SOMNATH TEMPLE
AT
JUNAGADH
Somnath
temple stands at the shore of the Arabian ocean on the western corner of Indian
subcontinent in Veraval District of Gujarat State. This pilgrimage is one of
the oldest and finds its reference in the ancient texts like Skandpuran,
Shreemad Bhagavat, Shivpuran etc.
It is the holy place of the Aadi Jyotirling
Shree Somnath Mahadev and the sacred soil from where Bhagvan Shri Krishna took
his last journey to his neejdham ( Dont forget to visit Bhalkatirth, the temple
with a unique idol of Lord Krishna along with the hunter who shot the Lord in
his feet with his spear).
Somnath temple of Gujarat is one of the 12
jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva which is situated 79 kms from Junagadh and 25kms
from Chorwad. Somnath Temple is located in the prabhas kshetra near veraval and
is one of the most legendary temples of the western coast of India.
This most sacred and
very important pilgrim centre for Hindus, is also called Prabhas Teerth - the Prabhas pilgrimage place. Here
it is said, that Lord Shiva ended his incarnated form and returned to his celestial abode.
The legends says
that somnath is as old as creation which is built by none other than the moon
God himself. The remains of this temple of somnath depicts the story of a city
which withstood the shocks of time and survived the attacks of destroyers.
The temple has an
imposing architecture and is a beautiful sight facing the blue expanse of the
Arabian Sea. A short distance from the Somnath temple is Bakhla Tirth located,
where Lord Krishna was said to have been struck by the stray arrow of a Bhil tribal.
The present temple, kailash Mahameru Prasada is built in the
chalukya style of temple architecture and reflects the inherent skill of
Sompuras, Gujarat’s master masons.
Somnath temple is
being regarded as the ideal sacred place of the Hindus that survived the
ravages of time. The study of Indian history reveals that the somnath temple
was invaded by the different conquerors who came to India and even some looted
its wealth and others destroyed some parts of it.
Many legends are attached to
the somnath temple regarding its origin and existence. The other names of the
temple of somnath are deo pattan,Prabhas pattan, or somnath pattan in the past,
the somnath temple was considered as the treasure trove of wealth and goodies
that were looted away by muslim rulers.
By Air
The nearest airport is Keshod. Located at a distance of about 55 km from
Somnath, this domestic airport is well connected to Mumbai. There are flights
at regular intervals from Mumbai to Keshod. Mumbai is in turn well connected to
all important cities in the country as well as to various other important
places in the world. After reaching Keshod airport one can easily avail of any
local means of transportation like bus or else hire a car to reach Somnath.
By Train
Veraval is the nearest rail head which is merely 7 km from Somnath. A
special train "Somnath Express" runs from Ahmedabad to Veraval.
Ahmedabad is the state capital of Gujarat and is well linked by rail not only
to different places in the state of Gujarat but also to many of the prime
cities in India.
BY Bus
A good network of roads connects
Somnath to the different important places in the state of Gujarat. The state
capital Ahmedabad is 400 km away; Junagadh, Bhavnagar and Porbandar are at a
distance of 85, 266 and 122 km respectively but all of them are well linked to
Somnath by roads and buses ply on these road routes. In fact Bombay which is
889 km from Somnath is also connected to it by road.
