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The Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga temple is situated in:
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Answer: Option B — Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
Detailed Solution
The Mahakaleshwar Temple is located in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, on the banks of the Shipra (Kshipra) river.
About the Mahakaleshwar Temple:
- It is one of the 12 "Jyotirlingas", the most sacred shrines of Lord Shiva.
- It is the only Jyotirlinga that faces south ("Dakshinamurti"); the south is the direction of death (Yama), and Shiva here is "Mahakal", the Lord of Time and Death.
- The lingam is "Swayambhu" (self-manifested).
- The temple has five levels; one of them is underground.
- It is famous for the "Bhasma Aarti", performed early every morning (around 4 a.m.), in which the lingam is worshipped with sacred ash.
- The temple was destroyed by Sultan Iltutmish of Delhi in 1234-35, and was rebuilt in the 18th century by the Maratha general Ranoji Shinde (Scindia).
- A large corridor project, "Shri Mahakal Lok" (first phase), was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2022.
About Ujjain:
- It is one of the seven sacred cities ("Saptapuri") of Hinduism, along with Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar, Varanasi, Kanchipuram and Dwarka.
- It is one of the four places where the "Kumbh Mela" is held (called "Simhastha" here), every 12 years; the next is due in 2028.
- It was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Avanti, one of the 16 Mahajanapadas.
- It is associated with King Vikramaditya and the poet Kalidasa.
It has been a centre of astronomy since ancient times; the Tropic of Cancer passes near it, and the first meridian of ancient Indian astronomers was believed to pass through it. The "Jantar Mantar" (Vedh Shala) was built by Sawai Jai Singh II.
The 12 Jyotirlingas:
Somnath (Gujarat), Mallikarjuna (Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh), Mahakaleshwar (Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh), Omkareshwar (Madhya Pradesh), Kedarnath (Uttarakhand), Bhimashankar (Maharashtra), Kashi Vishwanath (Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh), Trimbakeshwar (Nashik, Maharashtra), Vaidyanath (Deoghar, Jharkhand; also claimed by Parli, Maharashtra), Nageshwar (Dwarka, Gujarat), Rameswaram and Grishneshwar (near Ellora, Maharashtra).
Madhya Pradesh has two Jyotirlingas (Mahakaleshwar and Omkareshwar), and Maharashtra has three (or four).
Why not the other options?
- ✗Omkareshwar is another Jyotirlinga in Madhya Pradesh, on an island in the Narmada.
- ✗Varanasi has the Kashi Vishwanath Jyotirlinga.
- ✗Nashik has the Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga.
Quick tip
Remember: Mahakaleshwar = Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh (on the Shipra; only south-facing Jyotirlinga; Bhasma Aarti; Mahakal Lok 2022; Simhastha Kumbh); Omkareshwar = Narmada island; 12 Jyotirlingas.
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Monuments & Religious Places — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Monuments & Religious Places, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers India's important monuments, temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras and pilgrimage sites, who built them and when, their architectural styles, and India's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Questions ask who built a monument, where it is located, or which dynasty or style it belongs to. For example, the Qutub Minar was begun by Qutbuddin Aibak, and the Sun Temple at Konark was built by the Eastern Ganga king Narasimhadeva I. Revise the UNESCO World Heritage Sites as a list, noting the most recent additions. Practise the monuments and religious places questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.