01The kotwal’s cup
Bhairav is Shiva’s fierce form, and in Ujjain he keeps the city for Mahakal. The Avanti Khanda of the Skanda Purana names his shrine among the tirthas of Avantika. The custom that strikes every visitor happens at the sanctum door: the priest takes the bottle of liquor a devotee has brought, pours it into a saucer and holds it to the lips of the vermilion-covered face, and the liquor is seen to go down. Half is given back as prasad. Shops outside the gate sell the offering along with flowers and coconuts.
02The Scindia turban
Images of Shiva, Parvati, Vishnu and Ganesh of the Paramara period have been found at the site, and the walls once carried Malwa paintings, of which traces remain. The present temple shows Maratha work. Ujjain’s tradition says that after the defeat at Panipat in 1761 Mahadji Scindia offered his turban to Kal Bhairav and prayed for the return of Maratha power in the north; when it came, he rebuilt the temple, and a turban is still placed on the deity in his family’s name. Bhairav Ashtami in Kartik is the great day.
The life of this place
- after 1761 (Ujjain tradition)Mahadji Scindia vows his turban to Kal Bhairav and later rebuilds the temple.
The temple is at Bhairavgarh, about 5 km north of the Mahakal temple; it is usually visited with Mangalnath and Sandipani Ashram.
