Avantika Nagari Archives

15/Sep/2022

Location

Gadkalika Devi Temple located in Ujjain is in the ancient Avantika Nagari area in today’s Ujjain city. This Shaktipeeth is 8 km from old Ujjain in the south direction from the district headquarters. This was the adorable goddess of the great poet Kalidas. It is said that Kalidas got knowledge of the scriptures in this temple. According to Tripura Mahatmya, it is the sixth place among the twelve deities.

Story of Gadkalika Devi Temple

Ujjain, the historical city of Madhya Pradesh, recognized because of Mahakal Jyotirlinga, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas located here. But this city of Vikramaditya is hiding another history in itself. That is the history of Mother Shakti who seated here in the form of Gadkalika. It said that the great Sanskrit poet Kalidas attained knowledge only with the blessings of Maa Gadkalika. It believed that Kalidas was illiterate and foolish in his early life. Once Kalidas was cutting the branch of a tree on which he was sitting. In this incident, his wife Vidyotma reprimanded him, as a result of which Kalidas, who came in the category of great fools after doing penance, worshiped Gadkalika Devi and became the great poet, Kalidas.

The ‘Shyamala Dandak’ Mahakali Stotra composed by the great poet Kalidas is a beautiful composition. It is said that this stotra first appeared in the mouth of the great poet. Not only this, Maa Kalika is worshiped before the international Kalidas ceremony is organized in Ujjain.

Festivals

Navratri means the festival of worship of Shakti. Navratri comes twice a year, Chaitra Navratri and Shardiya Navratri. During these nine days, nine forms of the mother worshipped.

Apart from the fair held in Navratri here, festivals and yagyas organized on different occasions. People come from far and wide to see Maa Kalika. Here Navratri celebrated in Ujjain for the crowd of devotees and Goddess Darshan on Navratri festival. If a devotee has worshiped the mother by keeping a fast, then some will be seen fulfilling his vow by leaving slippers. Here in both Navaratri, thousands of devotees gather every day for the darshan of Maa Kalika in the Garh Kalika temple. Devotees’ reverence for Maa Garh Kalika formed on seeing it.

The Temple

Gadkalika Devi Temple is the main place of Tantric Siddhas. Inside the temple, there is a statue containing vermilion. A piece of the moon adorned on the head. In front of the goddess, there a lion statue in the courtyard. There are pictures of many Gods and Goddesses in the Sabha Mandap. Those who are adding to the beauty of the temple. Restoration of this temple AD No. 606 was done by Emperor Harshavardhana. There is a temple of Ganesh Ji near Gadkalika. He is called Sthamaman Ganesha.

The divine form of Mother very huge ocher colored. A silver crown is attached from the head to the head. He is seated on a high throne. Shri Mata Mahalakshmi Ji seated next to the mother’s right. Her divine form fascinates the mind. Saraswati Mata is next to her on the left.

Devotees stand in front of the mother and say their prayers and pray for the fulfillment of their wishes. The area of the temple is huge. Here there are a few old trees. There are long queues of devotees late at night. A devotee performs puja here every day. The five festivals like Gurupurnima etc. are celebrated with great enthusiasm. Every year 40-50 lakh devotees take comes here.

Legend

According to the Hindu religion, it believed that wherever the body parts of Sati Devi fell, Shaktipeeths established there. Shaktipeeths speeded all over the Indian subcontinent. One of those Shaktipeeths is the Gadhkalika Dham located in the city of Ujjain, where the great poet and playwright Kalidas had attained knowledge. The lips of Mother Bhagwati Sati had fallen on the Bhairav Mountain situated near the banks of the Shipra River in Ujjain, due to which the Shaktipeeth established here. No one knows about the antiquity of this miraculous temple of Kalika, the goddess of tantric, as it mentioned in the Puranas.

It known that this ancient temple being renovated by Emperor Harshavardhana. Thousands of devotees gather every day to have the darshan of Maa Kalika in the Gadkalika Devi Temple. It is not known when this miraculous temple of Kalika, the goddess of tantric built, yet it believed that it established in the Mahabharata period and the idol is from the period of Satyuga. Later, from history, it known that the restoration of this ancient temple by Emperor Harshavardhana. It reconstructed by the Maharaja of Gwalior during the same state period.

According to the Puranas, Sati’s father Daksha Prajapati performed a yajna named ‘Brihaspati Sarva’ in Kankhal (Haridwar), in which all the gods called, but deliberately did not invite his son in law Lord Shankar to it. Sati opposed Sati’s father Dakshaprajapati and who said abusive words to Shiva, due to which Sati sacrificed herself in the Yagya. After which Shiva became so angry that he opened his third eye and started doing Tandava.

After which he started roaming the whole universe with the body of the dead Sati. Wherever the dead body parts of Sati fell, Shaktipeeths established there. The lips of Mother Bhagwati Sati had fallen on the Bhairav Mountain situated near the banks of the Shipra River in Ujjain. Due to this Shaktipeeth established here. No one knows about the antiquity of this miraculous temple of Kalika, the goddess of tantriks, but it mentioned in the Puranas.

One of the 51 Shaktipeeths of Maa, the Gadkalika Shaktipeeth of Ujjain, is famous in the whole of India as well as the subcontinent. Gadkalika Devi Temple has great importance for the attainment of Tantra Vidya, where people come from far and wide to achieve Tantric Siddhi. The devotees who come to this temple make wishes from the Garh Kalika, the mother of knowledge, according to the poet Kalidas and are happy to find themselves in this court. If the devotees believe, then after coming here, all their troubles go away.

Gadkalika Devi Temple Timings

7.00 AM – 7.00 PM

How To Reach Gadkalika Devi Temple

Bus: Bus services, both Regular and Superfast A.C. are available from Indore (55 km), Gwalior (450 km), Ahmedabad (400 km), and Bhopal (195 km) up to Ujjain.

Trains: Ujjain Junction railway station is an important railway station in the Western Railway zone. Ujjain adequately connected with all the major railway stations in India. Direct train services are available to cities like Bhopal, Indore, Nagpur, Pune, Malwa, Delhi (Nizamuddin Express), Mumbai (Avantika Express), Kolkata (Shipra Express), Chennai (JP Madras Express) and many more.

Air: Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport in Indore is the nearest airport to Ujjain, located 55 km away. Indore well connected to major cities of India by public and private domestic airlines. Indore well connected to places like Jaipur, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Bhopal and Chennai. Taxi service is available from Indore airport to Ujjain which costs around Rs.1,000. International travelers can get connecting flights to Indore from Delhi (800 km) or Mumbai (655 km) airports.

Others: Tongas are horse-drawn carriages, and this mode of travel is slower but cheaper than the above mode. Auto rickshaws in Ujjain do not run-on meters and you need to negotiate a certain rate before opting to travel via auto rickshaw. Although these auto rickshaws can be a safe mode of travel during the night.

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