Somnath Temple and its indomitable spirit

 

The small and sleepy town of Somnath earns much of its claim to fame for housing one of the twelve Jyotirlingas. The first of the 12 Jyotirlingas, Somnath Temple is naturally steeped in legend and held in high esteem by Hindus, especially those who worship Lord Shiva as their guardian God. Facing the wide open Arabian Sea, the Somnath Temple, is an imposing structure offering a spectacular sight to the beholders. At a distance of 79 km from Junagadh and 25 km from Chorwad, the present temple Kailash Mahameru Prasada, is built in the Chalukya style of architecture.

Uniquely, the temple is situated at such a place that there is no land between from Somnath seashore to Antarctica. Such an inscription is found on the ARROW-PILLAR erected on the sea-protection wall at the Somanth Temple! The Somanth Temple is a testimony of amazing mix of art and science and rich history. Dramatic in build, the splendid architecture, intricate stone carvings and breath-taking sculptures in the Somnath Temple, reflect the great artistic skill of the ‘Sompuras’, Gujarat’s master masons. The ‘Darshini’ gates of the Golden Temple in Amritsar are in fact the Somanth Temple gates that were brought back by the army of the mighty Jat-Sikh King Maharaja Ranjit Singh from Afghanistan. The seven storied structure of Somnath is 155 feet tall. The architecture consists of a sanctuary surrounded by a passageway and an adjoining mandapa both have open porches on three sides. The basement and the walls are covered with friezes and panels. The lofty tower over the sanctuary which rises to more than 50m is of the clustered type; the mandapa is roofed with a stone pyramid. Balcony seating flanks the principal entrance. Within elaborately carved columns support corbelled domed ceilings.

Legend goes that the Moon God - Chandra or Soma - was married to the 27 daughters of King Daksha. However he favoured only one queen Rohini, over his 26 other wives which enraged his father-in-law. Further, he became arrogant of his radiant beauty. So, Daksha cursed him that he'd lose his beauty and radiance and wane into darkness. A scared and repentant Soma then prayed to Lord Shiva for deliverance from this curse at the Jyotirlinga, after which he was blessed by Shiva to regain his radiance every time it was lost. So the Moon would wane, but then grow and shine again, in an eternal cycle.  As Shiva 'protected' Soma, he came to be known as Somnath & the temple that the Moon originally built in respect and as a tribute to the benevolence of Shiva, the Somnath Temple.

The name ‘Somnath’ means ‘Lord or Protector of the Moon’. (‘Som or Soma’ = The moon, born from the eyes of Atri, son of Brahma; made the sovereign of plants and planets & ‘Nath’ = Protector, sovereign or father)

There are myths and facts about this small town of Somnath which will leave you dumbfounded. For instance, it's said that, Soma the moon God, built the first temple in gold, Ravana in silver, Krishna in sandal-wood and king Bhimdev of Gujarat in stone. Secondly Lord Krishna was said to be fatally wounded here by a poacher who took him to be a deer. This quaint town lies at the confluence of three rivers namely Saraswati, Hiran and Kapila.

A reference of the presiding deity of the temple, Lord Someshwar is available in the Rig Veda. It was also a sacred place in the days of the Mahabharat. It was called Bhairavashwar in Satya Yug, Shravanikeshwar in Treta Yug and Shrigaleshwar in Dwapur Yug. The Prabhas Khanda in Skand Purana giving description of the Linga of Somnath says that it is a Swayambhu Linga of great prowess, as bright as the disc of Sun, surrounded by a serpent, of the size of the egg of a hen, called Sparalinga and situated underground.

The first temple of Somnath can be said to have existed about the beginning of the Christian era. The second temple replaced the first one on the very site somewhere around 649 A.D. The shrine of Somnath has risen like the phoenix from its ruins a number of times. The present shrine is the seventh temple built on the original site.

In 725 A.D. Junayad, the Governor of Sind sent Arab armies and both Vallabhi, the capital of Saurashtra and Prabhas were destroyed in this onslaught. The second temple was probably destroyed during this attack. Nagabhatta II, of the later Pratihara line of Kanauj, constructed the third temple, a large structure of red sandstone sometime in 815 A.D.

Zeal for Islam was the dominant role of the tenth-century Turks, as of most new converts. The great missionary creed of Mohammed, which to the Arabs and Persians had become a familiar matter of routine, was a source of fiery inspiration to the untutored men of the steppes. To spread the faith by conquest doubled their natural zest for battle and endowed them with the devoted valour of martyrs.

Lane Poole, author of Medieval India, has said that Mahommad of Ghazni, “who had vowed that every year should see him wage a holy war against the infidels of Hindustan” could not rest from his idol breaking campaign so long as the temple of Somnath remained inviolate. It was for this specific purpose that he, at the very close of his career, undertook his arduous march across the desert from Multan to Anhilwada on the coast, fighting as he went, until he saw at last the famous temple.

Mahmud Ghazni attacked this temple in 1026 A.D. and after a week-long resistance, captured it. When the soldiers scaled the walls with ladders all they found inside were defenseless worshippers. Fifty thousand devotees praying to the linga and weeping passionately with hands clasped were massacred in cold blood.

The Shiva Linga, adorned with gems and precious stones was broken and the temple burnt. After the battle, Mahmud and his troops are described as having carried away across the desert the equivalent of 6.5 tons of gold. The fragments of the idol were carried off to grace the conquerors’ palace and the temple gates were set up at Ghazni. 

Mahmud was hailed throughout the Islamic world as a second Mohammed and his smashing of Somnath was lauded in the Sufi poetry of Attar, Sanai and Omar Khayyam. These poets equated Somnath with the temples to the pagan goddess Al-Manat destroyed by Mohammed and viewed its destruction as the 'will of Allah' and the 'enlightened march of Islam.' The sack of Somnath made Mahmud of Ghazni a champion of the faith in the eyes of every Muslim.

Minhaj-as-Siraj tells us how Mahmud became widely known for having destroyed as many as thousand temples, and of his great feat in destroying the temple of Somnath and carrying off its idol, which he asserts was broken into four parts. One part he deposited in the Jami Masjid of Ghazni, one he placed at the entrance of the royal palace, the third he sent to Mecca, and the fourth to Medina.

The fourth temple was built by King Bhoja Parmar of Malwa and Bhima Chalukya of Anhilwada Patan during 1024-1042 A.D.

In 1169 A.D. the fifth temple, along with its integrated complex rose again during the reign of Kumarapala, the Chalukya King of Anhilwada Patan, Pasupat Acharya Bhava Brahaspati being the head of the shrine. Chalukya King Bhimadeva II added Megalanad Mandap in 1216 A.D. In 1287 A.D. further additions were made to the temple by Pasupat Acharya Tripurantaka under Sarang Deva Vaghela, King of Gujarat.

Then came the invasion of Allauddin Khilji's general Alaf Khan, who captured and once again destroyed the temple and idol in 1296 A.D. According to Taj-ul-Ma'sir of Hasan Nizami, Raja Karan of Gujarat was defeated and forced to flee, "fifty thousand infidels were dispatched to hell by the sword" and "more than twenty thousand slaves, and cattle beyond all calculation fell into the hands of the victors".

This fifth destroyed temple was repaired by Mahipala Deva, the Chudasama king of Saurashtra in 1308 A.D. and the Linga was installed by his son Khengar sometime between 1326 and 1351 A.D.

In 1375 A.D., the temple was once again destroyed by Muzaffar Shah I, the Sultan of Gujarat. About 1400 A.D. it was reconstructed by the local public.

In the year 1451 A.D. Mahmud Begda became the Sultan of Gujarat. In few years he became very powerful and after continuously attacking the Hindu rulers of Junagadh for five years, he finally defeated them in 1469 A.D. and the temple once again faced destruction. The idol was removed from the temple and the temple was desecrated. The temples in the entire state were demolished and Hindus were forcefully converted to Islam.

In 1560 A.D., possibly after Akbar's conquest of Somnath, extensive repairs and renovation of the temple was carried out. During Akbar's reign the temple remained unmolested.

Thus, the Hindus rebuilt the temple several times, but the Muslims destroyed it again. The temple was last destroyed by the Mughal tyrant, Aurangzeb. In 1701 A.D. he ordered Prince Mohammed Azam, the Viceroy of Gujarat, to destroy the temple of Somnath. Aurangzeb, as history records, was a brutal ruler who left a trail of genocide and destruction, mainly aimed at converting Hindus. Aurangzeb built a mosque on the site of the Somnath temple, using some columns from the temple, whose Hindu sculptural motifs remained visible.

Queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore built the temple again in 1783 at a site adjacent to the ruined temple.

Somnath, thus, withstood the shocks of time and the attacks of the destroyers. Aged, infirm, desecrated it stood up once again when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Deputy Prime Minister of India, rescued it from neglect and pledged on November 13, 1947 for its reconstruction. Mahatma Gandhi also approved of the retaking of Somnath but did not live to see it happen. Bhoomi-Khana for the Garbha-Grih was performed by Shri U.N. Dhebar on April 8, 1950 and Maharaja Jamsaheb Digwijay Singhji laid the foundation stone on May 8, 1950. The Linga Pratishtha ceremony was performed by the first President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad on May 11, 1951. On December 1, 1995 the President of India, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma, performed the Kalash Pratishtha of the temple's Nritya Mandap and dedicated the temple to the nation.

"By rising from its ashes again, this temple of Somnath will proclaim to the world that no man and no power in the world can destroy that for which people have boundless faith and love in their hearts... Today, our attempt is not to rectify history. Our only aim is to proclaim anew our attachment to the faith, convictions and to the values on which our religion has rested since immemorial ages."

- Dr. Rajendra Prasad

- Posted by Anupam Mujumdar, student intern, Parihara.com