Jyotirlinga Somnath – Shiva Purana

Jyotirlinga Somnath – Shiva Purana
 
Somnath Mahadev Temple is the first amongst 12 Jyotirlingas, the holiest of holy shrines of Lord Shiva.

Location:
One of the most celebrated pilgrimage sites, Somnath temple is located on the western coast of Saurashtra district, Gujarat. It is in Prabhas Patan near the town of Veraval in Western part of Gujarat. Veraval is reached from Rajkot.

Temple:
The temple's imposing architecture includes intricate carvings, silver doors, an impressive Nandi idol and the central shivalinga. In the vast courtyard stand the massive man.

In its external design the Somnath temple compares well with the temple of Rudramala at Siddhapur and is more or less of the same size in length. The dome, however, is as large as any other built in this period. The temple faces to east and once had an enormous central hall with three entrances, each protected by a lofty porch. The fragments that lie scattered at a short distance from the site give some idea of the sculpture decorating the temple. The richly carved doorways, the sculptured representations of Nandi, Shiva’s bull, and the figures of goddesses and their female attendants must once have presented a grand ensemble of great beauty. In the recesses of the balconied corridor, there is a mutilated form of Nataraja, the dancing Shiva. Although essentially a Brahmanical temple, the influence of Jain architecture is clearly discernible.

History:
Somnath’s first temple is said to have existed 2000 years ago. Is. In 649 AD, King Maitre of Vallabhini built a second temple in place of the temple and renovated it. In 725, the old ruler of Sindh took his army and attacked the temple and destroyed the temple. Pratishtha King Nag Bhatt II constructed the temple for the third time in 815 using a red stone (sandstone) stone. In 1026, Mahmud Ghaznavi attacked the Somnath temple in Gujarat in 10th century 17 times and even broke the idol. He lent the precious jewels and property of Somnath temple. After looting, slaughtering innumerable pilgrims of the temple and burning the temple and destroying it. During 1026-1042 Solanki Raja Bhimdev built the fourth temple of Bhoj and Anhilwad Patan, Parmar King of Malwa.Somnath was destroyed when Delhi Sultanate occupied Gujarat in 1299. In 1394 it was destroyed again. In 1706, Mughal ruler Aurangzeb again demolished the temple.
India’s Iron Man and First Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on November 13, 1947 promised to rebuild the temple. When the temple was rebuilt on December 1, 1995, then the Indian President Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma dedicated the temple to the country. In 1951, when India’s first President Dr. When Rajendra Prasad proposed to purify Jyotirlinga, he said, “This temple of Somnath is a symbol of victory over construction on destruction”. The temple is built under Shri Somnath Trust And this trust is now monitoring the temple.

Spiritual Significance:
By worshipping Shiva here devotee becomes the destroyer of ailments such as consumption, leprosy etc. A pious man attains the fruit of circumambulation of the earth, if he circumambulates Prabhasa. After death he is honoured in heaven by the gods. On seeing this Somalinga a person is relieved of all sins. After enjoying the fruits as desired, he attains heaven after death.
 
Legend as per Shiva Purana:
According to the Skanda Purana, Somdev or Chandra, the Moon God, was married to all the 27 daughters of Daksha Prajapati. But among all the wives, he had a special place in his heart for Rohini. He showered all his love upon her and neglected the rest of the wives. This angered Daksha and he cursed Chandra that he would lose all his beauty and radiance. When the moon lost all its beauty, the entire world became lifeless. A sad and disturbed Chandra, along with Rohini, came to Prabhasa and worshipped the Sparsa Linga of Somnath according to Mrtyunjaya rites for six months and repeated the Mrtyunjaya mantra a hundred million times with his mind unruffled.
Shiva then appeared before Chandra and blessed him that he would wane only for half a month and would grow and shine in the other bright half. As Chandra regained his light in this region, the town itself came to be known as Prabhasa. Shiva stayed there in the name- of Someshvara.
Reference: Shiva Purana, Koṭirudra Saṃhita, Chapters – 14