Somnath

Somnath stands at Prabhas Patan on the coast of Saurashtra, Gujarat, where the Arabian Sea meets the land. The sacred river Kapila, considered a tributary of the Saraswati, is said to meet the sea here — making the site a Triveni Sangam (confluence of three sacred waters: Kapila, Saraswati, and the sea).

The Baan Stambh — an arrow pillar — stands at the southern perimeter of the temple. Its inscription, placed during the reconstruction, states that from this point on the south pole, there is no land between Somnath and Antarctica. The pillar faces due south, across the open ocean.

Somnath is listed first among the twelve Jyotirlingas in the traditional enumeration. This primacy is not merely symbolic — the site's antiquity and the density of its scriptural mentions place it at the head of the Jyotirlinga pilgrimage.

The origin legend of Somnath centres on Chandra (the Moon god), whose name means 'Lord of the Moon' — and Somnath means 'Lord of Soma (Moon).'

In the Puranic account, Chandra had twenty-seven wives — the daughters of Daksha (the lunar asterisms or nakshatras). He favoured one, Rohini, above all others, neglecting the rest. Daksha, angered, cursed Chandra to progressively waste away — wane and diminish entirely. The curse took effect; the moon began to fade, which began to affect all life on earth, since the moon governs the tides, the crops, and the dew.

The other gods, alarmed, brought the matter to Brahma, who directed Chandra to go to Prabhas and pray to Shiva. Chandra performed intense penance at this site on the shores of the sea. Shiva, pleased, granted partial relief from the curse: Chandra would wax for fifteen days and wane for fifteen days in an eternal cycle. This is the traditional explanation for the phases of the moon.

Chandra built a temple of gold to honour Shiva here. Later, it was rebuilt in silver by Ravana, then in sandalwood by Krishna, and finally in stone — repeatedly — by human rulers.

The historical record of Somnath is a chronicle of extraordinary wealth and extraordinary destruction.

The temple was sacked and looted by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1025–26 CE — an event so significant in medieval Indian history that it entered the consciousness of multiple traditions as a defining moment. Mahmud is recorded by his own court historians as having broken the main linga and carrying off enormous quantities of gold and jewels. The temple was rebuilt by the Paramara king Bhoja and the Solanki king Bhimadeva I shortly after. It was attacked again by Allauddin Khilji's general in 1299 CE, and again by Muzaffar Shah of Gujarat in 1395 CE, and again by Aurangzeb in 1706 CE.

Each time, it was rebuilt.

After Indian independence in 1947, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel — the nation's first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister — visited the ruins of Somnath and announced that it would be rebuilt under the Indian government's patronage. The project was completed under K.M. Munshi, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, and the new Chalukyan-style stone temple was consecrated in May 1951 by President Rajendra Prasad.

The current temple is the seventh major structure to stand on this site. Its endurance — not the original structure, but the insistence on rebuilding — is the defining fact of Somnath.

The present Somnath temple was built in the Kailash Mahameru Prasad style of Chalukyan (Solanki) architecture. The main shikhara rises 15 storeys and 155 feet. The temple faces east — the sanctum receives the first light of sunrise.

The sea wall to the south ensures the waves of the Arabian Sea are visible from within the temple precinct. The evening aarti, conducted at the sea-facing steps, is illuminated by the salt wind and the sound of the ocean.

A museum on the complex holds recovered material from earlier temple structures: carved panels, pillars, and architectural fragments that survived from earlier periods, giving a physical sense of what the previous temples looked like.