Mahakal Lok Corridor: On attaining ‘political’ Independence, India never realised about the colonial shackles on its cultural and ideological vent it had been entrapped with. This was evident from the opposition of Former PM Jawaharlal Nehru on the visit of then President Rajendra Prasad to inaugurate Somnath Temple in Gujarat. But times have changed. The clutches of distorted Secularism are slowly but gradually being broken. The nation is witnessing cultural renaissance with spiritual and religious sites getting their due recognition and prestige back.
Ujjain bestowed with its past glory
PM Narendra Modi is an ardent follower of Sanatan Dharma. He has been working relentlessly to bring back the cultural and spiritual glory of the Indian civilisation. This is evident from the revival of highly revered places of Hinduism. He has been closely monitoring the developmental works of the Char Dham circuit, Buddha Circuit and other religious circuits connecting cultural as well as religious sites with better road, rail and air connectivity.
Addressing the gathering after inaugurating the project, PM Modi said, Spirituality is contained in every kan (particle) and divine energy is being transmitted from every corner of Ujjain. Ujjain led the nation’s prosperity, knowledge, dignity and literature for thousands of years. It was the centre of civilisation for astronomical and other research-based work. Notably, Ujjaini aka Avantika was the centre for time frame before the Greenwich mean time was taken as the standard throughout the world.
Amid Vedic chants, he also unveiled the large shivling covered in strands of sacred red threads.
The prime minister also said that during the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal’, we broke the shackles of colonialism. Today, cultural destinations across India are seeing all-around development. For the first time, Char Dhams are being connected with all-weather roads.
Mahakal Lok Corridor
On 11th of October, PM Modi inaugurated the Mahakal Lok Corridor at Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain. He performed Puja and aarti in the highly revered Mahakal Temple, one of the twelve Jyotirlingas in the country.
The Mahakal Temple is dedicated to Bhagwan Shiva and is the only South facing Jyotirlinga in the country. South is believed to be the direction of Yamaraj (God of death) and as per Popular belief Shiva (Mahakal) is the one who has conquered Kal (death/Yama).
During the auspicious event, PM Modi addressed an August gathering of Sadhus, Sanyasis, Governors of various states, MP CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan and ministers of Union Cabinet.
After the puja rituals, he unveiled the first phase of the Mahakaleshwar Temple corridor development project. Reportedly, it is being constructed with an outlay of Rs 856 crores.
Mahakal Lok is the newly constructed Mahakaleshwar Temple corridor. It is more than 900 metres in length. The corridor houses 108 ornate sandstone columns in a row. Each column features a decorative design of trishul on top and different ‘mudras’ of Bhagwan Shiva on them. The sandstone used for the columns are derived from the Bansi Paharpur area in Rajasthan. The brilliant structures are a masterpiece chiselled by artists and craftsmen from Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Odisha.
Also read: PM Modi lays the foundation stone of Kashi Vishwanath Temple corridor
Plan for Development
As per the redevelopment plan, the aim is to beautify, expand, and decongest Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar temple and its surrounding area. Reportedly, the area will be given a massive flip. It will be expanded from the original 2.82 hectares of the Ujjain-based Jyotirlinga temple grounds to 47 hectares. It will include the 17-hectare Rudrasagar lake in the expansion plan.
The sagar houses an island which was said to be the throne of Raja Vikramaditya. He is credited for giving the Vikram Samvat which holds great significance in Hinduism. It was drafted much before the Gregorian calendar.
The corridor features 53 illuminated murals that depict stories from Shiva Purana. Further, the Mahakaleshwar corridor redevelopment will be three times grander than the redevelopments taking place in the Kashi Vishwanath temple premises.
The Idols and the Meaning Behind Them
The corridor houses many murtis including the Navagrah, Sapt Rishis, Family of Bhagwan Shiva and idols showing the various battles and important life journeys of Shiva like the murtis depicting his marriage. To understand the symbolic significance of the murtis here is an in-depth description of one murti where Bhagwan Mahakal is depicted killing the asura trio of Tripurasura.
Tripurasura was a trio of asura brothers namely Tarakaksha, Vidyunmāli and Kamalaksha. They were the sons of the asura Tarakasura. The trio performed tapasya.
Impressed by their devotion, Brahma ji granted them boons of three forts – gold, silver, and iron. When the trio started ravaging with their evil deeds, Bhagwan Shiva decided to kill the asura brother trio. It is believed that all the Gods accompanied Bhagwan Shiva in this battle indirectly.
The creator of the universe, Brahma Ji was the charioteer of the rath and other deities presented in some weapons of Bhagwan Shiva. In three days, Shiva killed Tripurasura and destroyed the three cities of the demons. This occurred on the full moon day in the Kartik month. After that, the day is celebrated as Tripurari Pournima.
PM Narendra Modi during his speech highlighted how foriegn invaders ravaged our civilisation and sites of cultural and religious importance. He emphasised that his government is working steadfast to take India back to its civilisational and cultural importance along with development parameters needed for progress and prosperity.
Since 2014, the Modi government has overseen the development works in Ayodhya, Kashi, Mathura, Ujjain and the various religious circuits. It will not be an exaggeration to say that PM Modi is religiously following the path of Adishankracharya, who revived Hinduism to its full glory when new religions were flourishing in India.
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