Somnath
overview
History
Map
The temple city of Somnath is located in Saurashtra, on the
western coast of Gujarat. The Somnath temple is a very ancient temple
that is considered to be a legendary religious center in the western
coast. The term "Somnath" stands for the "protector of the moon god"
and the temple is said to have been built to protect the moon god,
Lord Chandra. It is fine to visit Somnath at any time through the
year, but October to March is the best time to visit.
This temple is home to the most sacred Jyotirlinga amongst the 12
Jyotirlingas in India. It is often referred to as the eternal shrine
because the Somnath temple was destroyed 6 times and every single time
this amazing structure was rebuilt. The first temple is said to be
built completely of gold and the second time the temple was said to be
built of silver. The present existing temple is the 7th temple and the
construction of this structure began in 1974. Dedicated to Lord Shiva,
this temple is an exemplary example of the beautiful style of the
ancient Indian architecture. Constructed in the Chalukya style of
architecture, this temple is a perfect illustration of the immense
talent of the Sompuras, the master masons in Gujarat. It has an
enormous sprawling complex. It consists of a shikhara, garbhagriha,
sabhamandap and the nrtiya mandap. The temple has 7 storeys and is 155
feet tall. There is a Kalash (pot) on the top that weight 10 tons. The
flag mast on top of the dome like structure is 37 feet long and is
changed three times a day.
The location of the Somnath temple is such that there is no mass of
land between the Somnath sea shore and Antarctica. An inscription of
the same in Sanskrit can be found on the pillar of one of the walls of
the temple that protect it from the sea.
The first president of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad, who inaugurated the
newly constructed temple, said "The Somnath temple signifies that the
power of creation is always greater than the power of destruction"
Other Attractions in Somnath
Somnath Museum: The invaluable remains of the previous temples can be
found at the Somnath museum. It also displays a collection of sea
shells, glassware and other creative objects. Located close to the
Somnath temple, the museum makes for an interesting visit.
Veraval Beach: Just about 5 kilometers from the temple this beach is
beautiful, refreshing and relaxing.
Bakhla Tirth, Gita Mandir, Laxmi Narayan temple, SUN temple and
Ahalyeshwar temple are other significant places in and around the
Somnath temple.
Skanda Purana, in a chapter on Prabhasa Khanda, describes the
emergence of this Jyotirlinga. Legend goes that the moon was married
to the 27 daughters of Daksha Prajapati. Amongst all his wives, he had
special love towards Rohini and neglected the others. Seeing the
negligence of Chandra towards his other wives Prajapati Daksha cursed
Chandra that he would lose his beauty and radiance. But because of a
moon devoid of radiance and beauty the entire world became lifeless. A
disturbed Chandra, came down to Prabhasa with Rohini and worshipped
the Sparsa Linga of Somnath after which he was blessed by Shiva to
grow and shine in the bright half. As the moon regained his light
here, this town came to be known as Prabhasa. Brahma, one of the
trinity, installed the Brahmashila, and paved way for the construction
of the temple. On the request of the Chandrama and other gods Bhagwan
Shankar assumed the name Somchandra (Jyotirlinga) and resided there
eternally. He became famous by the name Somnath in the three worlds.
Since, it was the Prabhas Kshetra where Bhagwan Shri Krishna performed
all his Lilas. In this temple there is a small cave in which a lamp
burns continuously.
The Skanda Purana describes the Sparsa Linga of Somnath as one bright
as the sun, the size of an egg, lodged underground. The Mahabharata
also refers to the Prabhasa Kshetra and the legend of the moon
worshipping Shiva.
Somnath Jyotirling has been destroyed and rebuilt a number of times in
the history far more than any other jyotirlinga.
Accounts of glory and wealth of Somnath by the Arab traveler Al Biruni
prompted a visit by Mahmud of Ghazini who ransacked and destroyed the
temple in 1025 CE. It was immediately rebuilt by King Bhima of Gujarat
and King Bhoja of Malwa.
Somnath temple was destroyed again by Alaf Khan, the general of
Allauddin Khilji in 1300 CE. It was rebuilt again by King Mahipala of
the Chudasama dynasty.
Somnath shrine was destroyed yet again in 1390, 1490, 1530 and finally
in 1701 by Aurangazeb. It was rebuilt with perseverance each time
after it was destroyed.
How to get there:
By Air
The nearest airport from Somnath is at Keshod, which is at a distance
of 55 kilometers. There are frequent buses plying between Keshod and
Somnath
By Rail
The nearest railhead is at Veraval, which is at a distance of 7
kilometers from Somnath. Veraval is well connected to other cities
within Gujarat and outside like Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
By Road
travel search
video
sponsored
<iframe id='ae2ed4a9' name='ae2ed4a9' src='http://s1d4.ixigo.com/admanager/www/delivery/afr.php?zoneid=50' framespacing='0' frameborder='no' scrolling='no' width='468' height='60'><a href='http://s1d4.ixigo.com/admanager/www/delivery/ck.php?n=a0cd96cd' target='_blank'><img src='http://s1d4.ixigo.com/admanager/www/delivery/avw.php?zoneid=50&n=a0cd96cd' border='0' alt='' /></a></iframe>