Shri Gadhakalikadevi from Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh) who imparted Divine knowledge to the great poet Kalidas

Glory of the Devi, the vision of the Shaktipeethas
(seats of Divine Energy) and the underlying spiritual science

Glory of the Devi, vision of the Shaktipeethas (seats of Divine Energy) and the underlying spiritual science. The information on famous and ancient temples of Devis all over Bharat, their significance, their photographs, and the spiritual science underlying Navaratri, etc. are covered through this special series of articles. We offer a prayer at the Holy feet of the Universal Mother, Shri Jagadamba, to increase the faith and devotion of our readers towards the Devi.

The temple of Gadhakalika Devi in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh is a Shaktipeeth. It is in this very temple that poet Kalidas got a vision of Kalikadevi. This is one of the 51 Divine Energy seats of Devi. The elbow of Devi had fallen here. The idol of the Devi is smeared with sindur (vermilion powder). Her crown adorns a moon and Deities Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati are to Her left and right respectively. Based on the Tripura Mahatmya out of 12 Shaktipeethas of India the seat of Gadhakalika Devi is the sixth. There is an idol of a lion in the surroundings of the temple. The hall of the temple also has pictures of various Devis and Deities.

As per legend Shri Gadhakalika Devi was the Deity worshiped by the great poet Kalidas, the author of the Holy texts Shakuntalam, Meghdut. Also, He was one of the nine jewels in the court of Emperor Vikramaditya. It is in this very Temple that he had received Divine knowledge. King Vikramaditya and poet Kalidas would frequent this temple to perform the spiritual practice.

Emperor Harshavardhan had renovated this temple in the 7th century the ruins of which were found in the 10th century during the regime of the Parmar dynasty. In the 20th century the temple priest selected as per tradition, Shri Siddhanath Maharaj, renovated the temple in Sanvatsar 2001 (1944) once again. Initially, Avantika city was situated in the surroundings of the temple. But with the passage of time, that city got extinct underground. As the temple of the Devi is on a hill (gad in Marathi) She is known as Gadhakalika (Kalika on the hill). During Navaratri and otherwise too Tantrik rituals are performed here. In fact, it is considered the chief seat for acquiring Tantrik supernatural powers (siddhis).

Reference: Website of Patrika