Somnath Temple

About Somnath Temple:

• It is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.
• It is located in Prabhas Patan near Veraval in Saurashtra on the western coast of Gujarat.
• It is the first of the 12 jyotirlinga shrines in India that are regarded as the manifestation of the Lord Shiva Himself.
• The site of Somnath has been a pilgrimage site from ancient times on account of being a Triveni Sangam: the confluence of three rivers, namely Kapila, Hiran, and Saraswati.
• The ancient temple’s timeline can be traced from 649 BC but is believed to be older than that.
• The temple faced several invasions, the most notable being by Mahmud Ghazni in the 11th century.
• Reconstruction Efforts: Rebuilt multiple times by different dynasties, including the Paramaras, Chalukyas, and the Marathas.
• The present temple was reconstructed in the Chalukya style of Hindu temple architecture and completed in May 1951.
• The reconstruction was completed by Vallabhbhai Patel.
• Architecture:
  • The temple features an elaborate and extravagant architecture marked with many rich, intricate carvings.
  • The temple is seven-storied and reaches up to a height of 155 ft.
  • The temple’s positioning is quite unique. The temple is positioned in such a way that not a single piece of land is visible from the Somnath seashore until Antarctica.
  • A magnificent Kalash or pot vessel tops the temple Shikhara and weighs up to 10 tons approximately.
  • The summit is adorned with a flag whose mast is 37 ft in length.