Bhartrihari Gufa
Where a king, by tradition, laid down his crown and took up the yogi's fire
भोगा न भुक्ता वयमेव भुक्तास्तपो न तप्तं वयमेव तप्ताः ।
कालो न यातो वयमेव यातास्तृष्णा न जीर्णा वयमेव जीर्णाः ॥
We did not consume pleasures; we ourselves were consumed. We did not perform austerity; we ourselves were scorched. Time did not pass; we passed. Desire did not grow old; we grew old.
Bhartrihari Gufa is a group of old underground stone chambers on the bank of the Shipra in Ujjain, close to the Gadkalika temple. According to tradition, Raja Bhartrihari, the poet of the Shatakatraya and brother of King Vikramaditya, gave up his throne and meditated here for twelve years as a disciple of Guru Gorakhnath. The caves are looked after by ascetics of the Nath sampradaya, who keep a sacred dhuni burning inside.
Read the full accountThe Shatakatraya, three books of verse
Three Sanskrit collections of about a hundred verses each, through which Bhartrihari’s name lives.
Niti Shataka
Speaks of right conduct, learning, friendship, wealth and the ways of the wise and the foolish.
Shringara Shataka
Dwells on love and beauty, and on how strongly they hold the mind.
Vairagya Shataka
Turns away from all this and praises contentment, the forest and devotion to Shiva.
Today at the caves
Times are in Indian Standard Time
Darshan hours
- Darshan / cave visitEvery day6:00 AM to 9:00 PM
No official timetable was found. Most guides give 6 AM as opening; closing is reported variously as 7 PM, 8 PM and 9 PM. Plan to arrive before 6 PM. Entry may be regulated on crowded days.
Aarti and daily rituals
- Morning aartiEvery day7:30 AM to 8:00 AM
Start time comes from a single unofficial listing; the end time is an estimate. Confirm at the site.
- Evening aartiEvery day5:30 PM to 6:00 PM
Start time comes from a single unofficial listing; the end time is an estimate. Confirm at the site.
Timings change on festivals, eclipses and special days. Confirm at the mandir before you travel.
See all timingsPuja and seva
Booking here only reserves your place. You pay at the mandir counter; this website takes no money.
- Ask about this puja
Darshan of Raja Bhartrihari's seat
Devotees go down into the main cave to bow before the image of Bhartrihari at the spot where he is believed to have meditated, and to see the mark on the stone above that tradition calls his handprint.
- Ask about this puja
Akhand dhuni and vibhuti
The Nath ascetics keep a sacred fire burning inside the cave. Visitors offer their respects at the dhuni and receive its ash as vibhuti, which is held to be blessed.
- Ask about this puja
Shiva puja at the cave linga
A Shiva linga, called Neelkantheshwar in one account, is worshipped in the complex with water, flowers and bilva leaves. Worship is fuller on Mondays of Shravan and on Mahashivratri.
Festivals through the year
- Chaitra (March-April) and Ashwin (September-October)
Navratri
The neighbouring Gadkalika temple draws thousands in both Navratris, and many of them walk on to the gufa, so the caves are busy on these days.
- Full moon of Kartik (November)
Kartik Purnima
A day of bathing in the Shipra. One temple listing notes a gathering of Nath sants at the gufa on this day.
- Phalguna Krishna Chaturdashi (February or March)
Mahashivratri
The main Shaiva night of the year. Special worship is held and Nath sadhus gather at the gufa; expect long queues for the narrow caves.
Gallery
Only one freely licensed photograph from inside the caves is available so far. The others show places nearby in Ujjain, as each caption says.
Inside Bhartrihari Gufa, Ujjain: a Nath sadhu seated in one of the red-painted stone chambers (2018)Photo: NIRMALSHRI2016, CC BY-SA 4.0 Gadkalika temple, Ujjain, a short distance from Bhartrihari Gufa (not the gufa itself)Photo: Sunil Ujjain, CC BY-SA 4.0 The Shipra river at Ujjain, photographed near the Vedh Shala (not at the gufa)Photo: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0
a king chose silence over a kingdom