The Somnath temple is situated in Saurashtra on the western coast of Gujarat. The temple of Somnath is considered to be the first Jyotirlinga shrine of Lord Shiva among the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines.
The holy temple of Somnath was vandalized and looted 17 times by the Islamic invader, Mahmud of Ghazni. But the temple was rebuilt each time with the efforts of Hindus and by Shiva’s grace.
The History of Somnath Temple
Chandra Dev (The Moon God) was married to 27 daughters of Daksha Prajapati but he loved Rohini the most and neglected the other queens. The partial behaviour of Chandra Dev towards the queens made Daksha angry and he cursed Chandra which made him lose his lustre.
Without the Moonlight, the whole world became dark. Devas asked Daksha to relieve Chandra from his curse in response to which Daksha suggested Chandra Dev Pray to Lord Shiva. Chandra went to Prabhas Teerth and worshipped Lord Shiva, pleased with the devotion of Chandra Shiva blessed and relieved him from the curse of darkness.
After getting relieved of the curse, Chandra dev (The Moon God) built the Somnath Temple with gold in Satya Yug followed by Ravana with silver in Treta Yug, and by Lord Sri Krishna with Sandalwood in Dwapar Yug.
The Temple of Somnath was destroyed and looted several times by the Islamic Invaders. Mahmud of Ghazni destroyed the temple 17 times and plundered the gold. Followed by Afzal Khan in 1296, Muzzafar Shah in 1375, Mahmud Begada in 1451 and Aurangzeb in 1665.
The Islamic invaders attacked and destroyed almost 60,000 temples in India. The reason was quite simple, to plunder the wealth of the temple and their hatred towards other Dharma. Why am I saying hatred toward other Dharma? Because they didn’t only destroy the temples but also converted them into Mosques.
They didn’t only convert the temples into Mosques also the people of India were forced to convert to Islam. People had to pay taxes if they wanted to follow their Dharma and Religious practices.
Somnath Temple was destroyed many times and it was rebuilt each time with the efforts of Hindus and by Lord Shiva’s grace. The modern-day temple of Somnath was built by the combined efforts of India’s Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel and the Hindus of India between 1947 and 1951 in sandstone.
The Speciality of Somnath Temple
The Somnath Temple of Saurashtra, Gujarat is the first Jyotirlinga shrine of Lord Shiva among 12 Jyotirlinga shrines. The Temple of Somnath was destroyed and looted many times by the Islamic Invaders and was rebuilt each time by Hindus.
The Temple has withstood the repetitive destruction and looting of the temple wealth by the Islamic Invaders. The temple of Somnath is the symbol of the reconstructive spirit and shows how strongly we are connected to the culture of our country.
It is believed that Chandra Deva (Moon God) after getting relieved from the curse of Daksh Prajapati built the Somnath Temple with gold in Satya Yug followed by Ravana with silver in Treta Yug and by Lord Sri Krishna with Sandalwood in Dwapar Yug.
The Modern-day Temple of Somnath was built by the efforts of India’s Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel and the Hindus of India between 1947 and 1951 in sandstone. Each and every single penny utilized to rebuild the temple was collected from the devotees of Lord Shiva.
The flag mast on top of the temple is 37 feet long and the Temple Flag changes 3 times a day. Anybody can visit the temple of Somnath without requiring any special permission, no matter which religion you follow. People of other faith will only have to enter Personal details in a register maintained by the temple authority.
12 Jyotirlinga Shrines of Lord Shiva
Jyotirlinga shrine of Lord Shiva is a place where Lord Shiva is worshipped in the form of Jyotirlinga. The term Jyotirlinga is made up of two words ‘Jyoti’ which means light, and ‘linga’ which means sign. Jyotirlinga represents Lord Shiva: The Destroyer.
- Somnath Temple in Saurashtra, Gujarat
- Nageshwar Temple in Saurashtra, Gujarat
- Bhimashankar Temple in Pune, Maharashtra
- Trimbakeshwar Temple in Nashik, Maharashtra
- Grishneshwar Temple in Aurangabad, Maharashtra
- Vaidyanath Temple in Deoghar, Jharkhand
- Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
- Omkareshwar Temple in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh
- Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
- Kedarnath Temple in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand
- Rameshwaram Temple in Rameshwaram Island, Tamil Nadu
- Mallikarjuna Temple in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh
Interesting Facts about the Somnath Temple
The Somnath Temple was first built by Somraj who is also known as Chandra Dev (The Moon God) with Gold in Satya Yug. Followed By by Ravana, who built the temple with silver in Treta Yug, and Lord Sri Krishna with Sandalwood in Dwapar Yug.
The modern-day temple of Somnath was built over 5 years from 1947 to 1951. The Pran Pratishtha of Somnath temple was done by the first President of Independent India Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
The flag mast on top of the temple is 37 feet long and the Temple Flag changes 3 times a day the Kalash at the top of the Shikhar weighs 10 tons.
Hari Har Tirthdham in Somnath is the holy place of Lord Sri Krishna’s Neejdham Prasthan Leela. The place where Lord Sri Krishna was hit by an arrow of a poacher is known as Bhalka Teertha.
In the temple premises of Somnath is the Parshuram Tapobhumi, where Lord Parshuram-The 6th incarnation of Lord Vishnu carried out penance and he was relieved from the sin of Kshatriya killings. It is said that the Pandavas have visited this place and taken a holy bath in the Jalprabhas and built five Shiva temples.
Somnath Temple Darshan
Timings for the Somnath Temple Darshan are from 6:00 Am to 10:00 PM and devotees of Sri Somnath can book Temple Darshan Pass online by visiting the Somnath temple website.
The most important thing to note down is that Mobile, Cameras and any other types of electronic equipment are not allowed inside the temple premises.
How to reach Somnath Temple?
The devotees of Lord Shiva can visit the Temple of Somnath through various means of transport like Railways, Airways, and Roadways.
The nearest railway station to Somnath Temple is Somnath railway station. People living within Gujarat may find direct trains but people living outside Gujarat should take a train to Ahmedabad or Rajkot and then a connecting train to Somnath railway station.
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The visitors can also reach Somnath temple via airways. The nearest airport is Diu Airport, Vistors from outside Gujarat can take a flight to Ahmedabad and then a connecting flight to Diu Airport if the direct flight is not available.
If You are fond of long rides and journeys then you can take your private conveyance and visit the temple as per your plan via roadways.
Conclusion
The temple of Somnath is the first Jyotirlinga shrine of Lord Shiva among the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines. The holy temple of Somnath was vandalized and looted many times by the Islamic invader, Mahmud of Ghazni. But the temple was rebuilt each time with the efforts of Hindus and by Shiva’s grace.
The temple of Somnath is the symbol of the reconstructive spirit and shows how strongly we are connected to the culture of our country. People must visit the Somnath temple: The Cultural Heritage site of India.