Pir Matsyendranath Samadhi

On the northern fringe of Ujjain, where the Kshipra (Shipra) river curls past sandstone bluffs and the city's noise thins to birdsong, sits the modest samadhi of Pir Matsyendranath — a shrine to the sage revered across the subcontinent as the founding guru of the Nath yogi tradition.

• Matsyendranath (also called Machhindranath) is remembered in yogic lore as the teacher of Gorakhnath and a foundational figure of Hatha Yoga; the honorific "Pir," borrowed from the language of wandering ascetics, marks him here as a saint whose memory Nath sadhus and lay pilgrims still keep.
• The samadhi is small and unassuming — a whitewashed domed cenotaph, a threshold worn smooth by bare feet, a lingering smell of incense and river damp — and it rewards visitors who come for quiet reflection rather than spectacle.
• The shrine sits immediately beside the far more famous Bhartrihari Caves, the rock-cut meditation cells traditionally linked to King Bhartrihari, brother of Vikramaditya, who by legend renounced his throne to follow the Nath path.
• Together the two form a single contemplative pocket of Ujjain's sacred geography: caves for solitary meditation, a samadhi for remembrance, and the Shipra flowing below, its ghats used for ritual bathing during Simhastha and ordinary mornings alike.
• Come at sunrise and you may find a saffron-clad sadhu tending a small fire, or hear the deep drone of a conch carried across the water.
• Ujjain is one of the seven ancient moksha-puri cities and a Jyotirlinga town, so this shrine is best folded into a wider temple circuit — the Mahakaleshwar temple, the Gadkalika Devi shrine, and the Sandipani Ashram all lie within a short drive.
• The samadhi asks little of you: leave footwear at the threshold, dress modestly, keep your voice low, and photograph only where local custom allows.
• It is free to enter and takes only a few unhurried minutes, but it lingers as one of Ujjain's most peaceful corners.
• For food, this riverside pocket is thin on eateries, so plan to eat back toward the city.
• Ujjain is a deeply vegetarian town, and pure-veg thali houses and sweet shops cluster around Freeganj, Tower Chowk and the Mahakaleshwar temple lanes — expect unlimited Malwi thalis, hot poha-jalebi breakfasts, kachori and samosa, and thick milk-based sweets.
• For drinks, ask specifically for plain, bhang-free thandai or a sweet lassi; the ritual bhang associated with Ujjain's Shaiva festivals is not a visitor beverage, and simple lassi, chaas or masala chai are the safe, refreshing choices near the ghats.