Ujjain

Why it is one of the Sapta Puri

A verse of the Garuda Purana calls seven cities givers of liberation: "ayodhyā mathurā māyā kāśī kāñcī avantikā, purī dvāravatī jñeyā saptaitā mokṣadāyikāḥ". Meaning: Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya, Kashi, Kanchi, Avantika and the city of Dvaravati, know these seven as givers of liberation. Avantika (today’s Ujjain) is the sixth name in the list.

We read the verse in two places in the Uttara Khanda (Preta Kalpa) of the Garuda Purana: chapter 38 (verses 5-6) and chapter 49 (verse 114), in the Venkateshvara Press text. In both places the context is the tirthas where dying brings liberation. In the Kashi Khanda of the Skanda Purana (first half, chapter 7) Shivasharman, a brahmin of Mathura, resolves to visit the seven cities (verses 42-43) and goes to the other six.

The names and the texts

In the Kashi Khanda of the Skanda Purana (first half 7.90-92) Shivasharman reaches the city of Mahakala; the text says the city that saves the world from sin is called Avanti, that its name changes in every yuga, and that in the Kali Yuga it is called Ujjayini. Ujjain district lists more of its names: Pratikalpa, Padmavati, Bhogavati, Amaravati, Kumudvati, Vishala and Kushasthali; as the capital of the Avanti janapada it was called Avantikapuri.

The main temples and ghats

Mahakaleshwar is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas; according to Ujjain district the linga is believed to be swayambhu and faces south (dakshinamurti), and the temple’s Nagchandreshwar shrine opens only on Nag Panchami. According to MP Tourism the bhasma aarti is performed here daily. The district calls the Harsiddhi temple a Shakti Peetha, where according to the Shiva Purana Sati’s elbow fell; Gadhkalika too is a Shakti Peetha according to the district.

According to Ujjain district the Kal Bhairav temple stands on the Kshipra, where liquor is offered as prasad, and Mangalnath, said according to the Matsya Purana to be the birthplace of Mangala (Mars). According to MP Tourism Ram Ghat is the city’s oldest bathing ghat; according to the district the royal bath (shahi snan) of the Simhastha takes place here, and tradition says Rama performed his father’s last rites here. On the Mangalnath road is the Sandipani Ashram, where Krishna, Balarama and Sudama are believed to have studied (MP Tourism).

How to reach Ujjain

• Air: Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport, Indore, 53 km away (Ujjain district).
• Rail: Ujjain Junction (UJN), Western Railway (Ujjain district).
• Road: Indore 53 km, Bhopal 183 km, Delhi 774 km (Ujjain district).

Main festivals

Where the sources differ

• In popular recitation the second line is also heard as "purī dvāravatī caiva". The Garuda Purana text in which we checked it reads "purī dvāravatī jñeyā". The verse says "saptaitā" (these seven), so "purī dvāravatī" is one city, the city of Dwarka, not Jagannath Puri.
• The Ujjain district website (in the Garuda Purana’s name) calls this city the first or the foremost of the seven. The Garuda Purana verse only lists the seven names and ranks none; the other cities’ own sources also call their city the first.
• Harsiddhi’s lamp pillars: the district and one MP Tourism page give 726 lamps, another MP Tourism page 1,008 lamps on each pillar. Distance to the airport: the district gives 53 km, MP Tourism 55 km.
• According to D. C. Sircar (The Shakta Pithas, 1948) the "Ujjayini" pitha of the Pithanirnaya has been identified both with present Ujjain and with Ujani (Burdwan) in Bengal; this is set out on the list page /kosh/shakti-peeth/.

Frequently asked questions