Somnath

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Somanath" redirects here. For other uses, see Somanath (disambiguation).

[hide]This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk pa

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is:
This article possibly contains original research. (April 2015)

Somnath Temple

Front view of the present Somnath Temple

Somnath Temple

Location within Gujarat

Name

Proper name Somnath Temple

Devanagari

Sanskrit Smantha mandira

Tamil

Marathi

Bengali

Geography

Coordinates

205316.9N 70245.0ECoordinates:
316.9N 70245.0E

Country India
State/province Gujarat
District Gir Somnath
Locale Veraval
Culture
Primary deity Somnath (Shiva)
Important Maha Shivaratri
festivals
Architecture
Architectural Hindu temple architecture
styles
History and governance
Date built 1951 (present structure)
Creator Vallabhbhai Patel (present structure)
Temple board Shree Somnath Trust of Gujarat
Website somnath.org

205

Sanctum sanctorum of the temple

The Somnath temple located in Prabhas Patan near Veraval in Saurashtra on the western coast
of Gujarat, India, is the first among the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva.[1] It is an important
pilgrimage and tourist spot for pilgrims and tourists. The temple is considered sacred due to the
various legends connected to it. Somnath means "Lord of the Soma", an epithet of Shiva.
Somnath Temple is known as "the Shrine Eternal". This legendary temple has been destroyed and
rebuilt several times by Islamic kings and Hindu kings respectively.[2][page needed] Most recently it was
rebuilt in November 1947, when Vallabhbhai Patel visited the area for the integration of
Junagadh and mooted a plan for restoration. After Patel's death, the rebuilding continued
underKanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi, another minister of the Government of India.[3][4]
The temple is open daily from 6AM to 9PM. There are 3 aarti daily; in the morning at 0700, at 1200
and in the evening at 1900.
It is also believed that this is the place where Krishna ended his lila on earth and left for his heavenly
abode.[1]
Contents
[hide]

1 Jyotirlinga

2 History
o

2.1 Timeline of destruction and reconstruction of the ancient Temple

2.2 'Proclamation of the Gates' Incident during the British raj

2.3 Reconstruction of the Somnath Temple

3 Architecture of the present temple

4 Other Places
4.1 Railway Station

5 See also

6 Notes

7 References

8 External links

Jyotirlinga[edit]
The Shiva linga in Somnath is believed to be one of the 12 jyotirlingas in India, where Shiva
appeared as a fiery column of light. The jyotirlingas are taken as the supreme, undivided reality out
of which Shiva partly appears.[5][6]
The jyotirlinga shrines are the places where Shiva is believed to have appeared as a fiery column of
light.[5][6] Originally there are believed to have been 64 jyotirlingas and 12 of them were considered to
be very auspicious and holy.[7]
Each of the twelve jyotirlinga sites take the name of a different manifestation of Shiva.[8] At all these
sites, the primary image is alingam representing the beginningless and endless stambha pillar,
symbolizing the infinite nature of Shiva.[8][9][10] Even though there are believed to have been
64 jyotirlingas, twelve of them are considered to be very auspicious.[7] In addition to the one at
Somanath, the others are at Varanasi, Rameswaram, Dwarka etc.[7][11]

A Picture of the Somnath Temple from the Beach

History[edit]
Timeline of destruction and reconstruction of the ancient Temple [edit]

According to the religious traditions documented by J. Gordon Melton, the first Siva temple at
Somanath was built at some unknown time in the past. The second temple was built at the same site
by the Seuna kings of Vallabhi around 649 CE. In 725 CE, Al-Junayd, the Arab governor of Sindh,
who invaded various parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan, is said to have destroyed the second temple.
TheGurjara-Pratihara king Nagabhata II is said to have constructed the third temple in 815 CE, a
large structure of red sandstone.[12]
According to historians, the first verifiable temple was built by the Solanki king Mularaja sometime
before 997 CE, even though some historians believe that he may have renovated a smaller earlier
temple.[13] However, the site of Somnath had been a pilgrimage site from ancient times on account of
being a triveni sangam (the joining of three rivers Kapila, Hiran and the mythicalSarasvati
River). Soma, the Moon god, is believed to have lost his lustre due to a curse, and he bathed in the
Sarasvati River at this site to regain it. The result is the waxing and waning of the moon, no doubt an
allusion to the waxing and waning of the tides at this sea shore location. [14] There is no historical
record of a temple destroyed by Al-Junayd. However, Nagabhata II is known to have visitedtirthas in
Saurashtra, including Someshvara (the Lord of the Moon) at the site, which may or may not be a
reference to a Siva temple.[15]

Somnath temple, 1869

In 1024, the temple built by Mularaja was destroyed by the prominent Afghan ruler, Mahmud of
Ghazni,[16][17] who raided the temple from across the Thar Desert. The temple was rebuilt by
the Paramara king Bhoja of Malwa and the Solanki king Bhimdev I of Anhilwara (nowPatan, Gujarat)
between 1026 and 1042. This appears to have been a wooden structure, which was replaced by a
stone temple byKumarpal (r.1143-72).[18][19]
In 1296, the temple was once again destroyed by Alauddin Khilji's army.[16][19] Raja Karan of Gujarat
was defeated and forced to flee. According to Taj-ul-Ma'sir of Hasan Nizami, the Sultan boasted that
"fifty thousand infidels were dispatched to hell by the sword" and "more than twenty thousand slaves,
and cattle beyond all calculation fell into the hands of the victors."
The temple was rebuilt by Mahipala Deva, the Chudasama king of Saurashtra in 1308 and the Linga
was installed by his son Khengar sometime between 1326 and 1351. [19] In 1375, the temple was
once again destroyed by Muzaffar Shah I of the Gujarat Sultanate.[19] In 1451, the temple was once
again destroyed by Mahmud Begada, the Sultan of Gujarat.[16][19]
By 1665, the temple, one of many, was once again ordered destroyed
by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.[20] Later the temple was rebuilt to its same glory adjacent to the
ruined one. Later on a joint effort of Peshwa of Pune, Raja Bhonsle of Nagpur, Chhatrapati Bhonsle
of Kolhapur, Queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore & Shrimant Patilbuwa Shinde of Gwalior rebuilt the
temple in 1783 at a site adjacent to the ruined temple.

'Proclamation of the Gates' Incident during the British raj [edit]

temples of Ujjain. Today they can be seen in two temples of India, Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga and
Gopal Mandir of Ujjain.[21]
In 1842, Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough issued his famous Proclamation of the Gates, in
which he ordered the British army in Afghanistan to return via Ghazni and bring back to India the
sandalwood gates from the tomb of Mahmud of Ghazni in Ghazni, Afghanistan. These were believed
to have been taken by Mahmud from Somnath. There was a debate in the House of Commons in
London in 1843 on the question of the gates of the Somanatha temple. [22] After much crossfire
between the British Government and the opposition, the gates were uprooted and brought back in
triumph. But on arrival, they were found to be replicas of the original. [21] They were placed in a storeroom in the Agra Fort where they still lie to the present day.
In the 19th century novel The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, the diamond of the title is presumed to
have been stolen from the temple at Somnath and, according to the historianRomila Thapar, reflects
the interest aroused in Britain by the gates.[23]

Reconstruction of the Somnath Temple[edit]

Early picture of the present temple

Before independence, Prabhas Patan was part of the princely state of Junagadh, whose ruler had
acceded to Pakistan in 1947. After India refused to accept his decision, the state was made a part of
India and Deputy Prime Minister Patel came to Junagadh on 12 November 1947 to direct the
stabilization of the state by the Indian Army and at the same time ordered the reconstruction of the
Somanath temple.[24]
When Patel, K. M. Munshi and other leaders of the Congress went to Mahatma Gandhi with their
proposal to reconstruct the Somnath temple, Gandhi blessed the move, but suggested that the funds
for the construction should be collected from the public and the temple should not be funded by the
state. He expressed that he was proud to associate himself to the project of renovation of the
temple[25]However, soon both Gandhi and Sardar Patel died and the task of reconstruction of the
temple continued under Munshi, who was the Minister for Food and Civil Supplies in the Nehru
Government.[25]
The ruins were pulled down in October 1950 and the mosque present at that site was shifted few
kilometres away.[26] In May 1951, Dr.Rajendra Prasad, the first President of the Republic of India,
invited by K M Munshi, performed the installation ceremony for the temple. [27] The President said in
his address, "It is my view that the reconstruction of the Somnath Temple will be complete on that
day when not only a magnificent edifice will arise on this foundation, but the mansion of India's
prosperity will be really that prosperity of which the ancient temple of Somnath was a symbol.". [28] He
added "The Somnath temple signifies that the power of reconstruction is always greater than the
power of destruction"[28]

Architecture of the present temple[edit]

Bnastambha (Arrow Pillar)

The present temple is built in the Chalukya style of temple architecture or "Kailash Mahameru
Prasad" style[29] and reflects the skill of theSompura Salats, one of Gujarat's master masons. The
temple's ikhara, or main spire, is 15 metres in height, and it has an 8.2-metre tall flag pole at the
top.[29]
The temple is situated at such a place that there is no land in a straight line between Somnath
seashore until Antarctica, such an inscription in Sanskrit is found on the Bn astambha or "Arrow
Pillar" erected on the sea-protection wall. The Bnastambha mentions that it stands at a point on the
Indian landmass that is the first point on land in the north to the South Pole at that particular
longitude.[30]