The Somnath Temple located in the Prabhas Kshetra near Veraval in Saurashtra, on the western coast of Gujarat, is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of the God Shiva. Somnath means "The Protector of Moon God". The Somnath Temple is known as "the Shrine Eternal", having been destroyed six times and rebuilt six times.Most recently it was rebuilt in November 1947, when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel visited the area for the integration of Junagadh and mooted a plan for restoration. After Patel's death, the rebuilding continued under K. M. Munshi, another minister of the Government of India.
According to the legend, Soma or the Moon God built the temple in gold, Ravana in silver, and Shri Krishna in wood. Soma was cursed by his father-in-law Daksha to wane because Soma loved only one of his wives, all of whom happened to be Daksha's daughters. His other wives complained about this negligent behavior of Soma to their father Daksha, and thus the curse. He then built a Shivlinga at the Prabhas tirth (a Hindu pilgrimage) and prayed to Lord Shiva who removed the curse partially because asked upon by Soma's one wife (the one that he loved more than others). Thus, causing the periodic waning of moon. Pleased by the prayers Soma (Moon god), Lord Shiva decided to rest in that Lingam till eternity, and thus the Jyotirlingam.
Timeline
The first temple of Somnath is said to have existed before the beginning of the common era.
The second temple, built by the Yadava 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 Gurjara Pratihara king Nagabhata II constructed the third temple in 815, a large structure of red sandstone.
Gazni who raided the temple from across the Thar Desert. In 1296 AD, the temple was once again destroyed by Sultan Allauddin Khilji's army. According to Taj-ul-Ma'sir of Hasan Nizami, Raja Karan of Gujarat was defeated and forced to flee, "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 AD and the Linga was installed by his son Khengar sometime between 1326 and 1351 AD.
In 1375 AD, the temple was once again destroyed by Muzaffar Shah I, the Sultan of Gujarat.
In 1451 AD, the temple was once again destroyed by Mahmud Begda, the Sultan of Gujarat.
In 1701 AD, the temple was once again destroyed by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb built a mosque on the site of the Somnath temple, using some columns from the temple, whose Hindu sculptural motifs remained visible.
Queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore rebuilt the temple in 1783 AD at a site adjacent to the ruined temple which was already converted to a mosque.
Asaru-L- Bilad
geographer. It contains the description of Somnath temple and its destruction:
“Somnath: celebrated city of India, situated on the shore of the sea, and washed by its waves. Among the wonders of that place was the temple in which was placed the idol called Somnath. This idol was in the middle of the temple without anything to support it from below, or to suspend it from above. It was held in the highest honor among the Hindus, and whoever beheld it floating in the air was struck with amazement, whether he was a Musulman or an infidel. The Hindus used to go on pilgrimage to it whenever there was an eclipse of the moon, and would then assemble there to the number of more than a hundred thousand."
“When the Sultan Yaminu-d Daula Mahmud Bin Subuktigin went to wage religious war against India, he made great efforts to capture and destroy Somnat, in the hope that the Hindus would then become Muhammadans. As a result thousands of Hindus were forcibly converted to Islam. He arrived there in the middle of Zi-l k’ada, 416 A.H. (December, 1025 A.D.). “The king looked upon the idol with wonder, and gave orders for the seizing of the spoil, and the appropriation of the treasures. There were many idols of gold and silver and vessels set with jewels, all of which had been sent there by the greatest personages in India. The value of the things found in the temples of the idols exceeded twenty thousand dinars."
Restoration of temple after Independence
When Sardar Patel, K. M. Munshi and other leaders of the Congress went to Gandhi with the proposal of reconstructing 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 templeBut soon both Gandhi and Sardar Patel died and the task of reconstruction of the temple continued under K. M. Munshi, who was the Minister for Food and Civil Supplies in the Nehru Government. Before independence, Prabhas Pattan was part of the princely state of Junagadh. On the eve of independence the Nawab (ruler) of Junagadh announced the accession of his state to Muslim-majority Pakistan, despite the state population being 80% Hindu. The people of Junagadh rose in revolt and set up a parallel government under Samaldas Gandhi. Unable to resist the popular pressure, the Nawab escaped to Pakistan. The government-in-exile or the Aarzi Hukumat ("temporary government") under Samaldas Gandhi formally asked the Government of India to take over. The Deputy Prime Minister of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel came to Junagadh on November 12, 1947 to direct the stabilization of the state by the Indian Army and at the same time ordered the reconstruction of the Somanath temple
This episode created a serious rift between the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who saw the movement for reconstruction of the temple as an attempt at Hindu revivalism and the President Rajendra Prasad and Union Minister K. M. Munshi, who saw in its reconstruction, the fruits of freedom and the reversal of past injustice done to Hindus.The ruins were pulled down in October 1950 and the mosque present at that site was shifted few miles away. In May 1951, Rajendra Prasad, the first President of the Republic of India, invited by K M Munshi, performed the installation ceremony for the temple. Rajendra Prasad 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.".He added "The Somnath temple signifies that the power of reconstruction is always greater than the power of destruction"
The present temple, which was built by Patel and Munshi, is managed by Shree Somnath Trust.
Architecture
Chalukya style of temple architecture or Kailash Mahameru Prasad Styleand reflects the skill of the Sompura Salats, Gujarat's master masons.
'Proclamation of the Gates' Incident
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. After much cross-fire between the British Government and the opposition, the gates were uprooted and brought back in triumph. But on arrival, they were found to be of replicas of the original.So they were placed in a store-room in the Agra Fort where they still lie to the present day.
Somnath, the first in the twelve jyothirlingas, is located at the Viraval port - Prabhas Pattan in Saurashtra - Gujarat.
Anceint Glory of Somnath Temple
Known as prabhAsa kshetra, Somnath occupied a much esteemed place in the Hindu holy places. It finds many references in the purANas & itihAsas.
The inner temple of the Garbhashay was supported to be aglow with the luster of these gemstones. The Nanda Deep was always kept lighted with Kannauji attar. The treasure of the temple was forever full of vast wealth and was kept safe.
For worship of the Lord-and Abhishek (worship with holy water) sandalwood scented water was brought from Haridwar, Prayag Kashi every day. However flowers for special festivities were imported from Kashmir. For the routine daily worship, one thousand Brahmins were appointed. About three hundred and fifty dancing girls were appointed for the regular music and dance concerts that took place in the Temple courts.
This religious place of worship was earning the produce of ten thousand villages. Among the twelve JyotirLingas (Lingas of light) Somanath is considered as the primary one. Because this deity is supposed to be Swayanbhu (self-born) and is always awake, lakhs of devotees visited this temple and considered themselves blessed and to have achieved piety. Offerings made by crores of devotees amounted to crores of rupees which kept the Temple always rich and abundant. Along with this, the Sun worshipping foreigners (probably Parsis) also contributed a pat of their profits to the temple treasury which kept its coffers full, all the time.
sthala purANa of Lord Somnath temple
Chandra, (moon) was the first one to receive the benefic boon of Shri Somanath of Saurashtra, the Shiva pilgrimage, Agni Teerth and Surya Teerth. Then Chandra built a beautiful golden temple and put a glorious JyotirLinga in it, the first of its kind in India.
According to Prabhaskhand of Skanda Purana, the legend goes like this:
Chandra married the twenty seven daughters (stars) of Daksha, but was very partial and showed lot more love and affection to rohini. The remaining twenty six wives not only felt neglected but also insulted. They were disappointed with their husband and went and complained to their father. Daksha was upset to see his daughters suffer thus, and tried twice to convince his son-in-law to change himself, but in vain. He put a curse on him that Chandra would be “decreasing” in size.
The Devas (Celestial gods) were very sad at Chandra’s plight and went to Brahma. The Creator, in order to find out a remedy for this condition of Chandra and get a solution for redressing the curse. Brahma told them that the only way out was to worship Vrishabhdhwaj Shankar at Prabhas Kshetra Mahamrityunjay. Chandra went on a penance for six months and prayed to Lord Shiva, at the end of which Shankara appeared before him. He gave Chandra the boon that in a month, he would grow for fifteen days in one half and in the other half he would keep loosing one Kala (shade) per day and decrease in size. He was pleased with the Devas and in order to increase the prestige of the place, Lord Shiva Himself came to be known as Someshwar, meaning famous moon (Soma). The Devas established a Someshwar Kund there. By taking a holy dip in this pond or Kund, it is believed that one would obtain release from all the sins.
Chandra or moon is also called Som. That is why this JyotirLinga has become famous as Somanath. Chandra or moon looks very bright here. Therefore, this place is also known as “Prabhasapattana”.
Later, Shri Somnath Mandir was built by Ravana fro Rupa in the treda yug and Lord Krishna fro Chandran in
Troubled times and Hindu Resilience in rebuilding the grat temple of Somnath
This grand temple of Somanath came under the attack of the Muslims several times. In the year 722, Junamad, the Sindh Subedar attacked it for the first time and looted innumerable items from its treasure.
The beautiful statue of Somanath, can be seen from the center because of the miraculous magnetic power. Ghajni Mohammed, destroyed this statue on Friday, the 11th of May 1025 AD. From then onwards, Ghajni Mohammed came to be known as the “Statute Destroyer” (Iconoclast). On that day, he plundered and looted a treasure worth 18 crores.
In 1297 AD, Allauddin Kkhiji sent his Sardar Altaf Khan to Somanath on a mission of destroying and putting down the Somanath Mandir. The Somanath Temple was subjected to series of attacks starting in 1479 AD by Mohammad Begada, Mujaffar Shah, II, in 1503 AD, and finally by Aurangazeb, known to be the most intolerant towards other religions, in 1701 AD, where in, the temple was totally destroyed, plundered and looted in a most horrible way. A large number of people were killed mercilessly and a lot of money stolen.
In 1783 AD Sadhvi Alalya devi Holkar, a great devotee of Siva, built a new temple for Somanath after India become independent, the lion of Gujarat, Sardar Vallabhai Patel renovated the Somanath Temple on the advice of Kakashaheb Gadgil of Maharashtra with its revived Indian architectural beauty for which it became an unique example. It drew the attention of the world.
The Somanath JyotirLinga statue was reinstated (Pran Pratishta) on Friday the 11th May 1951 at 9.46 A.M. It was done by the then President of India, Honourable Dr. Rajendra Prasad, to the tune of the Veda chanting of Vedamurti Tarka Teertha Lakshman Shastri Joshi, in a grand manner.
This primary JyotirLinga located in India, is the cynosure of all Indian pilgrims. It is always crowded with lakhs of devotees. A large number of Sadhus and pious men can be met there. With the offerings of devotees, the Somanath Temple’s grandeur is revived. In spite of being subjected to destruction by intolerants, the faith of Indian devotees, dedication and their love was never destroyed. Shri Somanath JyotirLinga stands as the legendary example of the same.
The temples 15th memorial and the ancient monument located on the sea side of Kahiavad near Prabhaspattan. There are many famous mythological stories attached to them. The sun temple is the most ancient of all. There is no presiding deity in it, but the architecture of temple is so exquisite, that even by seeing the ruins one can imagine.
Saint Agastya, is supposed to have drunk the entire sea near Prabhasapattan. Mythological heroes like Janamejaya, Pandavas, Ravana are supposed to have visited Prabhasapattan Teerth. In the month of Magha (sometime in February) on the day of Shivaratri, Somanath JyotirLinga festival is celebrated with great aplomb.
931 AD 931 AD - Nagarjuna, born at Fort Daihak near Somnath in Gujarat in 931 AD, was a chemist, rather an alchemist. If he was embarrassed by all the tales told about him, he showed no sign of it. And he only added to the popular belief that he was a messenger of God.1024 AD 1024 AD - Earlier, Mahmud of Ghazna, arising from the neighbourhood, had left them intact while destroying the temple of Somnath in Gujarat in India in 1024 AD. Maitreya is based on the root mtr meaning friend. This is the 'kind' Buddha whose cult is widespread.1025 AD 1025 AD - Somnath (Gujarat) : It is historically famous for the temple which was destroyed by Mohammed of Ghazni in 1025 AD. Somnath Patan (Gujarat): It is also known as Prabhas Patan and Deva Patan which is the 'Somnath' of Marco Polo.1026 AD 1026 AD - More than 3000 years later, in 1026 AD, Mahmud of Ghazni looted and sacked the famous temple of Somnath located near Veraval on the Arabian Sea coast. His depredations are bitterly embedded in Gujarati folkloric memory and still live in the propaganda.1169 AD 1169 AD - The temple was ravaged by the Muslim invader Mahmud of Ghazna in AD 1024-1025. Reconstructed in 1169, it was destroyed again in the final Muslim invasions of the late.1192 AD 1192 AD - 8. A ruler from Afghanistan, who defeated the king of Delhi in 1192, and plundered the Somnath Temple in Gujarat: _. 9. The Slave Dynasty ruler who started building the Qutab Minar: _ 10. The scholarly son of Shah Jahan, who was killed by his brother.1264 1297 1297 - He was defeated and overthrown by the superior forces of Allauddin Khilji from Delhi in1297. With his defeat Gujarat not only became part of the Muslim empire but the Rajput hold over Gujarat lost for ever.1719 1719 - Inayatullãh in AD 1719 and covers Muhiyu d-Dîn Muhammad Aurangzeb Ãlamgîr Pãdshãh Ghãzî (AD 1658-1707) Somnath (Gujarat) The temple of Somnath was demolished early in my reign and idol worship (there) put down.2002 Sep 25, 2002 - The growth of hardline Hindu organisations in Gujarat in the last 20 years has also antagonised the situation. The present home minister, LK Advani, began his campaign to build a Rama temple in Ayodhya from Somnath in Gujarat in 1989.Until the rise of the west, India was possibly the richest country in the world. China was a rival in wealth, but we are not placed to compare the two nations. To the extent that India’s climate was more temperate than China’s, and the land probably more fertile, it is likely India was the richer.
Such a country presented an irresistible target for the ravening Mongols and their descendents who settled in present day Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikstan, all within comparatively easy reach of northwestern India.
The northwest was, at this time, a mish-mash of warring kingdoms, more interested in settling scores with their neighbors than in unifying against the Mongols. It is then unsurprising that Mahmud Ghaznavi’s armies so handily defeated those of the Indian kings.
Mahmud Ghanznavi (translated: Mahmud of Ghazni) was not, according to some, like future Muslim invaders of India, a religious proselytizer. Indeed, with the exception of Punjab, which he needed as his "forward operating base" for his Indian expeditions, he made no attempt to rule any of his conquests. His intent was economic and political. It has been said that the destruction of Somnath is mentioned only in Muslim texts, whose authors had the habit of exaggeration. This view goes as far as to say in the opinion of some, the Ghaznivad empire fell apart because of Mahmud’s excessive reliance on Hindu soldiers and generals.
Others, however, have argued the reverse: he may have wanted the money, but also wanted to spread Islam and did his best to destroy temples even when offered large sums to leave the temples alone. The Indian historian Romila Thapar [2002] takes a middle view: Mahmud needed money for his wars; India’s temples were known to contain fabulous treasures; we need not look for more complicated explanations. Thapar said he was undoubtedly an iconoclast, and hardly averse to destroying temples to gain favor when he went to heaven. Nonetheless, he warred equally with other Islamic sects, because he was a Sunni. The secondary purpose of his raids may have been tied up with his need to convert Shias to Sunni beliefs.
Nonetheless, for our purposes, which are military history, Mahmud Ghaznavi's motives and large aims are irrelevant, and we say without hesitation we have little idea of where the truth lies.
Understandably, Indians know Mahmud Ghaznavi because of his invasions of India. But he fought many wars to the west, and captured large parts of today's Iran, and that was an entirely different part of his life. His father was a Turkish slave; this would be one reason he looked to the west.
While we have believed, as have most school and college students of Indian history, that there were 17 invasions, some say there were 14. We hope someone with the necessary scholarship can enlighten us on this.
MAHMUD GHAZNAVI
Born in 971, Mahmud Ghaznavi was the elder son of Subuktagin, the king of Ghazni. When Subuktagin attacked King Jaipal, Mahmud fought for his father in the battlefield. Though Mahmud was the elder son of his father, it is said that in his last days, Subuktagin was not happy with Mahmud. So, when Subuktagin died in 997, his younger son Ismail became the king of Ghazni.
Ismail reigned only for a little time. Very soon, Mahmud defeated him and became the king.
Mahmud began a series of seventeen raids into northwestern India at the end of the 10th century. Nonetheless, he did not attempt to rule Indian territory except for the Punjab, which was his gateway to India, as Ghazni lay in present day Afghanistan
2007 Nov 21, 2007 - And we have Somnath here," Advani said in a lighter vein. Some members were heard remarking that Advani was well-acquainted with another Somnath, an obvious reference to the Rath Yatra from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya. The Leader of Opposition requested the Speaker not to interrupt ...2008 Mar 3, 2008 - FACT organized an exhibition of 40 paintings, including exceptional miniatures by noted Indian artists at the Chennai Lalit Kala Academy, a Central Institution from March 3 2008.2010 Sep 21, 2010 - PLUS, partner get 127.6km highway project in India Sep 21, 2010 NH8, which starts from Jetpur and ends at Somnath in Gujarat, connects the Indian capital city of New Delhi with the financial capital city of Mumbai. The highway passes through the state ...- Sep 21, 2010 - PLUS, partner get 127.6km highway project in India Sep 21, 2010 NH8, which starts from Jetpur and ends at Somnath in Gujarat, connects the Indian capital city of New Delhi with the financial capital city of Mumbai. The highway passes through the state .
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