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Somnath
Temple Gujarat
The Somnath in the Prabhas Kshetra in Saurashtra, on the western
cost of Gujarat (INDIA) is one of the twelve Jyotirlings that are
most scared to the Hindus. It is as old as creation and its reference
is available in Rig Ved also. It is said - the Moon (Soma) with
his wife Rohini worshipped the deity of the temple, the Sparsha
Ling, to free himself from the curse of his father-in-law, Daksha
Prajapati. Lord Shiva pleased with his penance restored his light
for half of the month. Hence the deity here is known as Someshwar
or Somnath, Lord of the moon and the place as Prabhas.
ts earliest history fades into legend - it is said to have originally
been built out of gold by Somraj, the moon god, only to be rebuilt
by Rawana in Silver, then by krishna in wood and by Bhimdev in Stone.
A description of the temple by Al Biruni, an Arab traveler, was
so glowing that it prompted a visit in 1024 by a most unwelcome
tourist - Mahmud of Ghazni. At that time, the temple was so wealthy
that it had 300 musicians, 500 dancing girls and even 300 barbers
just to shave the heads of visiting pilgrims.
Mahmud of Ghazni, whose raids on the riches of India are legendary,
descended on Somnath from his Afghan kingdom and after a two-day-battle,
took the town and the temple. Having looted its fabulous wealth,
he destroyed it for good measure. So, began a pattern of Muslim
destruction and Hindu rebuilding that continued for centuries. The
temple was again razed in 1297, 1394 and finally in 1706 by Aurangzeb,
the notorious Mughal fundamentalist.
After the 1706 demolition, the
temple was not rebuilt until 1950. Outside, opposite the entrance,
is a statue of S V Patel (1875-1950), who was responsible for reconstruction.
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