History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c38.s6.3

v3.c38.s6.3

"From Bhelsa he (Altamash) proceeded to Ujjain where there was the temple of Mahākāla which he destroyed as well as an image of Vikramāditya who ruled Malwa 1346 years before this time. The Hindu era dates from his reign (as this figure leads to 1289 A. D. as the date of the capture of Ujjain which really is 1234 A. D. we may take 55 years as the length of Vikrama's rule). Some other images cast in copper were carried to Delhi with the stone image of Mahākāla" (E. II p. 328). There is no reason to doubt the truth of this concise unexaggerated statement, though we find no corroborating contemporaneous Hindu record. The temple of Mahākāla was then converted into a mosque which, history tells us, was again converted into a Hindu temple of Mahākāla in the days of Ranoji Scindia whose descendants still rule in Ujjain and worship Mahākāla. It may be mentioned that the present high-pinnacled temple of Mahākāla was built by the Shenvi Diwan of Ranoji Scindia, Ramachandra Bābā, who was childless and who, therefore, used most of his wealth in this great work (1745 A. D.). Probably the present temple stands in the very place where the old temple stood. It may also be noted that later on the Mahomedan rulers of Malwa allowed the Hindus to have a Mahākāla idol set up at a short distance from the original temple (destroyed and converted into a mosque ) and it is known now as the Vridhha or old Mahākāla.