Devotees flock to Ujjain's Mahakaleshwar Temple on Dussehra

Its a nice change, he said.Visitors from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and parts of Madhya Pradesh among other states also paid obeisance to Lord Shiva at the famous temple.A transgender person stood near the temple entrance, beckoning visitors for aid.

Devotees from the city and other parts of the country flocked to the Mahakaleshwar Temple here on Wednesday to seek blessings on Dussehra, as a ceremonial procession added to Ujjain's festive atmosphere.

While some devotees visited the ancient temple, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in the country, in the morning to avoid a rush, others streamed in late in the evening with friends and family, braving rains.

Mohit Dwivedi, a senior manager at a private company in Kota, visited the Mahakaleshwar Temple at 7 am, with his parents, wife and a little daughter.

''I had last come to Ujjain in 2019 before the Covid pandemic outbreak. Though the new corridor is not open to the public yet, we got a glimpse of it from the other side. It's a nice change,'' he said.

Visitors from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and parts of Madhya Pradesh among other states also paid obeisance to Lord Shiva at the famous temple.

A transgender person stood near the temple entrance, beckoning visitors for aid. Many devotees, young and old, bowed to seek blessings.

The festive celebrations, which began 10 days ago, culminated on Wednesday with Dussehra.

From sprawling grounds to small neighbourhoods, a large number of young and old residents gathered in open spaces for the previous nine consecutive days to celebrate Navratra with traditional 'Garba' as they paid obeisance to the Goddess Durga.

On the ninth night of the festivities on Tuesday, the excitement reached a crescendo as girls and young women dressed in traditional fineries -- lehenga, chaniya choli -- performed an ode to the feminine 'Shakti' till nearly midnight on the streets and parks of the holy city.

Boys and men in designer kurta pyjamas or traditional 'dandiya' costume also joined them.

Dussehra celebrations this year were held with greater fanfare as it took place a few days ahead of the inauguration of the first phase of the Mahakal corridor redevelopment project by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 11.

The city is all agog about the new corridor that will facilitate devotees to reach the ancient Mahakaleshwar Temple.

As the night grew on the final day of the Navratra festival, women danced in concentric circles in front of a Durga puja pandal.

A large number of city residents and others also took part in the grand 'Mahakal ki Sawari', a ceremonial procession in which an idol of Lord Shiva is traditionally carried in a silver palanquin by devotees.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his wife also visited Ujjain on Dussehra and offered prayers at the Mahakaleshwar Temple.

Chouhan later took part in the 'Mahakal ki Sawari', an official said.

The ceremonial procession started from the ancient temple and winded its way to the Dussehra Maidan before returning to the temple.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)