Somnath

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**Somnath Temple**
Somnath
Somnath from the beach
Date Built:	1995 (Present structure)
Primary Deity:	Shankar
Arcitecture:	Chalukya
Location:	Veraval

The Somnath Temple located in the Prabhas Kshetra near Veraval in Saurashtra, on the western coast of Gujarat, India is one of the twelve Jyotirlings (golden lingas) symbols of the God Shiva. It is mentioned in the Rig Veda^{[citation needed]}. Somnath means "The Protector of Moon God". The Somnath Temple is known as 'the Shrine Eternal', as although the temple has been destroyed six times it has been rebuilt every single time.^{[citation needed]}

1 Folklore
2 History
3 Architecture
4 Reference
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Folklore

It has been said that The Moon God Chandra, being arrogant about his beauty, was cursed by his father-in-law Daksha to wane. The Moon then prayed to Lord Shiva at the Prabhas tirth who then removed the curse partially, thus causing the periodic waning of moon.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] History

The first temple of Somnath is said to have existed before the beginning of the Christian era. The second temple, built by the Maitraka kings of Vallabhi in Gujarat, replaced the first one on the same site around 649. In 725 Junayad, the Arab governor of Sind, sent his armies to destroy the second temple. The Pratihara king Nagabhata II constructed the third temple in 815, a large structure of red sandstone. Mahmud of Ghazni attacked this temple 16 times but still could not break through the defences of the Hindus, it was not until Qutub Shah a decendant of the Fourth Caliph Ali took charge of the Army and on the 17th attack the Temple of Somnath was destroyed. He then massacred the worshippers and had the temple burnt. It was then that the famous Shiva lingam of the temple was entirely destroyed.

During his campaign mahmud was challenged by Ghogha Rana, who at the ripe age of 90, sacrificed his own clan fighting against this iconoclast.^{[citation needed]}

Statue of Sardar Vallabhai Patel in front of the temple

The raid in 1024 was last major campaign of Mahmud Ghazni, and took him across the Thar Desert. The concentration of wealth at Somnath was renowned, and consequently it became an attractive target for Mahmud. The temple and citadel were sacked, and most of its defenders massacred; Mahmud personally hammered the temple's gilded lingam to pieces and the stone fragments were carted back to Ghazni, where they were incorporated into the steps of the city's new Jamiah Masjid (Friday mosque).^{[citation needed]}

The fourth temple was built by the Paramara King Bhoj of Malwa and the Solanki king Bhima of Gujarat (Anhilwara) between 1026 and 1042.

The wooden structure was replaced by Kumarpal who built the temple of stone. The temple was razed in 1297 when the Sultanate of Delhi conquered Gujarat, and again in 1394. The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb destroyed the temple again in 1706.^{[citation needed]}

The present temple is the seventh temple built on the original site (A mosque present at that site was shifted few miles away). Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, then Home Minister & the first Deputy Prime Minister of India took a pledge on November 13, 1947 for its reconstruction. It was completed on December 1, 1995 and President of India, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma dedicated it in the service of the nation. The present temple was built by the Shree Somnath Trust which looks after the entire complex of Shree Somnath and its environs.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Architecture

The Present temple, Kailash Mahameru Prasada, is built in the Chalukya style of temple architecture and reflects the skill of the Sompuras, Gujarat's master masons.

Somanatha

The temple is situated at such a place that there is no land in between from Somnath seashore to Antarctica. Such an inscription in Sanskrit is found on the ARROW-PILLAR erected on the sea-protection wall at the Somnath Temple.

In 1951 Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, who performed the Jyotirling-Pratishthapan ceremony of the new Temple said, "The Somnath Temple signifies that the power of creation is always greater than the power of destruction."^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Reference

"Magic or Tantric" Book. (Original Tamil version)

[edit] See also

Destruction of Idol Temples

[edit] External links

Jyotirlinga temples
Somnath • Dwarka •Mahakal, Ujjain • Srisailam • Bhimashankar • Omkareshwar • Kedarnath • Varanasi •Trimbakeshwar • Rameswaram • Grishneshwar • Deoghar

Hindu Holy Cities in India
Allahabad • Ayodhya • Badrinath • Dharmasthala • Dwarka • Gaya • Guruvayur • Haridwar • Hrishikesh • Kalahasti • Kanchipuram • Kedarnath • Kollur • Mathura • Mayapur • Nashik • Nathdwara • Puri •Rameswaram • Sabarimala • Somnath • Sringeri • Srirangam •Tirumala - Tirupati • Ujjain • Varanasi • Vrindavan