Somnath Temple History:
Somnath Jyotirlinga is considered as the first Jyotirlinga of 12 Jyotirlinga. Somnath Jyotirlinga is one of the main pilgrimage places of India. Somnath Jyotirlinga is located in Prabhas Patan near Veraval of Saurashtra on the west coast of India. Somnath Temple is known as the eternal pilgrimage place.
Legend of Somnath Jyotirlinga:
According to the Puranas, Daksha Prajapati had 27 daughters. All 27 daughters married with Chandra. Rohini was the most beautiful of his 27 daughters. Chandra used to love Rohini most. Knowing this, all the other sisters were very envious of Rohini.
They complained of that matter to their father. There father explained to Chandra on this matter, but Chandra did not listen to them. Angry with this, Daksha Prajapati cursed Chandra. Consequently, the power of the moon became impaired day by day.
Seeing this, all the deities requested Brahma to withdraw their curse. Brahma ji tell the remedy for the moon to curse salvation. He said that he should go to Prabhas area and do penance of Shivling.After this here Chandra has done terrible penance to please Shivaji. By which pleased Shiva appeared here. Shivaji asked the moon to boast, then Chandra said, ‘O God! Give me this boon that from today onwards you become famous by the name of devotee Chandra.’
For this reason, Shivaji started from that day onwards called Somnath. After this, Shiva became famous as the god of the Moon.
Facts about Somnath Temple:
In 1665 AD, Mughal ruler Aurangzeb had broken this temple. After this, this temple was rebuilt in 1783 AD by King Raja Peshwa of Pune, King Bhosale of Nagpur, Chhatrapati Bhosale of Kolhapur and Rani Ahilyabai, collective cooperation of all these.
In 1296, Allauddin Khilji’s army had damaged this temple very much. After this it was rebuilt by King Karna of Gujarat.
In 1024 AD, the temple was damaged by the Afghan ruler. After this, Parmar Raja Bhoj and Solanki King Bhima reconstructed it from 1026 to 1042. At that time the temple was rebuilt by timber. Later, Kumarpal built this temple in stone.
It was repaired by Vallabh bhai Patel in November 1947. On December 1, 1995, India’s President Shankar Dayal Sharma dedicated this temple to the nation. There are 3 rivers Deer, Kapila and Saraswati. The special importance of bathing in this Triveni Sangam is considered.
