Sublime architecture, iconic gateways: Interesting facts about Ujjain’s Mahakal Lok, to be unveiled by PM Modi tomorrow

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be unveiling the much-awaited first phase of the Rs 856-crore Mahakaleshwar Temple corridor development project in Ujjain, located around 200 km from the state capital Bhopal, offering a first look at the Mahakal Lok corridor tomorrow.

The Mahakal corridor will be inaugurated on October 11, with major preparations underway to make the ceremony grand and unforgettable for the public. Apart from PM Modi, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will also be present at the event.

Two grand gateways, a majestic colonnade of 108 ornate pillars made of intricately carved sandstones, gushing fountains, and a running panel of over 50 murals depicting stories from Shiv Puran are among the major highlights of the soon-to-open 'Mahakal Lok' in Ujjain.

The over 900-meter-long corridor - 'Mahakal Lok' - billed as one of the largest such corridors in India skirts around the old Rudrasagar Lake which has also been revived as part of the redevelopment project around the ancient Mahakaleshwar Temple, one of the 12 'jyotirlings' in the country that gets devotees throughout the year.

Two majestic gateways - Nandi Dwar and Pinaki Dwar - separated by a short distance, have been erected near the starting point of the corridor, which winds its way to the entrance of the ancient temple and offers aesthetic views along the way.

The structures erected in the corridor have been constructed using sandstones sourced from the Bansi Paharpur area in Rajasthan. Artists and craftsmen mainly from Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Orissa worked on chiseling and embellishing raw stones into aesthetic pillars and panels, as per PTI reports.

While 108 pillars with ornamental elements on top bearing Trishul-style design dot the corridor at regular intervals, CCTV cameras, and a public address system have been harmoniously incorporated in them, senior officials told PTI.

The Mahakaleshwar Temple is considered one of the holiest places on earth by the Hindus, and lakhs of people converge here from all parts of the country during the Shravan month of the Hindu calendar or Mahashivratri, besides the Simhasth Kumbh which takes place every 12 years. 

(With PTI inputs)

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