Shivalinga found during excavation for Simhastha 2028 near Ujjain's Mahakaleshwar Temple

Authorities in Ujjain of Madhya Pradesh on Friday, May 1, uncovered a large Shivalinga during excavation work near the Mahakaleshwar Temple complex. The excavation was being done as part of preparations for Simhastha 2028. According to the reports, the Shivalinga was found near the prepaid booth area.The Shivalinga was found during land-clearing operations involving heavy machinery for the temple’s expansion.Speaking of the discovery, Akash Sharma, priest at Shri Mahakaleshwar Temple, said that the Shivalinga was found when ‘Bhasma Aarti’ was being performed inside the temple.“This is the same place of Baba Mahakaal. In every corner, there are Baba Mahakaal and Shiva’s remains,” he said.He said, "During excavation near the temple premises today, a Shivalinga was discovered while the Bhasma Aarti was underway. Having darshan of Shivlinga today is very auspicious. We all came here and offered 'Jal' (water) at Shivalinga.”According to the official Simhasta 2028 website, the drums “were beating and sacred ash was being offered to Baba Mahakal” when the Shivalinga was found.The website also quoted Assistant Administrator of Mahakaleshwar Temple, Ashish Phalwadiya as saying that work was slowed down after the discovery.“During the construction work, we found a Shivalinga while excavating near the prepaid booth. Work has been slowed down for now. If any more artefacts are found, necessary steps will be taken. We are working carefully,” he said.What is Simhastha 2028? Dates and all we knowUjjain Simhastha 2028 is a Hindu religious mela. It is held every 12 years in the Ujjain city. It is also known as the Ujjain Kumbh Mela.The Simhastha 2028 event will be held from March 27 to May 27, 2028. The main Amrit Snan bathing dates are April 9, April 24, and May 8.For Simhastha 2028, the MP Chief Minister, Mohan Yadav recently said his state will soon roll out an "AI mission" and utilise this scientific tool during the "Simhastha 2028 mela", apart from benefitting all sections of the society.Mohan Yadav visited the India AI Impact Summit at the Bharat Mandapam here and met global tech leaders to explore potential avenues for "strategic" partnerships, including setting up data centres, as he projected that the state has adequate water, electricity and "land bank" for these processes.“We are the fifth-largest state in the country and have strong credentials regarding resources and facilities. I visited the AI summit with my officers because we plan to utilise artificial intelligence to better the lives of our people in the fields of agriculture, education and healthcare, among others,” he said.(With agency inputs)About the AuthorLivemintFor about a decade, Livemint—News Desk has been a credible source for authentic and timely news, and well-researched analysis on national news, business, personal finance, corporates, politics and geopolitics. We bring the latest updates on all the listed companies on BSE and NSE, startups, mutual funds, Union ministries, geopolitics, and untapped human interest stories from around the world, helping our readers to stay informed on the latest developments around the globe. Our Coverage Areas 1. Companies: Comprehensive news and analysis on listed and unlisted companies, corporate announcements, corporate chatter, C-suite, business trends, hiring alerts, layoffs, work-life balance, world's top billionaires and richest and more. 2. Personal finance: Insights into mutual funds, small savings schemes like - PPF, SSY, post office savings scheme, stock to watch, personal loans, credit cards, top bank FDs, real estate, income tax and more. 3. Politics: Comprehensive coverage of general elections, state elections and bypolls, Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha, Parliament, PMO, PIB, finance ministry, home ministry, among other union ministries and government departments. 4. National News: From metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and e to untapped stories from rural India, we cover human interest, health, education, crime and courts,