Prabhas Patan, Gujurat
The Somnath Temple has one of the most dramatic stories of any temple in India. Considered to be the most resilient of all of India’s major Hindu sites, the temple has been torn down and rebuilt at least a dozen times (averaging about once a century throughout most of its existence). It is one of the twelve Jyortlingas sites, temples which house relics associated with Shiva. Although neither the most important nor the most popular, it is traditionally the temple where pilgrimages to see all twelve temples begin, making it an absolutely pivitol starting point for many Hindu travelers.
The history of Prabhas Patan as an important religious site is somewhat less engrossing, and somewhat more recent, than many of its peers scattered throughout India. One legend talks about an encounter between Krishna and the monky king Vali here. Another indicates that Prabhas Patan was one of the cities that received one of the twelve relics of Shiva.
Some accounts describe early temples Prabhas Patan, made consecutively of gold, silver, wood and stone, that have been around since ancient times. Archaeology indicates the earliest temples probably did not appear until the early Middle Ages. But it is not the Somnath Temple’s early history that is of real interest; it is its later history.
In the 8th century AD, a Muslim army invaded Gujarat, sacked and destroyed the temple (probably the second on the site). This was the first of many times that the Somnath Temple was destroyed. Each time, the temple was eventually rebuilt. Additional major sackings took place in the 11th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 17th centuries. Numerous minor attacks took place sporadically over the course of a thousand years.
With the arrival of the British Empire, the cycle of destruction at the hands of Muslim invaders largely halted. However, while a new temple was constructed in the 18th century, this was on a spot adjacent to the original temple. It wasn’t until 1950 that the ruins of the original temple wer finally removed and a new one built. Beyond its religious importance, the Somnath Temple has come to symbolize the resilience of Hinduism and the cycle of life, death and rebirth.
The Somnath Temple is one of Gujarat’s most impressive temples. Although built in the 20th century, it reflects the magnificence and style of an earlier age, not the tackiness of most modern structures. The temple complex includes the massive main building, with its twin pyramid-domes and an immense tower-steeple that dominates the nearby coastline. Next to the current building is the smaller shrine which dates from the 1780s.
The temple interior is somewhat less interesting, in part because it so new. It lacks the exquisitie décor of many of India’s other major Hindu temples. However, there is a magnificent golden shrine inside, and the relic of Shiva is within.
The Somnath Temple is located in the Prabhas Patan district on the southeast side of Veraval, approximately 200 miles northwest of Mumbai. It is open daily from 6:00am-9:30pm. There is no cost of admission. Web: www.somnath.org (official website).
While there are other temples in Prabhas Patan, perhaps the most interesting site in the city after the temple is the Prabhas Patan Museum, which houses some of the remains of earlier Somnath Temples.