day temple structure was built over the remains of the older structure and shows Maratha influence in the architecture.
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Traces testifies that the temple walls were once decorated with Malwa paintings. Images of Shiva, Parvati, Vishnu and Ganesha belonging to the Paramara period (9th - 13th century A.D.) have been recovered from this place!
A temple with unique offerings!
One of the interesting facts about Kal Bhairav temple is that alcohol is offered to the temple diety as one of the five tantric ritual offerings known as panchamakara: madya (alcohol), maansa (meat), meena or matsya (fish), mudra (gesture or parched grain) and maithuna (sexual intercourse). In older times, all five offerings were made to the deity, but now only alcohol is offered; the other four offerings are in form of symbolic rituals.
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Outside the temple, government and non-government vendors have set up liquor shops that sell both country and foreign liquor! Every day, hundreds of devotees offer liquor to the deity which is poured on to a saucer by the priest and placed near the deity's lips, which have a slit. Once he tilts the plate, the liquor starts disappearing! About one-third of the bottle is returned to the devotee as prasad.
The temple priests as well as several devotees claim that the slit doesn't have any cavity, and that the deity miraculously swallows the liquor offered to him!
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Travel to this unique temple in Ujjain to witness this interesting custom. A replica of this temple has been established on the Bhuj-Mundra road in Gujarat. Happy Travelling :)
