Sensational Somnath

If you are spiritual, devotee of Mahadev then you must visit this place once. It is the first of 12 jyotirlinga of Shiva. A little temple town is situated along the West Coast, close to Gir Forests.

History:

According to Indian mythology, there is a story about Moon god and Shiva about this temple. Prajapati Daksha had total 62 daughters (According to Matsya purana), and he married his 27 daughters to Chandra (Moon). But, moon out of his 27 wives, loved only Rohini and neglected other 26. However, other 26 wives not able to bear the biased love of their husband, they approached their father Daksha about this, and complained him about the behavior of Moon. As a result, Daksha get furious over Moon and he curses Moon to fade away forever.

Daksha’s curse starts to work and slowly moon starts to feel the pain and eventually starts to fade. Then Sage Narada, approached Moon and told him that, there is only one God, who can save you from this curse, that is none other that, Lord Shiva. After that Moon worshiped Shiva, and Shiva helped him with Lord Vishnu that, with the powers of Vishnu, he divided Moon into two equal halves (Each 15 days), one half is protected by Shiva and other will bear Daksha’s curse. This is how Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu saved Moon. After this proposal, Shiva gave a permanent place to one half of the moon in his hair.

This is how Moon got his life back and he was very much happy on that day that he announced on that day that he will built temple on that land, because of this story that temple is known as Somnath (Other name of Moon is Som and also other name of Mahadev is Nath). This is how this temple is built originally by Lord Soma (Moon God) and subsequently built by Ravana, Krishna and then Bhimdeva. It was last reconstructed in 1951.

Somanth Sea:

There is a sea is worth visiting. It is a 10 minutes walk from temple. Somanth seashore and a chowpatty where you can enjoy horse and a camel rides. You can also enjoy so many chat panipuri stalls and stalls selling shell artifacts. You can also enjoy roasted corn over there. As a nature lover this beach is very beautiful and attractive. Its connection to Somnath temple makes it very special. You can enjoy Coconut Water with camel ride. Also you can enjoy sunset at the seashore.

Arrow Pillar:

There are many such secrets hidden in the world, about which no one has been able to find out till today. One of the mystery is also hidden in this temple, which is not resolved for centuries, decades. There is a pillar in the courtyard of the temple, which is known as “Arrow Pillar”. To the south of the temple, there is the “Arrow Pillar” on the sea side, which is very ancient.

However, from about the sixth century the “Arrow Pillar” has been mentioned in the history. It means that, at that time this pillar was there. But no one knows when it was built, how it was built, who built this, also why? On this arrow column written: “Asmudrant South Pole, till then uninterrupted Jyotirmarga”. Which means that, there is not a single barrier or obstacle in the straight line from this point of the sea to the South Pole.

Expert say that, the arrow pillar is a directional column, with an arrow made on its upper hand, whose “mouth” is towards sea. Now the biggest question is that even in that period, people knew that where the South Pole is and also earth is round. How would they discovered there is no obstacle in the direction of that arrow? It is mystery till now.

Bhalka Teerth:

About 2-3 kms away from Somnath temple, on Veraval – Prabhaspatan highway, there is a temple dedicated to Shri Krishna. According to Hindu mythology, it is said that Shri Krishna is killed by was shot by hunter and the place shri Krishna ended his life is this. The hunter mistook his foot to be of deer and shot an arrow which lead to death of Shri Krishna. Actually this is how Shri Krishna to be dead according to Gandhari’s curse. There is also a beautiful statue of Shri Krishna in a sleeping pose under the tree. It is said that, after forgiving hunter, Shri Krishna walked to the river and departed from his existence. There are also his footprints has been preserved at this spot.

Gita Mandir:

Close to bhalka Teerth, around 6-7 kms away, there is a beautiful temple Gita Mandir. It has a nice old look. There is calmness in air. It is adjacent to river and well shaded. The idols of Shri Krishna and Laxmi Narayana sculpted out of pure white marble are beautiful to look at. It is very good place to gather knowledge about Gita. Also you can found all the human incarnation of God Vishnu as well as Goddess Laxmi. Walls have inscriptions of Shlokas of Bhagavat Gita.

It is built around 1970. Besides it is a small cave where Shri Balramji left his eartly body. Very peaceful place. It is besides the river Hiran, where Shri Krishna departed from his existence. It is at Triveni Sangam(The Hiranya, The Kapila, The Saraswati). It is said that the waters of this triveni sangam miraculously cure the diseases of people. A must see if you visit Somnath.

Panch Pandava Gufa:

This is dedicated to 5 Pandavas. This temple is approximately 4000 years old, back to Mahabharata era. It is said that during the pandavas were on a Thirteen year exile, they had to put a stay in this caves. After a years’ time, they requested goddess Hinghlaj Mataji to free them, the goddess came and freed them from the same, is said to be Kuldevi of Pandavas. Also Hinghlaj Mata temple is one of the 52 shakti peethas of Mata Sati. Only one person at a time can enter in this cave.

Kamnath Mahadev Temple:

It is very old temple. Pandava from Mahabharata has visited over here and also there is a surya mandir as well. It is very close to Triveni Sangam. It is dedicated to Shiva, Shankracharya, Narsimha and a few others. You can find an old cave with idol of Lord Shiva.

In a nutshell, somnath gives one feeling of Peace, Serenity and Calmness.

How to reach to Somnath Temple?

By Road: You can get as many buses available from Ahmedabad as well as from major cities of Gujarat. You can reach to Veraval Station which is 6-7 kms away from Somnath Temple.

By Rail: It is also connected with rail from most of the places of Gujarat.

By Air: Closest airport is Mumbai as well as Ahmedabad. One of the union territory airport is also closer, that is Diu, but frequency is much lesser then the former.

Travel Tips:

Best time: November – February

There is so much crowd here in the month of Shravana (Around August).

Accommodation is available in Veraval from small hotels to five star hotels.