In Hindu culture, snakes hold significant symbolism and are associated with various deities and mythological stories. Whether it be Lord Shiva’s Vasuki or Lord Vishnu’s Sheesh nag. There are also many famous temples of snakes in our country. One of these temples is the Nagachandreshwar Temple located in Ujjain. Nagchandreshwar temple is situated on the third floor of Ujjain's Mahakal temple. The biggest feature of this temple is that it only opens once a year on fifth day of Shravan Paksha of the month of Shravan which is celebrated as the day of Nagpanchami.
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According to beliefs, Nagraj Takshak himself is present in this temple. Because of this, only on the day of Nagpanchami, the temple is opened and the worship of the snake god is done. Along with this, in many ways the Nagchandreshwar temple is special for the people of Hindu religion. The Nagachandreshwar temple has a statue which was build in 11th – century. This statue is claimed to be nowhere else in the world and was brought here from Nepal.
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In the Nagchandreshwar temple, instead of Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva is seated on the bed of a snake. The ancient idol installed in the temple has Lord Shiva along with Devi Parvati and Lord Ganesha.the three of them are seated on a ten faced snake bed. According to mythological beliefs, Sarpraj Takshak did severe penance to please Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva was pleased with the penance of Sarpraj and then he gave immortality as a boon to Takshak Nag, the king of snakes. From then on, Takshak Raja started living in the presence of the Lord. But before living in the Mahakal forest, he had the same intention that his solitude should not be disturbed, because of this his temple is opened only on the day of Nagpanchami.
This temple is a part of Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain. It is situated on the third floor of Mahakaleshwar temple. This ancient temple was built by Raja Bhoj around. After this, the Mahakal temple was renovated in the year 1732 by Maharaj Ranoji Sindhiya. At the same time this temple was also renovated. The devotees who come to this temple have this longing to have a darshan of Lord Shankar sitting on Nagraj once. Lakhs of devotees come here on the day of Nagpanchami.
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