Somnath Temple, Gujarat

Somnath Temple, Gujarat

Somnath Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in Prabhas Patan near Veraval in Saurashtra on the western coast of Gujarat. The Temple is believed to be the first among the twelve jyotirlinga shrines of Lord Shiva. It is an important pilgrimage and tourist spot of Gujarat. The Temple was reconstructed several times in the past after repeated destruction by several Muslim invaders and Portuguese. The present Temple is the seventh temple built to commemorate the glory of Lord Somnath. The present temple was reconstructed in Chalukya style of Architecture and completed in May 1951. The reconstruction was initiated by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Legends

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2019/02/somnath-temple-legends.html

History

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2019/02/somnath-temple-history.html

The Temple

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2019/02/somnath-temple-temple.html

Temple Opening Time 

·        Timings for Darshan at Somnath Temple: 6.00 am to 9.00 pm 

·        Timings for Aarti: 7.00 am, 12.00 Noon and 7.00 pm

·        Jay Somnath Sound and Light Show: 8.00 pm to 9.00 pm

Religious Significance

According to tradition, the Shivalinga in Somnath is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in India, where Shiva is believed to have appeared as a fiery column of light. The jyotirlingas are taken as the supreme, undivided reality out of which Shiva partly appears. Each of the 12 jyotirlinga sites take the name of a different manifestation of Shiva. At all these sites, the primary image is a Lingam representing the beginning-less and endless Stambha (pillar), symbolizing the infinite nature of Shiva. 

The twelve Jyotirlinga are:

·        Somnath Temple, Gujarat

·        Mallikarjuna Temple, Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh

·        Mahakaleswar Temple, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh

·        Omkareshwar Temple, Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh

·        Kedarnath Temple, Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand

·        Bhimashankar Temple, Pune, Maharashtra

·        Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

·        Triambakeswarar Temple, Nashik, Maharashtra

·        Vaidyanath Temple, Deogarh, Jharkhand

·        Nageshwara Temple, Dwarka, Gujarat

·        Ramanathaswamy Temple, Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu

·        Grishneshwar Temple, Ellora, Maharashtra

Accommodation

Pilgrims can avail the guest house facilities of Shree Somnath Trust. Trust maintains a VIP Guesthouse, Eighteen other guest houses and an economical dormitory. The total number of rooms in the trust guest houses are in excess of Two hundred.

Connectivity

The Temple is located at about 750 meters from Somnath Bus Stand, 2 Kms from Somnath Railway Station, 6 Kms from Veraval Railway Station, 7 Kms from Veraval, 57 kms from Keshod Airport, 80 Kms from Diu Airport, 83 Kms from Diu, 85 Kms from Junagadh, 175 Kms from Saurashtra and 411 Kms from Ahmedabad. Somnath is connected with Diu by road. Nearest Railway Stations are located at Veraval and Somnath. The Nearest Airport is at Keshod, which is connected with Mumbai. At present Jet Airways operates passenger flight from Bombay to Diu every day except Thursday.

Location