Mangalnath Temple

A Shiva temple on a rise above the Shipra, named in the Matsya Purana as the birthplace of Mangal, the planet Mars. Ujjain's longitude served as the zero meridian of classical Indian astronomy, which also held that the Tropic of Cancer passed through the city (today the tropic runs about 30 km to the north, near the village of Dongla), and this hill was one of the points used for planetary observation. The temple's astronomical standing and its ritual one grew out of the same fact. Pilgrims come for Bhaat Puja, an offering of cooked rice made to settle Mangal dosha in a horoscope; Tuesday, the day of Mangal, is the crowded one. Pujas run roughly 7:00 to 15:00, and the terrace holds one of the widest views over the river.

Where the city's astronomers and its priests worked from the very same hill