The Secret Behind Bollywood's Rising Inclination Towards Ujjain's Mahakal

The influx of Bollywood celebrities, cricketers as well as politicians has increased at Ujjain's Mahakaleshwar Temple in the past few years. Ever wondered why?

Being one of the twelve jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva, celebrity couples often visit the temple after marriage to seek blessings from the deity. Be it Raghav-Parineeti, Virat-Anushka or KL Rahul-Athiya, the celeb couples are often spotted at temple premises to offer prayers.

Not only Bollywood celebs, other VVIPs like politicians and cricketers too can be seen performing 'Rudra Abhhishek' here. Indian cricketer Suryakumar Yadav along with Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar visited the Mahakaleshwar Temple in January 2023 and prayed for the speedy recovery of fellow cricketer Rishabh Pant.

Notably, Mahakal is the only jyotirlingam facing the south, the direction of death, while all the other jyotirlingas face east, and thus it is is considered to be the the most powerful. This is one of the reasons why every devotee seeks the lord's darshan.

Bollywood playback singer Shaan visited the temple twice in ten months and said that at the temple he had a supernatural experience during the 'Bhasmarti', which he cannot express in words.

Politicians are also often spotted at Ujjain's famous temple before starting any new work. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had visited the Mahakal Temple soon after taking oath as the state's CM.

According to a legend, the temple’s Mahakal lingam is believed to be Swayambhu (self-manifested) and the Lord is known to grant the wishes of his devotees. In 2023, when MP was facing a drought-like situation, then CM Shivraj performed a special puja here and it indeed rained within a week.

The Mahakal corridor inaugurated in 2022 has also played a significant role in increasing the footfall at the temple. According to Mahakaleshwar Temple Management Committee (MTMC), the footfall of national and international devotees has quadrupled after the inauguration of the corridor.

According to Hindu mythology, the Mahakaleshwar Temple was built by Lord Brahma. The temple sees devotees flocking to take blessings from the deity round the year but, especially on Mahashivratri.