Ujjain, a city situated on the Malwa Plateau in Central India, near Indore is also known as Ujain, Ujjayini, Avanti, Avantikapuri. This is an ancient city of central India in the state of Madhya Pradesh, on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River. It is the administrative centre of Ujjain District and Ujjain Division. In ancient times the city was called Ujjayini. As per epic Mahabharata Ujjayani was the capital of Avanti Kingdom. It has been the first meridian of longitude for Hindu geographers since the 4th century BCE. It is one of the seven sacred cities of the Hindus, and the Kumbh Mela religious festival is held there every twelve years. It is also home to Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga, one of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines to the god Shiva.

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History:
The earliest references to the city, as Ujjaini, are from the time of the Buddha, when it was the capital of the Avanti Kingdom. Since the 4th century BCE the city has marked the first meridian of longitude in Hindu geography. It is also reputed to have been the residence of Asoka (who subsequently became the emperor), when he was the viceroy of the western provinces of the Maurya empire.

In the Post-Mauryan period, the city was ruled by the Sungas and the Satavahanas consecutively. It was contested for a period between the Satavahanas and the Indo-Scythian Sakas, known as Western Satraps; however, following the end of the Satavahana dynasty, the city was retained by the Sakas from the 2nd to the 4th century CE. Following the conquest of the Sakas by the Guptas, the city soon became an important seat in the annals of that empire. Ujjain is considered to be the traditional capital of King Chandragupta II, also known as Vikramaditya, at whose court the nine poets known as the navaratna (nine jewels) of Sanskrit literature are said to have flourished.

In the 6th and 7th centuries, Ujjain was a major centre of mathematical and astronomical research. The famous mathematicians who worked there included: Brahmagupta, whose book Brahmasphutasiddhanta was responsible for spreading the use of zero, negative numbers and the positional number system to Arabia and Cambodia; Varahamihira, who was the first to discover many trigonometric identities; and Bhaskaracharya, or Bhaskara II, whose book Lilavati broke new ground in many areas of mathematics.

Ujjain was invaded by the forces of the Delhi Sultanate led by Iltutmish in 1235, suffering widespread destruction and systematic desecration of temples. Under the Mughal emperor Akbar it became the capital of Malwa.

During the last half of the 18th century Ujjain was the headquarters of the Maratha leader Sindhia. The Sindhias later established themselves at Gwalior, and Ujjain remained part of Gwalior state until Indian Independence in 1947. Gwalior state became a princely state of the British Raj after the Maratha defeat in the Third Anglo-Maratha War, and Gwalior, Ujjain, and the neighboring princely states were made a part of the Central India Agency. After Indian independence, the Sindhia ruler of Gwalior acceded to India, and Ujjain became part of the Madhya Bharat state. In 1956 Madhya Bharat was merged into Madhya Pradesh state.
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Various Names of the city:
Since Ujjain is one of the oldest cities in India, it has changed very many names, among which were:[1]

Avanitika    Padmavati   Kushasthali   Bhagavati   Haranyavati   Kandakatringa    Kumudvati   Pratikalpa
Vishala

Commute:
There are three well-known Railway stations:

Ujjain City Junction,   Vikram Nagar,  Chintaman (metre gauge)

Bus Stations: Dewas Gate, NanaKheda

Major Roads: Indore Road, Dewas Road, Agar Road, Badnagar Road,Maksi Road etc.

The pilgrimage town of Ujjain is about 56 km from Indore. It traces its origin to the very dawn of Indian history. Hindu astronomy, astrology and geography have Ujjain as the base for calculations that is the "Greenwich" of Hindu astronomers and astrologers. Situated on the bank of Kshripra, it is one of the oldest holy cities of India.It is place of one of the Kumbh Melas. It was the capital of the Avanti Nagari of Raja Bhoj and poet Kalidasa. It had become a great centre for learning during the rule of the great legendary king Vikramaditya. The temple of Mahakaleshwar is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas. Bhartrihari caves, Sandipani (Shri Krishna's Guru) Ashram, ancient observatory are some of the places to visit.

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Economy:
The economy of Ujjain is mainly dependent on the agricultural activities of the nearby villages. Two main crops are grown each year: soybean as the major Rabi crop, wheat as the major Kharif crop. Ujjain agriculture is sensitive to changes in rainfall and failure of monsoon cycles can lay a devastating toll on agriculture and the local economy.

Ujjain was previously a centre of the textile industry with a number of textile mills in and around the city. These mills have since closed, unemploying hundreds. Religious tourism is also a contributor to the economy, especially during the Simhasta Mela.

Commercial Zones
One good thing about the old city is that the market is quite organized. For utensils you have the Patni Bazaar, for jewelery; Sarafa, for grocery; Daulat Ganj, for clothes; VD Cloth Market, Kanthal.

There are various shopping areas like Freeganj, Gopal Mandir, and Satigate.

Freeganj is a rapidly growing area, complete with relatively better modern amenities.
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Places to Visit:
Ujjain is a holy city for Hindus and has many places to visit for the religiously inclined.

The Mahakal Temple, one of the twelve Jyotirlings, is the most famous and venerated Shiva temple. The Shivling in this temple is supposed to be the only Jyotirling which faces south and hence it is known as Dakshinmukhi or the south-facing ling.

Other temples are Harsidhhi (Durga Temple), Chintaman Ganesh, Gadh Kalika, Kaal Bhairav, Sandipani Ashram, Triveni (Nav Graha/ Shani), ISKCON(The International Society for Krishna Consciousness) temple [citation needed] and Mangalnaath.

Ujjain, being an ancient city, is home to many monuments that have survived from the ancient period. The most stunning example is the Kaliyadeh Palace on the outskirts of the city, which is a fine piece of ancient Indian architecture, though in poor upkeep.

The Bhrathari Gufa is an ancient cave which has some interesting legends associated with it.

The Observatory (Veda Shala) built by a Rajput king, Raja Jai Singh II, is one of the five such observatories in India and features ancient astronomical devices.

The new ISKCON temple is a must for every tourist. Also Prashanti Dham (Sai Baba's Ashram)is a holy place to visit.

It is quite a soothing experience to sit on the coast of river Kshipra, relieving all you mental worries.

Also there are many Jain temples like - JaiSingh Pura Atishay Kshetra, Tapobhoomi, Avanti Parshwanath, Hanumant baag etc.

Kothi Palace presents a sight worth watching in the evening.
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List of some Hotels in Ujjain:
Here is the list of some of the well known Hotels/Restaurents of ujjain.

Hotel Shanti Palace, Nanakheda
Hotel Anand Palace
Hotel Surana Palace
Hotel Ashray
Hotel Shipra
Meghdoot Restaurent
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Schools and Colleges:
Ujjain Public School
St Mary's Convent School
St Paul's Higher Secondary School
Kalidas School
Lokmanya Tilak Higher Secondary School
Model Higher Secondary School
Aadivasi Chatra Seva Kalyaan Seva Higer Secondary International School
Kendriya Vidyalaya Ujjain
Oxford Junior college
Takshila Junior College
Christu Jyoti Senior Secondary School
Stanford International Girls School
Gyan Sagar Academy

Engineering Colleges in Ujjain
Government Engineering College, Ujjain (GECU)
Mahakal Institute of Technology (MIT)

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Mahakaleshwar:
Mahakala of Ujjain is known among the twelve celebrated Jyotirlingas in India. The glory of Mahakaleshwar temple has been vividly described in varoius puranas. Starting with Kalidasa,many sanskrit poets have eulogised this temple in emotive terms.The tradition of Mahakala in minds of the people is eternal Ujjain used to be centre point of the calculation of the Indian time and Mahaklala was considered as the distinctive presiding deity of Ujjain. The Mahakaleshwar temple at Ujjain is located near a lake; it has five levels, one of which is underground.The temple itself is located in a spacious courtyard surrounded by massive walls. The shikhara is adorned with sculptural finery. Brass lamps light the way to the underground sanctum. It is believed that prasada offered here to the deity can be re-offered unlike all other shrines.

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Observatory:

Ujjian enjoyed a position of considerable importance in the field of astronomy, Great works on astronomy such as the Surya Siddhanta and the Panch Siddhanta  were written in Ujjain. According to Indian astronomers, the Tropic of Cancer is supposed to pass through Ujjain It is also the first meridian of longitude of the Hindu geographers. From about the 4th century B.C.. Ujjain enjoyed the reputation of being india's Greenwich.

The observatory was constructed by Maharaja Sawai Raja Jaisingh of Jaipur in 1719 when he was in Ujjain as the Governor of Malwa under the reign of king Muhammad Shah of Delhi. Besides being a brave fighter and a politician, Raja Jaisingh was exceptionally a scholar. He studied books on Astor-mathematics available in the Persian and Arabic languages at that time. He wrote books on astronomy himself.

Miraza Ulook Beg, the grandson of Temurlung and an expert on astronomy, built an observatory in Samarkund. Raja Jaisingh constructed observatories in Ujjain, Jaipur, Delhi, Mathura and Varanasi in India by permission of king Muhammad Shah. Raja Jaisingh set up new instruments in these observatories employing his skills. He made alterations in a number of main Astro-mathematical instruments by observing the activities of planets himself for eight years in Ujjain.

Thereafter the observatory remained uncared for two decades. Then as per suggestations of Siddhntavagish (Late) Shri Narayanji Vyas, Ganak Churamani and (Late) Shri G.S. Apte, the first Supreintendent of observatory, (Late) Maharaja Madhav Rao Scindia renovated the observatory and funded it for active use. Since then it has been continuously functioning.

The four instruments viz. Sun-Dial, Narivalaya, Digansha and Transit instruments are made by Raja Jaisingh in the observatory. The Shanku(Gnomon) Yantra has been prepared under the direction of (Late) Shri G.S.Apte. Having arrived at the last moments of its position, the Digansh Yantra was re-constructed in 1974 and the Shanku Yantra was re-built in 1982. Marble notice boards displaying information about the instruments were prepared, both in Hindi and English in 1983. 

Miss Swarnmala Rawala, the then Commissioner of Ujjain Division Ujjain was at great pains to complete renovate and beautify the observatory in 2003.  In addition, ten solar power operated solar tube-lights were installed with the help of Energy Development Corporation and beautiful banks constructed along the River Shipra at the observatory site under the auspices of M.P. Laghu Udyog Nigam. An automatic telescope having 8 inches diameter to facilitate visitors see planets through it has been installed in Simhasth 2004. A new ephemeris in the shape of a balloon has been recently launched in the Institution.

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Pancheshani Yatra
Also known as the Pancheshani Yatra, it is a grand tour of Ujjain in which thousands of people join in every year. The Chatdwar Yatra, the ceremonial visits to the four gates, is also associated with this Yatra. The legend goes that when Lord Shiva founded Ujjain at Parvati's behest on the banks of the Shipra, four gates were established to guard the city from all four directions.Four guardian deities, Pingaleshwar (East), Kayavarohaneshwar (South) Dardureshwar (North) and Bilveshwar (West) were appointed with Mahakaleshwar at the center of the town.

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From Indore to Ujjain:

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