THE MUCH PLUNDERED SOMNATH TEMPLE

SOMNATH TEMPLE

My daughter says that I am a pseudo atheist. That is because I have visited so many places of worship that I must have completed almost all the "dhams" and "teerths" that a person is expected to visit.

My visits are basically to see the architecture, the wealth at display, the unbelievable devotion of the pilgrims and to try and understand the entire philosophy of worship.

My latest venture was to Gujarat and I visited amongst many other places the much attacked and plundered Somnath temple, situated near the city of Veraval.

I wanted to see what had attracted Mahmud of Ghazni(998-1030) of Afghanistan to Somnath in the year 1025 A.D. I had read that Mahmud Ghazni invaded India 17 times starting from 1000 A.D. and his last invasion was at Somnath. It is said that in 1025 A.D. Mahmud Ghazni attacked, destroyed and looted goods  worth 20 million dinars from Somnath. The temple at the time of Ghazni's attack was made of wood, the doors it is said were made of Sandalwood. Some historians also think that the attack of Ghazni may not have totally destroyed the temple in 1025 A.D. as there are records of pilgrims visiting the temple in 1038 A.D. too.

It is not known when the first temple was built at Somnath, but the second time it was built by the Yadava kings in 649 A.D.  When the second temple  was destroyed in 725 A.D. by the Governor of Sindh  named Al Junaid, the temple was built a third time in 815 A.D. by the Gurjara Pratihara King Nagabhatta II.

The fourth temple was  constructed in stone and was studded with jewels. It was built by Kumarapala in 1169 A.D.  In 1299 A.D. Alauddin Khilji's army led by Ulugh Khan sacked the Temple again.

The temple was re built by Mahipal I, a Chudasama ruler in the year 1308 A.D.

Amir Khusro(1253-1325) the famous poet of the 14th century who was courtier to seven rulers of Delhi and who also introduced the Khadi boli of Hindi,  who gave us many puzzles in the form of poetry, is said to have recorded that Muslim pilgrims leaving for Haj would visit the Somnath temple before embarking on their Haj pilgrimage. Religious tolerance and respect?

 In 1395 A.D. the temple was again plundered by the Governor of Gujarat who was working under the Delhi Sultanate.

In 1546 A.D. the Portuguese invaded and destroyed many temples of which Somnath was one.

In 1655 A.D. Aurangzeb ordered that the temple be destroyed.
Interestingly in 1782, Mahadji Scindia of Gwalior victoriously brought back three gates from Lahore after defeating Mahmud Shah Abdali, but the priests and ruler of Baroda, Gaekwad refused to put the gates back on the temple. those gates were then placed in the Mahakaleshwar temple of Ujjain.

THE TEMPLE

So like the proverbial phoenix, we find that Somnath has been destroyed many times and has always been re constructed by its devotees through the ages.

The present temple, last of the restored ones, is situated at the same place and was made in 1952 after India became independent.

It is said that if you look up straight from the South Pole, the place where the Somnath temple stands is the first piece of land that one can see.

I was duly astonished and full of awe until my brother pointed out to me that most places on the Western coast of India would be the first piece of land when one looked up from down south. After all India is shaped like that. My awe struck jaw then quickly went back to normal.

The present day temple is quite simple looking, it has none of the beautiful sculptures adorning its facade as most ancient temples of India have. There is a huge flag which flutters on its shikhar(pinnacle).

There is a neat and clean walk into the temple from the east entrance past the security check. No belt not even cloth ones, electronic watch, mobile, electronic device including remote controlled car keys or camera is allowed inside. One can keep everything in a secure locker outside the entrance before walking in.

When we reached the entrance to the premises we found lots of people waiting to enter, the men had to walk on one side and the women had to walk on the other side.  We were let inside the temple premises in small groups. We had to walk on, look inside the sanctum sanctorum and walk out with the group. Personal prayers are not allowed inside, one can just have a view of the deity and watch the proceedings of the prayers being performed by the Pujari on TV screens located inside the sprawling compound and outside the temple building.

Without a phone for communication, when women and men leave the temple from different gates, then it is a proper game of seek and seek. No, there is no hide and seek, it is only seek, stress, seek. We had not fixed a point for meeting as we were not aware of the layout of the place so we kept looking for each other and then decided to wait near the Sound and Light venue as we had bought tickets to watch the show.

The temple is counted as Number one amongst 12 Jyotirlinga shrines located in India.  The shivling was beautifully decorated with flowers.

The walls of the sanctum sanctorum as well as the doors are fully covered with gold. Gold is what Mahmud Ghazni and so many others had actually come for.

 

SUNSET AT SOMNATH

In the evening we saw the very beautiful sun setting in the west across the Arabian sea.

After that we saw the Sound and Light programme, which is projected on the Western wall of the temple. We had bought tickets to watch the show, but it could also be seen from outside without buying the tickets.

The beautiful building of the Somnath Trust guest house called Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Guest House is just next to the temple. It is a comfortable and clean Guest House with every room facing the beautiful Arabian sea, where they do not actually trust their guests. When you check in,  an attendant comes with you to the room, counts every item with a check list and makes you sign that everything mentioned in the list is actually available in the room. This is not a free guest house mind you, one books on line and pays a small deposit as security besides the rent. When one vacates the room, again the attendant comes and counts everything and after his clearance is given, your security deposit is refunded. So much for trust!

The food that they serve is good, clean, hygienic and very reasonably priced.

Veraval is the nearest town and is a nice place where the main business appears to be construction of boats. Fishing is big business of the people here and for going into the sea the fishermen require dhows and fishing large wooden boats where they can stay for 15 days at a stretch. These boats are made by traditional skills passed down the ages. Modern technology is not used here.

 

PRABHAS PATAN

Quite close to Veraval is a place called Prabhas Patan.

 It is said that after the Mahabharata war, Krishna left Mathura and Braj bhoomi and moved westward to set up his kingdom at Dwarka. It seems that even then the trend was to move westward!

Dwarka the kingdom of Krishna is about 258 Kms from Somnath. One day at Prabhas Patan as Krishna sat resting under a tree,  a hunter by mistake  shot an arrow at the foot of Krishna who then walked about 1 km away to a place called Dehotsarg from where he left  this earth for his heavenly abode. His brother Balaram who was the avatar of Sheshnaag also left  earth at this very place.

MIGRATORY BIRDS ON RIVER HIRAN

The temple constructed on this spot  at Dehotsarg is on the banks of the river Hiran. There is a simple temple at this place, where visitors or pilgrims can sit in peace and at leisure. There was not much crowd here as devotees were not thronging the place. After visiting this temple we spent some time looking at the migratory birds flying or sitting on the banks of the River.

 

BHALKA TEERTH

We then went to the temple  Bhalka teerth at  Prabhas Patan where the arrow was actually shot. The temple over here has good sculptures as it is a relatively old temple. The interior of the temple was quite simple, and had the statue of an injured Krishna and an apologetic shikari kneeling in front of Krishna.

 

NEW TEMPLE

As we moved towards Veraval, we came across a more beautiful temple being constructed by the Somnath Trust.

 

TRIVENI and MIGRATORY BIRDS

Close by is the Triveni sangam  where besides the invisible Saraswati there are two visible rivers the Hiran and the Kapila.

I was quite fascinated to realise that Somnath is a very important place of pilgrimage for both the Shaivites as well as the Vaishnavites. The most important Jyotirling  of Shiva is the Somnath temple and the place where Krishna is believed to have been injured and from where he ascended to his heavenly abode is also situated here. What could be more sacred than this place? A visit to Somnath is quite enchanting, the history of plunder, the simplicity of the temple facade, the gold in the sanctum sanctorum and the twin advantage of being in the very important place from where Krishna left this earth is really worth it.
Somnath is well connected by road as well as railway. The nearest airport is at Diu,which is a beautiful place by itself and is about 84 kms away. The drive is quite scenic. The nearest railway station is at Veraval which is less than ten Kms. away.
It had long been my desire to visit this place which attracted so many plunderers. I did like the temple but what I loved best was the calm and clean Arabian sea and the wonderful sunset. I was also fascinated to see the port of Veraval, from where many people of Gujarat, through the ages, went westward-some for pilgrimage and  some to settle down and earn their livelihood.

DEHOTSARG TEERTH

PAANCH PANDAV TEMPLE