Why Somnath Temple is famous ?

An inscription on the Arrow Pillar on the sea protection wall states that there is no piece of land between the point where the temple stands and Antarctica. The first President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad commented that the Somnath temple symbolizes the fact that the power of creation is always more than the power of destruction.

First we will explain you about the Jyothirlinga. Originally there were 64 Jyothirlingas while 12 of them are considered to be very prestigious and holy. They are set of 12 Shiva Temples spread all over India and considered holiest for Shiva devotee.

The Somnath Temple is a very sacred Hindu pilgrimage site which is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is located near Veraval, in Saurashtra, on the western coast of Gujarat. It is considered to be one of the twelve “Jyotirlingas” (lighted lingas), which is a symbol of Shiva.

You all must have heard about the Somnath temple, but here are popular legends, mythology and the jaw dropping facts about the Temple that will make you scratch your head.

The legend of Somnath temple mythology is related to moon god and curse of his father in law Daksha prajapati. Daksha had 89 daughters and Chandra(moon) married 27 of them. However moon loved Rohini a little more than the other queens and this angered Daksha Prajapati. He cursed moon because of which moon lost its brightness.

With an advice from Brahma Deva, moon took a holy dip at the site of Prabhas Patan, which is also a confluence of three holy rivers – Hiran, Kapila and the mythical river Saraswati, and prayed to Lord Shiva. Shiva then redeemed him of his curse.

Ravana (Shiva devotee) rebuilt it in silver during Tretayug (one of four ages of mankind in philosophy).

Lord Krishna used sandalwood to build this temple in Dwaparyug.

Around 10th century, King Bhimdev of the Solanki dynasty rebuilt the Somnath Temple in stone.

Rajendra Prasad, the first president of the country inaugurated the present day Somnath temple.

The present day Somnath temple was constructed around 1950.

The temple’s flag mast on the pinnacle of the temple stretches to a length of about 37 feet and is changed thrice a day.

Somnath temple is said to be the first of the 12 Aadi Jyotirlingams that our country has.

The temple was built in a course of 5 years spanning between 1947 and 1951.

An interesting legend is associated with the Somnath temple. Lord Shiva enshrined here is known as ‘Somnath’ meaning ‘Lord of the Moon’. According to legends, Moon was the son-in-law of Daksha Prajapati whose 27 daughters were married to moon. But Moon was negligent of all his wives except Rohini whom he favored specially. Daksha was annoyed with Moon’s conduct. He cursed moon as a result of which Moon lost his luster. Moon was dejected and shocked. He approached Brahma dev for help. Brahma dev advised him to worship Lord Shiva. Moon started his rigorous penance to please the lord sitting at the spot where the Somnath temple stands at present. Lord Shiva was ultimately pleased with his devotion and appeared before him to grant him a boon. Moon wanted to free himself from the curse and thus asked for the same. His wish was granted and he got his luster back. Out of gratitude he built a temple out of gold in honor of Lord Shiva. Later Ravana built the same temple out of Silver, Lord Krishna built it out of wood and finally Bheema, one of the Pandava brothers built it out of stone.

The positioning of the temple is pretty intriguing. No land is present between the seashore that has the temple until Antarctica.

Myths hold that Lord Krishna left for his nij dham and ended his earthly lila just at the spot where the temple stands right now.

The mighty lingam enshrined here was broken to pieces when Muhammad Ghazni attacked the temple in the year 1024.

According to history, Maharaja Mularaja, the Chalukya ruler had constructed the first Somnath temple prior to 997 CE. However, there is no authentic historical record to confirm this. Another group of historians believe that Mularaja had only renovated a small temple that existed at that spot already by increasing the temple’s size, dimension and stretch.

The temple according to history and myths had huge wealth deposits once upon a time. Muhammad Ghazni after raiding the temple is said to have taken away wealth worth 20 million dinars.

As per legendary tales, Somnath temple had in it the magical stone, the Syamantaka mani that could convert everything to gold with its touch. The mani was hidden within the hollow of the lord Shiva jyotirlingam.

As per tales even before the Somnath temple the place was popular as a pilgrimage destination as it was the holy confluence site of three rivers- Hiran, Kapila and Saraswati.

Somnath Temple is in news yet again but not for a very good reason. Now, non-Hindus will require special permission to visit the great temple (which is no less than an architectural marvel). As per the news available, to get this special permission, the visitors will have to give valid reasons and convince the authorities. Let’s take a look at some fascinating yet unknown facts about the Somnath temple…

"Shree Somnath Jyotirling is a pilgrimage for Hindus. Non-Hindus will have to obtain permission from the office of the General Manager (of the temple) to enter the sacred premises," read a notice that was put up beside the temple's main entrance earlier this week. The temple authorities claim the decision has been taken in view of security issues. They point out that several temples in South India have similar rules.

Somnath temple is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of Lord Shiva which are considered to be very holy as each of the twelve Jyotrilinga is considered to be the manifestation of the Lord Shiva. It had been desecrated and vandalised repeatedly by Muslim invaders. Every time it was rebuilt at the same site. The modern temple was built over five years - from 1947 to 1951. It was inaugurated by then President of India Dr Rajendra Prasad.