Ujjain The centre point of planet Earth and The City of Mahakaleshwaar Swayambhu Jyotirlinga

Swayambhu Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga (Ujjain)

So recently I traveled to Ujjain and it was a super short trip. However, before I went to Ujjain I did some research about the place and a friend of mine called me up and said, 'So you are going to the centre of the planet Earth?' I heard this and got surprised and got more interested to find out about Ujjain. It was a religious trip that my Astrology teacher had asked me to join him for. I love astrology, it is one of the greatest science under the Vedas. Vedic astrology has so much in depth information about our whole Universe so it was a pleasant surprise that Ujjain has lot to do with Astronomy due to its location and its literally the crossroad of space and time in India. Famous for both religious and scientific reasons. It's the cradle of the Hindu science of astronomy and timekeeping and the Principal seat of astronomical knowledge during its early history. It has occupied this position because its situated where India's ancient Prime Meridian and the Tropic of Cancer once crossed. In 1884, Greenwich became universally accepted as the prime meridian, the international standard for 0° longitude from where all world time is calculated. 

Puja at Ujjain

So here are the interesting things related to the city of Ujjain 

1. Ved -Shala 

I personally could not visit the Vedshala but I studied about it and found out that if you want to know about the ancient timekeeping techniques observed in Ujjain then you could  do so here as well. It's called The Government Jiwaji Observatory. The Sun rays not only have an important role to play at the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga but also why Ujjain is geographically at the spot where the zero meridian of longitude and Tropic of cancer intersect. 

Ved shala photo by Bernard Gagnon

Surya Siddhanta is one of the earliest available texts on Indian astronomy dated to 4th century CE. This text describes scientific methods used the determination of place and time with respect to India's ancient Prime Meridian. These methods are thousands of years old. This indicates that Avanti (ancient name of Ujjain is the Prime Meridian of Earth. Prime meridian is an imaginary line which is a geographical co-ordinate system. Its a zero point for both time and geographical calculations. Now the internationally accepted Prime Meridian runs through Greenwich, in England but in India even now whenever a panchang or a horoscope as per the Hindu almanac is drawn up, it's based on Ujjain time (29 mins behind IST).  

Photo : Dennis Nilsson 

Ujjain is a sacred city be it in the Epics Mahabharata or Ramayana especially because it dedicated to Sacred time. Mahakaal means great time and all Indian traditional calendars and all sacred time is calculated from this line. 

2. Mahakaleshwar Jyotirling 

Ujjain is the land of Mahakaleshwar which means Shiva is beyond Time and Space. It's said that when Earth was created, the first 12 rays of Sun fell on it and all those 12 places became Swayambhu Jyotirlinga meaning self manifested. We went on the day of elections and took the VIP Entry. Despite the fact that the whole city was empty, there was still a big crowd at the temple. By evening the crowd was less though. 

3. King Vikramaditya 

Who is famous from the stories of Vikam Betaal. At one time the city was called Vikrampuri. King Vikramditya is also the founder of the Vikram Samvat Calendar. Ujjaini was its popular name and with slight modification it became Ujjain. King Vikramaditya who is popular as King Vikram from the stories of Vikram Betal which was a television programme that aired on DD National. ... The concept of the program was based on Baital Pachisi, a collection of tales about the semi-legendary King Vikram (identified as Vikramāditya) and the Vetala, a vampire-like being. Lord Srikrishna also received his education from Ujjain. One of the 4 main university of Gautama Buddha was also in Ujjain where his teachings on human evolution through enlightenment were taught.  

Ujjain is an ancient city situated on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River and it's considered one of the holiest cities in India which is a popular pilgrimage centre. The 'Temple city', Ujjain is thronged largely by the Hindu devotees. It is one of the 12 Jyotrilingas, which are supposed to be the most sacred abodes of Shiva. Ram Ghat is located near the Harsiddhi Temple and it serves as the Venues of Kumbh Mela that is held in every 12 years. It's believed that people who take a holy dip in Ram Mandir Ghat attain salvation. Ujjain is ancient and historical city that is 5000 years old.

4. Kumbh Mela 

Photo: Pramukh Shahi Snaan Vaishakh Shukla (Wikipedia)

Once in 12 years a Kumbh Mela is held at Ujjain. Its the greatest religious festivals. Ujjain is one of the 4 places where a drop of Amrit fell after the Samundra Manthana, the churning of the Cosmic Ocean by the Gods and Asuras (Titans). When the Sun is in Aries and Jupiter in Leo, the Elixir of life (Amrit), materialises in the river Kshipra. Its a sacred time when a soul  can purify itself. 

Sharing my Ujjain Vlog which is in 2 parts: 

Lots of Love, The Sunamoon