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Arabian Sea behind Somnath Temple

The legendary shore temple of Somnath is located near Veraval township. It is about 80 kms from Junagadh. The Somnath temple is one of the twelve most sacred shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva in Hindu mythology. The temple contains the Jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva. This temple has a very long history.

Somnath Temple

According to the legends, the Somnath temple is very old and was originally built in gold by the Somraj, the Moon God. Later, it was rebuilt by Ravana, in silver; then by Krishna in wood and by Bhimdev in stone.

Mahmud of Ghazni, upon hearing the description of the richness of the Somnath temple by Al Biruni, an Arab traveller, visited this temple in 1024 AD. At that time, this temple had about 300 musicians, 500 dancing girls and 300 barbers to shave off the heads of pilgrims. After a 2 days battle, Mahmud destroyed the temple and carried away jewels and gold to his homeland. The Somnath Temple was raided again and again. In all, the Somnath temple was rebuilt and destroyed eight times.

Lord Shiva

This temple was finally rebuilt in 1950 with the support of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The current temple was built as per the traditional designs on the original site by the sea and is a serene, symmetrical and sinuous structure. Today, this majestic temple is a replica of the earlier original temple.

Credits -Wikipedia

Our experience at Somnath Temple

Temple complex

We visited this holy shrine of Somnath as a part of our Gujrat trip. We took overnight train from Ahemdabad and reached Veraval early morning. After visiting Sasan Gir and Diu as a part of our sojourn, we spent a pleasant evening at the temple premises and offered our prayers. The vast Arabian sea overlooking the Somnath has quite a magnetic and magnificiant view. Many people sit and observe sunset here as well. Photography is not allowed inside the temple.

View of Temple

This is a must visit place for all devotees and travelers.

Nidhi K.M.

Copyright Viharin.com

Other photographs

On the way to Somnath Temple

Another view of Somnath Temple from far

Complex