The Somnath is known as the Eternal Shrine as it has withstood the shocks of time and the attacks of the destroyers. It has risen like a phoenix each time it was destroyed.Somnath Temple Tour Somnath is also known by several other names like Deo Pattan, Prabhas Pattan, or Pattan Somnath.These names were acquired during its long and eventful history. Somnath was once the most revered shrine in the country, for it had one of the twelve pre-eminent Jyotirlingas, which held a special significance for the Hindus. Somnath's glory and fame are legendary. It is said that people from the remotest parts of the country came to worship at the shrine; revenues collected from ten thousand villages were spent on the maintenance of the temple.The temple faces to east and once had an enormous central hall with three entrances, each protected by a lofty porch. The fragments that lie scattered at a short distance from the site give some idea of the sculpture decorating the temple. The richly carved doorways, the sculptured representations of Nandi, Shiva's bull, and the figures of goddesses and their female attendants must once have presented a grand ensemble of great beauty. In the recesses of the balconied corridor, there is a mutilated form of Nataraja, the dancing Shiva.Situated 79 kms from Junagadh and 25 kms from Chorwad, is the legendary shore temple of Somnath, one of the twelve most sacred Shiva shrines in India.It is said Somraj, the moon god, originally built the Somnath Temple out of gold. Then, Ravana rebuilt it in silver and then again Krishna did it in wood and yet again by King Bhimdev Solanki in stone in the 10th century. The temple was so rich that it had over 300 musicians and 500 dancing girls.Mahmud of Ghazni, upon hearing the description of the temple by an Arab traveler by the name Al Biruni, raided the temple in 1024 A.D. and after looting it, carried away camel loads of jewels and gold. Somnath was destroyed six times and rebuilt on every occasion. After the 1706 A.D. demolition by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, it was rebuilt the seventh time in 1950 A.D. with the support of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. |
