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Somnath Temple Jyotirlinga is situated at Somnath Patan (the south coast of Saurashtra), near Veraval in (Prabhas Kshetra) Kathaiwad district in Gujarat. Somnath is considered to be the first of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Shiva and is a revered pilgrimage center in India. Legend of Somnath Temple Emergence of Somnath Temple is known by a chapter in Skanda Purana.There is a 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. 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 Somnath temple there is a small cave in which a lamp burns continuously. Robbing and Rebuilding of Somnath Jyotirlinga Somnath Jyotirling has been destroyed and rebuilt a number of times in the history: Firstly it was robbed and destroyed by Mahmud of Ghazini in 1025 CE. It was immediately rebuilt by King Bhima of Gujarat and King Bhoja of Malwa. Again it was looted by Alaf Khan, the general of Allauddin Khilji in 1300 CE. It was rebuilt again by King Mahipala of the Chudasama dynasty. It was destroyed again in 1390, 1490, 1530 and finally in 1701 by Aurangazeb. It was rebuilt with determination each time after it was destroyed. HOW TO GET THERE By Road :State Transport buses and private luxury coaches connect various centres of Gujarat. By Rail :Veraval (5 kilometres) is nearest railway station . By Air :The nearest airport is at Keshod, 47 kilometres, which is connected with Bombay. |
