Somnath Temple, Somnath

"A blend of mythology, history, spirituality, and philosophy.  Holy pilgrimage site, one of the 12 Jyothirlingas"

The first thing that comes to mind when we hear Somnath temple is invasion and destruction. Our school books said Mohammad Ghazni conqured, plundered, and looted this temple 17 times. We believed what we were taught without questioning. Through our drive from Junagad to Somnath we conversed about the approximate distance between Afghanistan and Somnath, mode of transportation in that period, harsh weather condition, and food supply. It is impossible for any one regime to create such havoc in such a short period of time. Later we learnt it is true the temple was vandalized and rebuilt 5 to 6 times in the past; however, how did did the magic number "17" emerge is still a mystery to us. History says temple was ransacked by Mohammad Ghazni in 1024, Khilji's army in 1296, Zafar Khan in 1375, Mahmud Begada in 1451, Portuguese in 1546, and Aurangzeb in 1665.

On the western coast of Gujarat, a seashore temple located in Prabhas Patan near Veraval is the famed Somnath Temple. Being one of the 12 Jyothirlingas Somnath is a holy pilgrimage site for many Hindus. Jyothirlinga shrines are the places where it is believed Shiva appeared in the form of blazing column of light.

Legend: Lord Soma was married to 27 daughters of Daksha Prajapthi. Their names are Ashwini, Bharani, Kritika, Rohini, and so on. Ring any bell? Yes, they are the Nakshatras (stars) of planet used extensively in Hindu astrology. Lord Soma was enamored by Rohini and quite naturally giving her more attention than others. Distraught by this partiality other wives complained to their father. Raged with anger Daksha cursed his son-in-law to lose his brilliant lustre. Lord Soma meditated in this very place to Lord Shiva who also happened to be his the brother-in-law/co-brother (Shiva married Daksha's daughter Sati). Out of concern Shiva decreased Moon's curse by giving the ability to wax and wane every 15 days respectively. In honour of Lord Shiva a golden temple was built by lord Soma.


Legend has it Soma (Moon God) constructed the Somnath Temple from gold, Asura king Ravana from from silver, Lord Krishna from sandalwood, and King Bhimdev from stone.

The idea of present time temple was visualized by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Reconstruction was completed in May 1951 under the tutelage of K.M.Munshi, then head of temple trust. Chalukya style of architecture is adapted in this 155 feet tall temple with flag post of 8.2 meter being the focal point.

We deposited our wallet, camera, cell phones in the cloak room before moving in for Darshana. The pillars, sculptures, and carvings on the ceilings and walls are beautiful. It might be prude to say we were little disappointed. Fresh from visiting Rani Ka Vav just a week ago, which was built in 10th century by above mentioned King Bhimdev's wife, the present day work fell short of our expectations. However, we acknowledge the efforts put forth by the artisans of liberated India. Just imagine how difficult it would have been to built a nation that was looted by British over 300 years.


In the temple corridor don't miss the arrow pillar (Banasthamba) which has an inscription that says "There is no land in a straight line between Somnath seashore until Antarctica." We overheard someone telling Antarctica is where Dakhsa was hiding when he was ordered to be killed by Lord Shiva after Daksha Yaga. Oh!!! How much we love legends. And rumor has it Shymantaka Mani (Philosopher's stone) linked to Lord Krishna is hidden in the hollowness of this very Shivalinga.

We paid 5 rupees each for telescopic view of Swayambhu lingas (self appearing) in sea just 5 kilometer from temple.  As it was almost 12 o'clock the water level started to recede. We saw something in black, either it could be lingas or just plain rocks, we couldn't be sure.

We had to skip Gita Mandir, Bhalka Teertha, Triveni Sangam due to time constraint. As they say you should always leave some places only to return next time. Though not very religious the calmness of the place made us spiritual and philosophical for a bit.