Nagachandeshwar Mahadev Ujjain: Nirmalya and a Gana

What is Nagachandeshwar Mahadev in Ujjain?

Nagachandeshwar Mahadev is the nineteenth of Ujjain's 84 Mahadev lingas, with its story in the Skanda Purana, Avantya Khanda, chapter 19 of the Chaturashiti Linga Mahatmya. The gods fear the sin of stepping over nirmalya in Mahakalavana, and the gana Nagachanda points them to a linga that removes it. The linga is named after him.

The Purana spells the name Nagachandeshwar, with the letters ṇḍa, and this article uses that spelling. Newspapers and most websites print Nagachandreshwar, with a moon, which is the name of a different temple. Both are covered below.

Local tradition places the temple near Patni Bazar, in Nagnath ki Gali, and the twentieth Mahadev, Pratiharesvara, is said to stand in the same compound.

Nagachandeshwar Mahadev: quick facts

What is the story of Nagachandeshwar Mahadev in the Skanda Purana?

Shiva tells the story to Parvati, and the chapter's opening line names the linga as the nineteenth. Tagare's note on the chapter sums up its theme: crossing the nirmalya (stale flowers and the like) of Shiva is a great sin, and it is averted by propitiating this deity.

Indra asks Narada

In the Sudharma assembly, Indra asks the sage Narada which is the best of all tirthas. Narada says Prayaga is excellent, but the Mahakala region is ten times more holy.

The gods turn back

The gods come down from the sky in their celestial vehicles and look at Mahakalavana. There is not a finger's breadth of empty ground. It is full of lingas, "sixty thousand crores and six thousand crores of lingas" in Tagare's translation. They fear that walking there means stepping over nirmalya, so they return.

The gana Nagachanda

As they go back toward heaven, they see a radiant gana. He tells them that through devotion to Mahakala he has gained the rank of gana, and that a fine name, Nagachanda, was also given to him.

The gods ask whether he ever stepped over nirmalya. He gives them the remedy: a linga that stands to the north-east of the Ishaneshwar linga.

The gods name the linga

The gods go back, worship Mahakala, see the linga and are freed from sin. Tagare translates their naming words like this:

"This has been spoken to us by the intelligent Nāgacaṇḍa. Hence this deity shall have the name of Nāgacaṇḍeśvara in this world."

The chapter ends with the line "Now listen to Pratīhāreśvara," which opens the twentieth chapter.

What does the Skanda Purana promise for worshipping Nagachandeshwar Mahadev?

The chapter lists these results:

1. Worshipping the linga destroys the sin of stepping over nirmalya.
2. Daily darshan destroys all sins committed knowingly or unknowingly.
3. The worshipper enjoys happiness, joy, health, freedom from disease and a beautiful form for seven births.
4. Singing the deity's praise gives the desired fruit, even one that is hard for the gods to get.

Which popular claims about Nagachandeshwar Mahadev don't match the text?

The story of Nagachandeshwar Mahadev is often mixed with other stories. These are the claims that do not match the Skanda Purana.

What role does the Nagachandeshwar temple play in the Panchkroshi yatra?

News reports of the annual Panchkroshi yatra, a roughly 118 km walk around Ujjain, say pilgrims start it at this temple, where they take "strength" from the deity. On finishing, they return to the same temple to give that strength back, offering a coconut.

The Skanda Purana chapter says nothing about the Panchkroshi, so this is a living local tradition, not a Puranic one.

What else do people ask about Nagachandeshwar Mahadev?

Why did the gods fear stepping over nirmalya?

In the chapter, Mahakalavana is so full of lingas that there is no empty ground the width of a finger. The gods fear that moving through it means stepping over the nirmalya left on them, which the text calls a great sin. They go back, until the gana Nagachanda tells them how to remove the fault.

Who is Nagachanda?

Nagachanda is a radiant gana whom the gods meet as they go back to heaven. He says that through devotion to Mahakala he gained the rank of gana, and that Nagachanda is a fine name given to him. The linga he points to is later named after him, as Nagachandeshwar.

Is the text's "north-east of Ishaneshwar" the same as today's lane?

The Purana puts the linga to the north-east of Ishaneshwar. Today both temples are around Patni Bazar, Ishaneshwar in Modi ki Gali and Nagachandeshwar in Nagnath ki Gali. No survey or map shows their direction from each other, so the match between the text and the shrine rests on tradition.

Is this temple the same as the one on top of the Mahakal temple?

No. The 84 Mahadev Nagachandeshwar is a separate temple near Patni Bazar with its own Puranic story about nirmalya. The Nagachandreshwar on the third floor of the Mahakal complex is another shrine, tied to serpent traditions and opened once a year. The spellings are close, but the temples and stories are not shared.

Why is Nagachandeshwar the nineteenth in Ujjain's 84 Mahadev order?

Chapter 19 of the Chaturashiti Linga Mahatmya is the chapter named Nagachandeshwar. Chapter 18 is Kalakaleshwar before it, and chapter 20 is Pratiharesvara after it. The tirtha name list (5.1.70) spells it with the same ṇḍa, listing Kalkaleshwar and then Lord Nagachandeshwar.

For the full sequence, see the complete guide to Ujjain's 84 Mahadev temples.

Which linga comes after Nagachandeshwar in the 84 Mahadevs?

The next chapter, 20, is Pratiharesvara, whose name comes from pratihara, a doorkeeper. Kalakaleshwar, the 18th, comes just before.