Somnath
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.
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.
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 in
1026, and looted it of gems and precious stones. 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.
|
Statue of Sardar Vallabhai Patel in front of the temple |
The raid in 1026 was last major campaign of Muhamad Gazani, and took him across the
Thar Desert. The concentration of wealth at Somnath was renowned, and consequently it became an attractive target for Mahmud, and had previously deterred most invaders. 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).
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.
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.
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.
Such a temple has not been constructed in India during the last 800 years. 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."
* "Magic or Tantric" Book. (Original Tamil version)
*
Destruction of Idol Temples*
Somnath in Pictures*
View: Somanatha and Mahmud by Romila Thapar
