Garhkalika Temple, Ujjain

01Which Mahakali?

When Bhagwan Vishnu’s chakra divided the body of Sati, a part fell at Ujjayini. The traditions do not agree on which part, or on which shrine marks it. The Peetha Nirnaya names the elbow, and many count Harsiddhi, near Mahakaleshwar, as that seat. Others read the Mahakali of the Ashtadasha stotra as Garhkalika and say the upper lip fell here. Both temples are honoured as Shakti Peethas in Ujjain, and pilgrims usually take darshan at both. The city itself, with Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga, is one of the Sapta Puri.

02Kalidasa’s Devi

Ujjain tells that Kalidasa was a simple, unlettered man, married by a trick to the learned princess Vidyottama, who drove him out in scorn. He turned to Kalika in such devotion that the Devi blessed his tongue, and he became the poet of the Raghuvamsha and the Meghaduta. Students and writers still come to Garhkalika before an examination or a first book. The temple stands on the Garh, the mound of the old city, near the Bhartrihari caves and the Shipra; the excavations of ancient Ujjayini were made on this same ground.