Ujjain ROYAL DIARY

ACCORDING to Indian mythology, while the devas pursued by the asuras were fleeing heavenwards with the ‘nectar of immortality’, a few drops fell to earth and forever sanctified the places where they fell — Hardwar, Prayag, Nasik and Ujjain, which was once regarded as the geographical centre of the earth.

Ujjain has been a pilgrim centre from time immemorial, but in the days gone by it was also the prosperous capital of powerful dynasties.

It was the legendary Vikramaditya who first established Ujjain as a capital city. Though the Gupta capital was Pataliputra, Vikramaditya, whom historians know as Chandra Gupta II, preferred the pleasures and comforts of Ujjain. He ruled from about 380 to 413 AD.The poet Kalidasa graced his court. Kalidasa has praised Ujjain, describing it as“a brilliant portion of heaven brought down by the surplus merit of those who had lived in heaven”. Kalidasa may have found the intellectual ambience of the city stimulating as Ujjain was a centre of learning during his time and for centuries afterwards, but the city was also a hub of commercial activity, drawing traders and merchants from all over the sub-continent. Another legendary ruler of Ujjain was Raja Bhoja who is said to have discovered Vikramaditya’s throne. The stories associated with the throne are all part of the folklore of middle and northern India.

Ujjain began to decline after the 8th century, mainly because of political instability. It showed signs of recovery when Maharaja Jai Singh became governor towards the end of Mughal rule. With Jai Singh’s demise, Ujjain experienced another period of turmoil until the Scindias took over in 1750. When the Scindia capital was moved to Gwalior in 1810, Ujjain’s commercial importance declined rapidly. Today, it is a part of Madhya Pradesh. I t has a university named af t er Vikramaditya. A Kalidasa festival has been held here every year since the 1940s.

4431 /© 2021 Amrita Bharati, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan