01Vikramaditya’s Devi
Ujjain tradition says that when Sati’s body was divided, her elbow fell here, and that Raja Vikramaditya worshipped Harsiddhi so devotedly that he offered her his own head, which the Devi restored to him each time. In the sanctum the Devi is shown in dark red, with Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati beside her and the Shri Yantra before her. The present building, with its Maratha-style tiered shikhar, was raised in the 18th century, when Ujjain was under the Scindias.
02The lamp towers
Before the temple stand two tall deepstambhas, their sides studded with hundreds of lamp holders. On Navratri evenings men climb them and light every lamp, and the two pillars burn like trees of fire over the courtyard. Pilgrims coming for Mahakal darshan walk the few hundred metres here; at Simhastha the lanes between the two temples do not empty day or night.
A short walk from Mahakaleshwar. Come at Navratri dusk for the deepstambhas.
