A Century of Faith at the Akhand Deepak of Maa Tripada Gayatri
In a quiet lane of Maruti Ganj, in the Urdupura area of Ujjain, an oil lamp has been burning without pause since 1926. Almost a century of nights have passed, and it has never once gone dark. This is the Akhand Deepak of Shri Brahma Gayatri Mandir — and it is only the beginning of the story.
Here, in this modest and powerful Siddha Peeth, a five-faced, ten-armed murti of Maa Tripada Gayatri is worshipped as Vedmata, the mother of the Vedas herself. Devotees write her mantra 108 times by hand and place it gently at her feet — not as ritual alone, but as a quiet, personal conversation with the Divine Mother. For nearly a hundred years, families from Ujjain and far beyond have found their way here, and many say they left with an answer.
Our Story — How It Began
Shri Brahma Gayatri Mandir traces its origin to one extraordinary life: Acharya Pt. Ramchandraji Shastri, born in 1911 into a family of scholars and astrologers in Mewar, Rajasthan. Initiated into the Gayatri mantra at the age of seven by a wandering saint, and blessed, it is said, by Gayatri Mata herself by the time he was thirteen, young Ramchandra’s path was set early in life.
At fifteen, deep in meditation, he experienced a vision of divine light — and lit a single oil lamp in the Mother’s honour. That lamp, the temple’s Akhand Deepak, has not been extinguished since 1926.
Years later, having settled in Maruti Ganj, Acharya Ramchandraji is said to have been called one night in a dream to the Kshipra river’s Aukhareshwar Ghat, at four in the morning. There he found a wooden image of Maa Kali resting in the water, and brought her home to be worshipped. What happened soon after has been carried down through generations of devotees since: an unknown, unannounced saint arrived at his door, carrying on his own head a magnificent five-faced, ten-armed murti of Maa Tripada Gayatri. He set her down, left a small offering, and walked away without a word. That very murti is enshrined at the heart of the temple to this day.
What began as one man’s tapobhoomi — his private place of penance — grew, with time and devotion, into the temple that stands now. Shri Brahma Gayatri Mandir was formally consecrated on 20 May 1977.
The Akhand Deepak — An Unbroken Flame
Since 1926, the temple’s Akhand Deepak has burned day and night, tended without interruption through nearly a hundred years of changing seasons, changing generations, and a changing Ujjain around it. Many devotees travel specifically for its darshan, and offering oil or ghee to help keep it alight remains one of the temple’s most cherished and continuous acts of seva.
Our Guru Parampara
Acharya Pt. Ramchandraji Shastri (1911–1989) — Founder
A scholar of the Vedas, Sanskrit, and astrology, Acharya Ramchandraji Shastri spent his life in service of Gayatri Mata. Over the decades, he personally hand-wrote more than 39 lakh Gayatri mantras, authored several books on Gayatri worship — including Gayatri Rahasya Darpan and Gayatri Chalisa — and for many years led the nearby Sandipani Ashram. He passed into Brahmalok in September 1989, leaving behind both a temple and a living tradition for his family and devotees to carry forward.
Acharya Pt. Buddhi Prakash Shastri — Present Peethadhishwar
Grandson of Acharya Ramchandraji Shastri, Pt. Buddhi Prakash Shastri was formally seated as Peethadhishwar (head of the spiritual seat) at the age of twenty, following his grandfather’s passing. Trained since childhood in Vedic ritual, astrology, and classical music, he continues his grandfather’s daily discipline of Gayatri mantra-writing, personally oversees the temple’s seva activities, and guides devotees through the same tradition of mantra, mantra-lekhan, and prayer that has defined this temple since 1926.
A Home in the Holy City of Ujjain
Shri Brahma Gayatri Mandir stands in Maruti Ganj, Urdupura — in Ujjain, one of Hinduism’s most sacred cities, home to the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga and the banks of the holy Kshipra, the very river from which the temple’s own Maa Kali is said to have first arisen. For pilgrims visiting Ujjain, especially during the Simhasth Kumbh, the temple offers a quieter, more personal counterpoint to the city’s largest gatherings — a lamp that has never gone out, and a Mother, devotees say, who is always listening.
Visit Us
Shri Brahma Gayatri Mandir welcomes devotees of every background, every day of the year.
- Address: Shri Brahma Shakti Gayatri Siddha Peeth, Maruti Ganj (Urdupura), Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh – 456001
- Phone: 9630994103 (7:00 AM – 10:00 PM)
For directions, darshan timings, or to speak with the temple directly, please visit our Contact Us page.