Ram Ghat, Ujjain

At a glance

• City — Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh — ancient Avantika
• River — Shipra
• Nearby — Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga, and the Harsiddhi and Kal Bhairav temples
• Next Simhastha — 27 March – 27 May 2028
• Historically — the prime meridian of Indian astronomy passed through Ujjain

The city that kept the time

Ujjain — Avantika in the older texts — is one of the seven cities the tradition calls Moksha-puri, those that can give liberation. It was the capital of Vikramaditya, whose era the Vikram Samvat still counts, and the seat of Varahamihira and the astronomical school that made this city the reference meridian of Indian time-keeping.

That is not incidental to a Kumbh city. The Kumbh is computed, not chosen — and Ujjain is the place where India did its computing.

Ram Ghat and the Shipra

Ram Ghat is the oldest and principal bathing ghat on the Shipra, and the centre of the Simhastha when it comes. In ordinary times its evening aarti is a quieter, more local affair than Haridwar's or Varanasi's, and the better for it.

A short walk away stands Mahakaleshwar, one of the twelve Jyotirlingas and the only one held to be dakshinamukhi, facing south. Its Bhasma Aarti before dawn — in which the linga is bathed in ash — is among the most striking rites performed anywhere in India, and requires booking well in advance.

Ahead of the 2028 Simhastha the Madhya Pradesh government has approved a large programme of ghat construction along the Shipra, including a riverfront pathway of some 29 km, so that the bathing frontage is considerably extended beyond Ram Ghat itself.

The Simhastha of 2028

The Ujjain Simhastha runs from 27 March to 27 May 2028. It is called Simhastha because it is held when Guru (Jupiter) stands in Simha (Leo) — the same signature that governs the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Simhastha, which is why those two melas arrive as a pair.

The royal snan dates within that period are fixed by tithi. Where sources currently differ on the exact civil days, this site follows the dates as notified by the Government of Madhya Pradesh and updates them the moment the final Mela notification is issued — we would rather say "not yet final" than print a confident wrong date.