History, Importance, Timings, Festivals, Architecture, Interesting Facts and Travel Guide of Harsiddhi Mata Mandir, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India
Harsiddhi MataTemple, one of the 51 Shaktipeetha temple of Goddess, located near Rudra Sagar Lake in Ujjain the city of Mahakal, the world famous Mahakaleshwar Temple, Madhya Pradesh, India is very important and popular pilgrimage site of city for follower of Sanatan Dharma. The Harsiddhi emple stands 13th in the list of 51 Saktipeetas across world. It is also said that goddess Harsiddhi was Kuldevi of great King Vikramaditya, and king worship devi Harsiddhi with great belief and Mangalchandiki’ was the ancient name of goddess.
Interesting legend associated with Harsiddhi Mata, as per the Skanda Puran, sacred ancient textof Sanatan Dharma, once demon Chand and Prachand tried to enter on Mount Kailash where Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati lived. Then Lord Shiva called up goddess Chandi, one of incarnation of Goddess Parvati, Goddess Chandi had killed both demon. After this incident Lord Shiva had called Goddess Chandi as Harsiddhi, thus from blessing of Lord Shiva Chandi Ma gets title of Harsiddhi.
Harsiddhi Mata Temple is one of the key shrine of goddess, worshiped from pre Vedic period. As per the Markandeya Puran, Sati, daughter of King Daksh Prajapati, was great devotee of Lord Shiva and did intense penance to please Lord Shiva. Finally Lord Shiva had accepted her hand for marriage. But King Daksha was not happy with this marriage.
To insult Lord Shiva, Daksha held Yagya and invited all God and reputed persons except the Sati and Lord Shiva. Sati had decided to confront her father at Yagya. Lord Shiva tried to stop her by doing this but Sati went to Yagya. King Daksh did not welcomed her and use this occasion to insult her and Lord Shiva in front of all God and reputed individuals. Sati could not bear this humiliation and jumped into holy fire of the Yagya.
Once Lord Shiva got this information; he was deeply pain and anger on King Daksh. Lord Shiva had created Virbhadra and Bhadrakali with extra ordinary super power and order to kill Daksh and his army. Then Lord Shiva picked up Sati with burning body and unleashed his fury in form of legendary Tandava, dance of destruction. The other God and people started worried about safety of whole universe and requested Lord Vishnu the supreme Lord, to help out in this situation.
Lord Vishnu used the Sudarashan Chakra and cut the body of Ma Devi Sati in pieces. As per the legends, Sati’s elbow as 13 fragment fell over spot marked by Harsiddhi Temple. Thus this temple is one of the main Shaki Peeth and Siddh Peeth across 51 Shakti Peeth across world.
Idol of Harsiddhi Mata is painted in dark vermillion color and placed in centre with idols of Mahasaraswati and Mahalakshmi in temple premise. The presence of Shree Yantra, symbol of Shakti and represents nine forms of Durga is one of the main features of the temple. Another attractive feature of temple is two towering Deep Stambhas, one of main pattern of temple build during Maratha Period. During the Navratri, hundreds of Diyas are flamed which create a tremendous and divine scene during nine days of Navratri and festival celebrated with great zeal.
Along with main temple, one small shrine of Goddess Mahamaya, located in temple premise which is closed for tourist and here a Diya which burns from lots of years. There is also an ancient well on the premises, next to which stands a smaller temple dedicated to Karkateshwar Mahadev.
It is believed that Lord Shiva had taken the form of Bhairav, and always to stand guard over each of the shaktipeeths. Tantric tradition holds this seat as siddha-pitha.
How to reach Harsiddhi Temple, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India
As Ujjain is one of holiest site of India, district head quarter and major city of Madhya Pradesh, it is very well connect to all the major cities of India via Road, Rail and Air network. Harsiddhi temple is in center of Ujjain you can easily reach via cab, auto from any corner of cities. From Ujjain, the Nearest Airport Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport Indore at just 53 km from where you can catch regular flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Hyderabad and Bhopal. Ujjain has it major railway station on the Western Railway zone from where you can find trains to all major cities of India. Also Ujjain is well connected via state highway and national highway to all cities of India. You can get regular government and private bus services from Indore, Bhopal, Ratlam, Gwalior, Mandu, Dhar, Kota and Omkareshwar etc. to reach Ujjain. Ujjain is situated 53 km from Indore, 191 km from Bhopal, 135 km from Omkareshwar, 390 km from Ahmedabad, 102 km from Ratlam, 340 km from Vadodara, 195 km from Dahod, 465 km from Gwalior, 560 km from Khajuraho, 260 km from Kota, 332 km from Udaipur, 350 km from Nathdwara, 267 km from Chittorgarh.
