In which city of Madhya Pradesh, the Parikrama of 7 Sea, 9 Narayanas and 84 Mahadevas is completed?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — D, Ujjain. Ujjain, the ancient Avantika on the Shipra (Kshipra) river and home of the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga, is laid out around an old sacred geography — the 7 Sagar (seven sacred tanks), the 9 (Nav) Narayan shrines and the 84 Mahadev (Shiva) temples. The traditional parikrama of these is performed and completed at Ujjain.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Amarkantak is the source of the Narmada and Son rivers in the Maikal hills — a Narmada-pilgrimage centre, not the '7 Sagar / 9 Narayan / 84 Mahadev' circuit.  (b) Chitrakoot is a Ramayana pilgrimage on the Mandakini (the Kamadgiri parikrama) on the MP–UP border — a different circuit.  (c) Omkareshwar (the usual spelling) is a Jyotirlinga on a Narmada island with its own island parikrama; it is not associated with the 7-Sagar/9-Narayan/84-Mahadev circuit.

Concept: Ujjain is one of the seven sacred cities (Sapta Puri) of Hinduism and one of the four Simhastha (Kumbh) sites. Beyond the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga, the city is organised around a temple-town layout — seven Sagars (tanks), nine Narayan shrines and eighty-four Mahadev temples — which pilgrims circumambulate.

State PCS 2020 Q42 — Madhya Pradesh GK PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2020 Q42 — Madhya Pradesh GK PYQ with Answer