Somnath Temple, Prabhas Patan

One long darshan window with three aartis inside it, and a light and sound show after dark that runs on its own schedule and stops for the monsoon.

Prabhas Patan was a place of pilgrimage long before the temple we see today. The Mahabharata and the Bhagavata Purana describe Prabhasa as a tirtha on the Saurashtra coast, and the name Someshvara appears in records from the 9th century. The Chaulukya king Mularaja is believed to have built a temple to Soma here some time before 997 CE, and excavations led by B. K. Thapar in 1950 and 1951 uncovered the foundations of a richly carved temple from the 9th or 10th century.

In January 1026 Mahmud of Ghazni raided the temple, desecrated the jyotirlinga and carried off the treasure of the temple and town. It was repaired and, in 1169 by an inscription's account, rebuilt in stone by King Kumarapala. The army of Alauddin Khalji sacked it again in 1299; the Chudasama king Mahipala I rebuilt it in 1308, and it was destroyed in 1395 by Zafar Khan and desecrated in 1451 by Mahmud Begada. Aurangzeb ordered its destruction in 1665 and again in 1706, when the order appears to have been carried out.

Around 1783 Ahilyabai Holkar built a separate, smaller temple near the ruins so that worship could continue; it still stands beside the main temple. After Junagadh State joined India, Vallabhbhai Patel visited the ruins in November 1947 and ordered the temple rebuilt. On Mahatma Gandhi's advice the money was raised from the public, and a trust headed by K. M. Munshi oversaw the work. The ruins were cleared in October 1950, and on 11 May 1951 President Rajendra Prasad performed the installation ceremony of the new temple.

Status

First of the twelve Jyotirlingas

Consecrated

11 May 1951, by Rajendra Prasad

Architecture

Maru-Gurjara (Chaulukya) style

Architect

Prabhashankarbhai Oghadbhai Sompura

Spire

15 m above the sanctum, 8.2 m flagpole

Entry

Free

Why Somnath matters to Hindus

Somnath is the first of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva, and it heads the list of jyotirlingas in the Shiva Purana. The name means Lord of Soma, the Moon. According to the legend the Shree Somnath Trust tells, the Moon married the twenty-seven daughters of Daksha Prajapati but favoured only Rohini. Daksha cursed him to lose his light, and on Brahma's advice the Moon came to Prabhas and worshipped Shiva, who freed him from the curse. Tradition also holds that the Moon built a golden temple here, Ravana a silver one and Krishna one of sandalwood.

The site is a Triveni Sangam, where the Kapila, Hiran and Saraswati rivers meet, and it is one of the five most revered seacoast pilgrimage places in India, with Dwarka, Puri, Rameswaram and Chidambaram. The Trust also describes Prabhas as the place from where Krishna took his last journey.

More facts about Somnath

Deity

Shiva

Status

The first among the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva

Where

Prabhas Patan, Veraval town, Gir Somnath district, Gujarat

Administered by

Shree Somnath Trust

Present temple

Completed in May 1951

Architecture

Maru-Gurjara style of Hindu temple architecture

Also known as

Somnath Mandir, Somanath Temple, Shree Somnath, Somnath Jyotirlinga

The electronics rule at Somnath is stricter than at most temples and is worth reading before you leave the hotel, not at the gate.

The Trust publishes two rules about how you turn up, and one much stricter rule about what you carry.

• Mini skirts and disrespectful dress are not permitted.
• Smoking is not allowed within the vicinity of the temple at any time.
• Footwear must be removed before entering the temple. A shoe house is available near the cloak room and the service is free of cost.

Veraval, the town Somnath stands in, is warm to hot through the year. Almost all its rain falls in the monsoon from June to September, often in short, intense storms, and the sea keeps temperatures less extreme than inland Saurashtra. The months after the monsoon are the drier choice, and the Trust's evening light and sound show does not run in the monsoon or rainy season, which is another reason to avoid June to September if you want to see it.

The Trust lists Shravan month, Shivratri, Golokdham Utsav, the five-day Kartik Purnima fair and Somnath Sthapana Divas among its major festivals, so expect heavier crowds on those dates. Because darshan runs from 06:00 to 22:00 with no published midday closure, any time of day works; the Trust also describes Vallabhghat within the complex as a sunset point, and the temple is lit up every evening.

Tips before you go

• Leave every electronic device, including phones and smartwatches, in the free cloak room lockers; all gadgets are prohibited.
• Photography is strictly prohibited. The Trust sells photographs at its souvenir counter instead.
• Wheelchairs and golf carts are available at the main gate for disabled and elderly visitors, and there is a lift inside the temple premises.
• A Trust-run Tirth Darshan bus to nearby temples leaves the main gate at 08:30 and 15:30 for a nominal charge.
• Avoid mini skirts, and do not smoke anywhere near the temple.
• Visit the Ahilyabai temple next door, built around 1783 to keep worship going when the main shrine lay in ruins.