It was a sunny day in Ujjain when I stumbled upon Kal Bhairav Temple and decided to stop by for blessings. But as I got closer, I was hit with the most unexpected sight—liquor shops near a temple? People actually buying bottles? Confused and curious, I walked further, only to see devotees holding these bottles of liquor as offerings. Yes, you read that right—liquor as prasad!I couldn’t believe my eyes. Were they seriously offering alcohol in a temple? And not just that, the priests were accepting it with the utmost reverence, pouring it into a bowl as if it were the most sacred offering. To top it all off, this wasn’t just for show—the liquor was being served as prasad! Devotees lined up to receive their portion, bowing their heads in faith, while I stood there trying to process this unbelievable scene.
“Why liquor?” I finally blurted out to an old man standing nearby. He chuckled and replied, “Kal Bhairav drinks what his devotees offer. Who are we to question the divine’s choice?” That one-liner left me equal parts amused and intrigued. A temple where faith and spirits mix—literally!
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Why does Kal Bhairav accept liquor as an offering? Is there a deeper spiritual meaning, or is it just a tradition? And does the deity really drink the liquor, as locals say? The more you think about it, the more mysterious it gets. Ready to uncover the secrets of Kal Bhairav Temple, or will you leave with more questions than answers?
The Kaal Bhairav Temple history dates back to ancient times. The current temple was built on the remains of an older structure. The original temple is believed to have been built by a king named Bhadrasen, and it is mentioned in the Skanda Purana, an important ancient text.Items found at the temple, like statues of Shiva, Parvati, Vishnu, and Ganesha, come from the Paramara period, which was between the 9th and 13th centuries. The walls of the old temple were once decorated with Malwa-style paintings, but now only small traces of these paintings can still be seen.
The current temple also shows the influence of the Maratha style. Local tradition says that after the Marathas were defeated in the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761, a Maratha general named Mahadaji Shinde prayed at the temple for victory in his campaign to bring back Maratha power in North India. After his success, he restored the temple, which is what we see today. This is an important part of the Kal Bhairav Temple Ujjain story, showing how the temple was revived through devotion and historical events.
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