Somnath Temple

Significance

Somnath is the first of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the shrines where Shiva is worshipped as a column of light. It stands on the Arabian Sea coast at Prabhas Patan, near Veraval, where tradition places a Triveni Sangam, the meeting of the Kapila, Hiran and Saraswati rivers.

History and legend

The name means “lord of the moon”. Legend holds that Soma, the moon god, lost his lustre to a curse and bathed here to regain it, which is said to explain the moon’s waxing and waning.

The temple has been destroyed and rebuilt many times, most famously after the raid by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1026. The present temple, in the Maru-Gurjara style, was rebuilt after Indian independence at the initiative of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and completed in 1951.

Before you go

• Veraval Junction has the most trains; the temple is a short autorickshaw ride away.
• Bhalka Tirth, where Krishna is said to have been struck by a hunter’s arrow, is nearby in Veraval.
• Expect large crowds on Maha Shivaratri and during the Kartik Purnima fair.