Somanath Temple - Aadi Jyothirlinga Kshetra
Om! Sri Raghavendraya Namaha!
Om! Namo! Bhagavathe! Vasudevaya!
Om! Ham! Hanumathe! Sri Rama Doothaya Namaha!
(Outside view of Somnath Temple)SOMANATH TEMPLE
(Aadi Jyothirlinga Kshetra)
Legend behind the Temple
As per the pouranic scripts it is said that Daksha Prajapathi had 27 daughters in whose names the constellations in the Almanac starting from Aswini and ending with Revathi have come into existence. These 27 daughters of Daksha Prajapathi got married to Lord Moon (Chandra). Out of 27 wives, Chandra used to show more attention and love towards Rohini and neglected others. Pained with Moon’s action, the other wives complained to their father Daksha Prajapathi. Aggrieved by this, Daksha Prajapathi became angry with Moon and cursed him to lose his lustre and suffer from a dreadful disease. Gripped by the dreadful disease, Moon started waning (deteriorating) day by day and lost all his glory. All these development caused lot of perturbation and Moon was advised to invoke the blessings of Lord Shiva by doing severe penance.
Accordingly Lord Moon did severe penace at this place (Prabhasa) for several thousands of years and worshipped Lord Shiva. Pleased with Moon’s penance, Lord Shiva appeared before him in the form of a Jyothirlinga and blessed him with a relief from the dreadful disease he was suffering with. Since the curse of Daksha cannot become untrue, Lord Shiva, by reducing the intensity of the curse provided a relief to the Moon. By virtue of which, Moon’s lustre would improve during the waxing period and recede during waning period. This is what we observe in the Lunar Phase, Moon increasing in size during Sukla Paksha and appearing in full size on the Full Moon day (Poornima) and decreasing in size during Krishna Paksha and totally vanishing on the New Moon day or Amavasya.
Since Moon has regained his lustre (Prabha) by dint of his austere penance, this holy place became famous as Prabhasa Kshetra. Lord Shiva is worshipped here as Somanath named after Moon who is also referred as Soma. This Shiva Linga that got manifested at this place is considered as the Aadi Jyothirlinga.
When and who got constructed the original Somanath temple is conclusively and historically not known. However, based on the research findings from sacred texts like Skhanda Purana (Prabhas Khanda) it is said that, Prana Prathista of the first Somanath Jyotirlinga was done during the tenth Treta Yuga of Vaivasvatha Manvanthara and the first temple was built approximately 80 millions years ago.
It is said according to the scripts that, it was Lord Moon who first performed the holy installation of Jyothirlinga and the place came to be known as Somanath. It is also said that Lord Moon (Chandra) lifted this Jyothirlinga and installed it on the slab called Brahmashila. According to the temple sources, it is said and believed that the original temple of Somnath was built by the Moon God that was made of gold. After it was razed to the ground, it was rebuilt with silver by Ravanasura. When the silver temple was knocked down, it was reconstructed in sandal wood by Lord Sri Krishna.
The later sources of history account for several desecrations by Muslims invaders during eleventh to eighteenth century A.D. During that time the temple had been subjected to repeated demolition, construction and resurrection several times. The original site of the ancient Somnath temple is now having a new temple built by the temple trust. As per the scripts the original Shiva Linga was reinstalled by Dr. Rajendra Prasad the first President of India in the year 1951. The Iron man of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was instrumental in the construction of the present temple.
Enshrined at the centre of a spacious Sanctum with its entrance wall known as Suvarna Dwar covered with Gold plating the large sized Jyothirlinga at Somanath is of the shape of a hen’s egg fixed in the middle of the earth. Somnath is one of the holy places dedicated to Lord Shiva and is first among the twelve holy places known as Dwadasa Jyothirlinga Kshetras. The temple has a large central hall with entrances on three sides, each protected by a lofty porch. The temple tower is 150 ft height and the dome of the temple is said to be the biggest ever made in this century.
There is a high security alert at the temple in view of its vulnerability and entry inside the temple is subject to strict security verification and frisking. Pilgrims entering the temple are prohibited from carrying mobiles, cameras and videos. Generally in Shiva temples we find devotees are allowed to enter the Sanctum and perform abhishekam to the Shiva Linga. Here in Somanath it is not the case. Due to security reasons devotees can have only darshan from outside the Suvarna Dwar and are strictly prohibited from entering the sanctum or performing abhishekam to the Jyothirlinga.
Adjacent to the main temple complex, there is another temple of Lord Shiva which was built by Maharani Ahalyabai Holker during 1782 where the Shiva Linga is enshrined in the underground. It is said that this temple used to maintain the Pooja parampara of Lord Shiva during the hostile political conditions. This temple is now called as old Somanath temple. Devotees are allowed to perform pooja and abhishekam to Lord Shiva personally in this temple.
Somanath temple is open for darshan from morning 6.00 am to night 9.00 pm without any break in between. Aarati timings are at 7.00 am 12.00 noon and 7.00 pm. The temple is illuminated every evening and a Sound & Light show called Jay Somanath is also displayed every night during 8.00 to 9.00 that is worth seeing and a wonderful experience to cherish.
Other temples located inside the complex of Somnath Mandir are Shri Kapardi Vinayak and Sri Hanuman Temple. Karthika Poornima in the month of November and Maha Shivarathri in the month of February/March are some of the major festivals that are celebrated on a large scale at Somnath temple.
Strategically located on the western coast of India, Somanath temple stands as an epitome of architectural splendour. The temple gives a picturesque outlook with a panoramic and extensive view of the sea and a very large and beautiful temple complex. To the south of the temple on the shore of the sea is erected a pillar on the top of which is placed an arrow to indicate that between South pole and Somanath temple there exists no land area. The nearest land towards South Pole is said to be about 9936 km. away. This is suggesting the ancient Indian wisdom of geography and strategic location of the Somnath Jyotirlinga in Prabhasa Kshetra. Located at a vantage point on the shore of the Arabian Sea, Somanath is attracting lakhs of pilgrims and tourists across the globe throughout the year.
Sri Krishnaarpanamasthu
PS
Please look forward for more information on Prabhasa Kshetra in the coming posts
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