Mahakaleshwar Temple,
Ujjain – Legends
Sakthi
Peeth:
In Hindu
mythology, Daksha Yajna or Daksha-Yaga is an important
event, which is narrated in various Hindu scriptures. It refers to a yajna (sacrifice)
organized by Daksha,
where his daughter Sati immolated herself. The wrath of
god Shiva,
Sati's husband, thereafter destroyed the sacrifice. The tale is also
called Daksha-Yajna-Nasha (destruction of Daksha's sacrifice). The
story forms the basis of the establishment of the Shakti
Peethas, temples of the Hindu Divine Mother. It is also becoming a
prelude to the story of Parvati, Sati's reincarnation who later marries
Shiva. The mythology is mainly told in the Vayu
Purana. It is also mentioned in the Kasi Kanda of
the Skanda Purana, the Kurma
Purana, Harivamsa Purana and Padma
Purana. Linga Purana, Shiva
Purana, and Matsya
Purana also detail the incident.
Sati-Shiva marriage:
Daksha was one of the Prajapati,
son of Brahma,
and among his foremost creations. The name Daksha means "skilled
one". Daksha had two wives: Prasoothi and Panchajani (Virini). Sati (also
known as ‘‘Uma’’) was his youngest daughter; born from Prasoothi (the daughter
of the Prajapati Manu), she was the pet child of Daksha and
he always carried her with him. Sati (meaning truth) is also called Dakshayani
as she followed Daksha’s path; this is derived from the Sanskrit
words Daksha and Ayana (walk or path).
Sati, the youngest daughter of Daksha, was
deeply in love with the god Shiva and wished to become his wife. Her
worship and devotion of Shiva strengthened her immense desire to become his
wife. However, Daksha did not like his daughter’s yearning for Shiva, mainly
because he was a Prajapati and the son of the god Brahma;
his daughter Sati was a royal princess. They were wealthy nobility and their
imperial royal lifestyle was entirely different from that of Shiva.
As an emperor, Daksha wanted to increase his influence
and power by making marriage alliances with powerful empires and influential
sages and gods. Shiva on the other hand led a very modest life. He lived among
the downtrodden, wore a tiger skin, smeared ashes on his body, had thick locks
of matted hair, and begged with a skull as bowl. His abode was Mount Kailash in
the Himalayas.
He embraced all kinds of living beings and did not make any distinction between
good souls and bad souls.
The Bhutaganas, his followers, consisted of all
kinds of ghosts, demons, ghouls and goblins. He wandered through garden and
graveyard alike. As a consequence, Daksha had aversion towards Shiva being his
daughter’s companion. However, unlike Daksha, Sati loved Shiva as she had the
revelation that Shiva was the Supreme God. Sati won Shiva as her husband by
undergoing severe austerities (tapas).
Despite Daksha's disappointment, Sati married Shiva.
Brahma's Yajna:
Once Brahma conducted a huge yajna (sacrifice),
where all the Prajapatis, gods and kings of the world were invited. Shiva and
Sati were also called on to participate in the yajna. All of them came for the
yajna and sat in the ceremonial place. Daksha came last. When he arrived,
everyone in the yajna, with the exception of Brahma, Shiva and Sati, stood up
showing reverence for him. Brahma being Daksha's father and Shiva being
Daksha's son-in-law were considered superior in stature to Daksha. Daksha
misunderstood Shiva’s gesture and considered Shiva's gesture as an insult.
Daksha vowed to take revenge on the insult in the same manner.
Daksha Yaga:
Daksha’s grudge towards Shiva grew after Brahma's yajna.
With the prime motive of insulting Shiva, Daksha initiated a great yajna,
similar to that of Brahma. The yajna was to be presided over by the sage Bhrigu.
He invited all the gods, Prajapatis and kings to attend the yajna and
intentionally avoided inviting Shiva and Sati.
Dadhichi – Daksha argument:
The Kurma Purana discusses the dialogues between the
sage Dadhichi and
Daksha. After the sacrifice and hymns where offered to the twelve Aditya
gods; Dadhichi noticed that there was no sacrificial portion (Havvis) allotted
to Shiva and his wife, and no Vedic hymns were used in the yajna addressing
Shiva which were part of Vedic hymns. He warned Daksha that he should not alter
the Holy Vedas for personal reasons; the priests and sages supported this.
Daksha replied to Dadhichi that he would not do so and insulted Shiva. Dadhichi
left the yajna because of this argument.
Sati's Death:
Sati came to know about the grand yajna organized by her
father and asked Shiva to attend the yajna. Shiva refused her request, saying
that it was inappropriate to attend a function without being invited. He
reminded her that she was now his wife more than Daksha’s daughter and, after
marriage, is a member of Shiva’s family rather than Daksha’s. The feeling of
her bond to her parents overpowered the social etiquette she had to follow. She
even had a notion that there was no need to have received an invitation in
order to attend as she was Daksha’s favourite daughter and no formality existed
between them.
She constantly pleaded and urged Shiva to let her attend
the ceremony and became adamant in her demands without listening to the reasons
Shiva provided for not attending the function. He allowed Sati to go to her
parents' home, along with his followers including Nandi,
and attend the ceremony, but refused to accompany with her. Upon arriving, Sati
tried to meet her parents and sisters; Daksha was arrogant and avoided
interacting with Sati. He repeatedly snubbed her in front of all the
dignitaries, but Sati maintained her composure.
Because of Sati’s persistence in trying to meet him,
Daksha reacted vehemently, insulting her in front of all the other guests at
the ceremony to which she had not been invited. He called Shiva an atheist and
cremation ground dweller. As planned, he took advantage of the situation and
continued shouting repugnant words against Shiva. Sati felt deep remorse for
not listening to her beloved husband. Daksha’s disdain towards her, and
especially her husband Shiva, in front of all the guests was growing each
moment she stood there. The shameless insult and humiliation of her and her
beloved, eventually became too much to bear.
She cursed Daksha for acting so atrociously toward her
and Shiva and reminded him that his haughty behaviour had blinded his
intellect. She cursed him and warned that the wrath of Shiva would destroy him
and his empire. Unable to bear further humiliation, Sati committed suicide by
jumping into the sacrificial fire. The onlookers tried to save her, but it was
too late. They were only able to retrieve the half-burnt body of Sati.
Daksha's pride in being a Prajapati and his prejudice
against his son-in-law created a mass hatred within himself, which resulted in
the death of his daughter. The Nandi and the accompanying Bhootaganas left the
yajna place after the incident. Nandi cursed the participants and Bhrigu
reacted by cursing the Bhootaganas back.
Destruction of the Yajna by Lord Shiva:
Lord Shiva was deeply pained upon hearing of his wife's
death. His grief grew into a terrible anger when he realized how Daksha had
viciously plotted a treachery against him; but it was his innocent wife who fell
into the trap instead of him. Shiva learned of Daksha’s callous behaviour
towards Sati. Shiva's rage became so intense that he plucked a lock of hair
from his head and smashed it on the ground, breaking it into two with his leg.
Armed and frightening, two fearsome beings Virabhadra and
Bhadrakali
(Rudrakali) emerged. Lord Shiva ordered them to kill Daksha and destroy the yajna.
The ferocious Virabhadra and Bhadrakali, along with the
Bhutaganas, reached the yajna spot. The invitees renounced the yajna and
started running away from the turmoil. Sage Bhrigu created an army with his
divine penance powers to resist Shiva’s attack and protect the yajna. Bhrigu’s
army was demolished and the entire premises were ravaged. All those who
participated, even the other Prajapatis and the gods, were mercilessly beaten,
wounded or even slaughtered.
The Vayu Purana mentions the attack of Bhutaganas:
the nose of some goddesses were cut, Yama's
staff bone was broken, Mitra's
eyes were pulled out, Indra was trampled by Virabhadra and
Bhutaganas, Pushan's
teeth were knocked out, Chandra was beaten heavily, all of the
Prajapatis' were beaten, the hands of Vahini were cut off, and Bhrigu's beard
was cut off. Daksha was caught and decapitated, the attack culminated when the
Bhutaganas started plucking out Bhrigu’s white beard as a victory
souvenir.
The Vayu Purana do not mention the
decapitation of Daksha, instead it says Yagna,
the personification of yajna took the form of an antelope and jumped towards
the sky. Virabhadra captured it and decapitated Yagna. Daksha begs mercy from
the Parabrahmam (the
Supreme Almighty who is formless), who rose from the yajna fire and forgives
Daksha. The Parabrahmam informs Daksha that Shiva is in fact a manifestation of
Parabrahmam. Daksha then becomes a great devotee of Shiva. The Linga
Purana and Bhagavatha Purana mention the
decapitation of Daksha.
Certain other puranas like Harivamsa, Kurma,
and Skanda narrate the story from the perspective of the
Vaishnava-Shaiva community feud prevalent in ancient times. In these puranas,
there are fights between Vishnu and Shiva or Virabhadra, with various victors
throughout. The story of Daksha Yaga in Vaishnava and Shaiva puranas
end with the surrendering of Daksha to the Parabrahmam or with the destruction
of yajna and decapitation of Daksha.
Aftermath:
As the obstruction of the yajna will create havoc and
severe ill effects on the nature, Brahma and the god Vishnu went
to the grief-stricken Lord Shiva. They comforted and showed their sympathy
towards Shiva. They requested him to come to the yajna location and pacify the
Bhutaganas and allow the Yaga to be completed; Shiva agreed. Shiva found the
burnt body of Sati. Shiva gave permission to continue yajna. Daksha was
absolved by Shiva and the head of a ram (Male goat) meant for yajna was fixed
on the decapitated body of Daksha and gave his life back. The yajna was
completed successfully.
The later story is an epilogue to the story of Daksha
yajna mentioned in Shakta Puranas like Devi Bhagavata Purana, Kalika
Purana and the folklores of various regions. Shiva was so distressed and
could not part from his beloved wife. He took the corpse of Sati and wandered
around the universe. To reduce Shiva's grief, Vishnu cuts Sati's corpse as per
Vaishnava Puranas; whose parts fell on the places Shiva wandered. The Shaiva
version says that her body disintegrated on its own and the parts fell while
Shiva was carrying Sati's corpse in various places. The Upper Lip of Goddess Sati
fell here, and the Shakti is called as Maha Kali. The shrine is revered as one
of the 18 Maha Shakti Peetham
These places commemorating each body part came to be
known as the Shakti Peethas. There are 51 Shakti
Peethas, representing the 51 letters of Sanskrit.
Some of the puranas which came in later ages gave more importance to their
supreme deity (depending on Vaishnava, Shaiva, and Shakta sects) in their
literature. Shiva went to isolation and solitude for ages and wandered all
around until Sati reincarnated as Parvati,
the daughter of the King Himavan. Like Sati, Parvati took severe austerities
and gave away all her royal privileges and went to forest. Shiva tested her
affection and devotion in disguise. He eventually realized Parvati is Sati
herself. Shiva later married Parvati.
Jyotirlinga:
According to Shiva
Mahapuraan, Brahma (The Creator) and Vishnu (The
Preserver) once had a disagreement about which of them was supreme. To
test them, Shiva pierced
the three worlds as an immeasurable pillar of light, the Jyotirlinga. Vishnu and Brahma parted
company to determine the extent of each end of the pillar. Brahma,
who had set off upward, lied that he had discovered the upper end of the
pillar, but Vishnu,
who had gone in the direction of the base of the pillar, admitted that he had
not. Shiva then
appeared as a second Jyotirlinga and cursed Brahma,
telling him that he would have no place in the ceremonies, though Vishnu would
be worshipped until the 'end of eternity'.
The Jyotirlinga is
the supreme indivisible reality from which Shiva appears.
jyotirlinga shrines commemorate this time when Shiva appeared. It
was believed that there were originally sixty-four Jyothirlingas. Twelve are
considered to be especially auspicious and holy. Each of the twelve sites takes
the name of the presiding deity and each is considered a separate manifestation
of Shiva. At
all these sites, the primary deity is a lingam
representing the beginning less and endless Stambha pillar,
symbolizing the Shiva's infinite nature.
The twelve jyotirlingas are;
·
Somnath in Gujarat,
·
Mallikarjuna at Srisailam in Andhra
Pradesh,
·
Mahakaleswar at Ujjain
in Madhya Pradesh,
·
Omkareshwar in Madhya
Pradesh,
·
Kedarnath in
Uttarakhand,
·
Bhimashankar in Maharashtra,
·
Viswanath at Varanasi in Uttar
Pradesh,
·
Triambakeshwar in Maharashtra,
·
Vaidyanath at Deoghar in Jharkhand,
·
Nageshvara
Jyotirlinga,
·
Rameshwar at Rameswaram in Tamil
Nadu,
·
Grishneshwar at Aurangabad in Maharashtra.
Mahakala:
According to legend, there was a ruler of Ujjain called
Chandrasena, who was a pious devotee of Lord Shiva and worshiped him all the
time. One day, a farmer's boy named Shrikhar was walking on the grounds of the
palace and heard the King chanting the Lord's name and rushed to the temple to
start praying with him. However, the guards removed him by force and sent him
to the outskirts of the city near the river Kshipra.
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.
Hearing this, Shrikhar started to pray and the news
spread to a priest named Vridhi. He was shocked to hear this and upon the
urgent pleas of his sons, started to pray to Lord Shiva at the river Kshipra.
The Kings chose to attack and were successful; with the help of the powerful
demon Dushan, who was blessed by Lord Brahma to
be invisible, they plundered the city and attacked all the devotees of Lord
Shiva. 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 Shrikhar and Vridhi,
Lord Shiva agreed to reside in the city and become the chief deity of the
Kingdom and take care of it against its enemies and to protect all his
devotees. 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. Also, they
would be granted worldly treasures and be under the protection of the Lord
himself.
Fruit of
Immortality:
Bharthari was the elder son of King Gandarva Sena and
received the kingdom of Ujjain from the celestial god Indra and the King of
Dhara. When Bharthari was king of Ujjaini (modern day Ujjain) in his state,
there lived a Brahman who after years of austerities was given the fruit of
immortality from the celestial tree of Kalpa Vriksha. The Brahman presented the
same to his monarch, Raja Bharthari, who in turn, passed it on to his love, the
beautiful, Pinglah Rani or Ananga Sena Raja Bharthari's last and youngest wife.
The queen, being in love with the head police officer of the state, Mahipaala,
presented the fruit to him, who further passed it on to his beloved, Lakha, one
of the maids of honour.
Eventually, Lakha being in love with the king presented
the fruit back to the king. Having completed the circle, the fruit revealed the
downsides of infidelity to the king, he summoned the queen and ordered her
beheading, and ate the fruit himself. After that he abdicated the throne and
became a religious mendicant. He later became a disciple of Pattinatthar
(Swetharanyar or Pattinaththu Chettiyar is poorvasrama name of this saint from
Poompuhar, Tamil Nadu) who first indulged in an argument about samsari and
sanyasi with king Bharthari.
Later during the conversation Pattinatthar said that all
women have 'dual mind' and it might be the true case even with Parameswari.
King conveyed this news to rani Pinglah and she ordered Pattinathar to get
punished and to sit in 'Kalu Maram' (Tree, whose top portion would be sharpened
like a pencil and whole tree is fully coated with oil, a person who is punished
to sit in the top will be split into 2 pieces), they tried to kill Pattinatthar,
but Kalu Maram started burning and nothing happened to Pattinathar, the king
came to know this news and went directly to Pattinathar and asked him to get
ready to die the next day, but Pattinathar replied, " I'm ready right now,
to die".
The next day king came with tears in his eyes and
released saint from jail because he actually noticed queen Pinglah in love with
horsemen that night, He threw away his empire, wealth, even full coat dress and
dressed in a simple Kovanam (loin cloth), the king became a disciple of
Pattinatthar and got Mukthi (salvation) in Kalahasthi temple.
Origin
of the City:
There is an interesting tale behind the sanctity of the
city. It's origin is ascribed to the mythological legend of Sagar Manthan
(churning of primordial ocean to discover the pot of nectar). The story goes
that after the nectar was discovered, there was a chase between the gods and
demons to have the nectar first and thus attain immortality. During this chase
a drop of nectar spilled and fell on Ujjain, thus making the city sacred.
Annihilation
of Dushanan:
There once lived a Brahmin in Avanti, who had four sons,
who were great devotees of Lord Siva. Dushanan, a demon was giving trouble,
disturbing all good & religious activities. The brahmins from all over the
land gathered with the four sons & performed pooja to Lord Siva. The spot
where they had taken mud to make the Lingam, had become a huge pond. When
Dushanan came to disturb their pooja, Lord Siva rose from this pond as Mahakaleshwar
& destroyed Dushanan. On the request of the brahmins, Lord Siva gave darshan
to devotees at this place, one of the Jyotirlinga Sthalams.
References
in Hindu Scriptures:
According to the Puranas,
the city of Ujjain was called Avantika and was famous for its beauty and its
status as a devotional epicenter. It was also one of the primary cities where
students went to study holy scriptures.
