The temple of Somnath, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva is situated 79 Kms. from Junagadh and 25 Kms. from Chorwad. According to the legend, Somnath is as old as creation, built by none other than the Moon God himself. This pilgrimage is one of the oldest and find its reference in the ancient texts like Skandpuran, Shreemad Bhagvat, Shivpuran etc. The remains of the temple of Somanath "withstood the shocks of time and survived the attacks of destroyers. The temple has imposing architecture and is a beautiful sight facing the blue expanse of the Arabian Sea.
Prajapati by the blessings of Bhagvan Somnath. This is the first among the twelve holy Shiv Jyotirlings. It has withstood the six repeated desecration by the Muslim invadors. The very existance of this temple is symbole of reconstructive spirit and cultural unity of our society. The seventh existing temple is built in the Kailas Mahameru Prasad style. The Iron man of India Sardar Shri Vallabhbhai Patel is the pioneer of the existing temple. The temple is consisting of Garbhgruh, Sabhamandap and Nrityamandap with a 150 feet high Shikhar. The Kalash at the top of the Shikhar weighs 10 tons and the Dhwajdand is 27 feet tall and 1 foot in circumference. The Abadhit Samudra Marg Tirsthambh indicates the unobstructed sea route to the south pole. This is a wonderful indicator of the ancient Indian wisdom of geography and strategic location of the Jyotirling.
This is the Hari Har Tirthdham. This is the holy place of Bhagvan Shri Krishna's Neejdham Prasthan Leela. The place where Bhagvan Shri Krishna was hit by an arrow of a poacher is known as Bhalka Tirth. After being hit by the arrow, Bhagvan Shri Krishna arrived at the holy confluence of Hiran, Kapila and Saraswati and their Sangam with the ocean. He performed his divine Neejdham Prasthan Leela at the sacred and peaceful banks of river Hiran. The Geetamandir is built here where the divine message of Shrimad Bhagvat Geeta is carved on eighteen marble pillars. Shri Lakshminarayan Mandir is closeby. The Balramjiki Gufa is the place from where Bhagwan Shrikrishna's elder brother Balaramji took journey to his nijdham-patal. We have the Parshuram Tapobhumi here, where Bhagvan Parshuramji carried out penance and he was relieved from the sin of Kshatriya killings. The Pandavas have said to have visited this place and taken holy bath in the Jalprabhas and built five Shiv temples.
Somnath The temple is dedicated to Someshwara, the Lord Shiva, with moon on his head.
In its external design the Somnath temple compares well with the temple of Rudramala at Siddhapur and is more or less of the same size in length. The dome, however, is as large as any other built in this period. The temple faces to east and once had an enormous central hall with three entrances, each protected by a lofty porch. The fragments that lie scattered at a short distance from the site give some idea of the sculpture decorating the temple. The richly carved doorways, the sculptured representations of Nandi, Sivas bull, and the figures of goddesses and their female attendants must once have presented a grand ensemble of great beauty. In the recesses of the balconied corridor, there is a mutilated form of Nataraja, the dancing Shiva. Although essentially a Brahmanical temple, the influence of Jain architecture is clearly discernible.
OTHER SACRED PLACES
BHALKA TEERTH: This sacred teerth is located 5 km on Prabhas Veraval highway. Bhagwan Shree Krishna was hit with the arrow of the poacher named Jara at this spot. Bhagwan Shree Krishna was resting in meditation under a pippal tree when the poacher misread the foot of Bhagwan Shree Krishna as a deer and hit from a distance. Bhagwan generously pardoned the poacher and blessed him. This divined leela of Bhagwan Shree Krishna is immortalised by a beautiful temple and an ancient pippal tree. The spot is under development with the assistance of the Central Government. Bhagwan Shree Krishana then walked a small distance and arrived at the holy banks of river Hiran from where he took his last journey to his Neejdham.
SHREE KRISHNA NEEJDHAM PRASTHAN TEERTH (DEHOTSARG TEERTH): This teerth is located on the banks of Hiran at a distance of 1.5km from Somnath temple. Bhagwan Shree Krishna took his divine journey to Neejdham from this sacred soil. Rich accounts of the divined Shree Krishna Neejdham Prasthan Leela are maintained by the authentic traditions of Mahabhart, Shrimad Bhagwat, Vishnu Puran etc. Swami Shri Gjananand Saraswatiji has critically examined the aforesaid classical indian traditions and suggested the time of Neejdham Prasthan. He suggested that Shre Krishna departed on the first day of bright fortnight of Chaitra month (which correspondes with 18th February of English calendar)in the year 3102 B.C. at 2:27:30 hours. The footprint of Bhagwan Shree Krishna is carved here to mark the divine memory of Shree Krishna Neejdham Prasthan Leela. Baldevji, the elder brother of Shree Krishna also took his last journey from here in his original serpent form. This is marked by an ancient holy cave called “Dauji-ni Gufa”
SHREE PRABHAS TEERTH: The Gitamandir and Laxminarayan mandir are located in Dehotsarg campus. The divine massage of Bhagwan Shree Krishna in form of Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta is carved here on eighteen marble pillars. Laxminarayan Mandir houses divine shreevigraha of Bhagwan Laxminarayan.
SHREE PARSHURAM TEMPLE: This is a sacred spot at the holy banks of Triveni where Bhagwan Parshuram conducted his long penance and he was relieved from the curse of Kshatriya killings by Bhagwan Somnath. Divine leela Parshuram is perpetnated here by a beautiful Parshuram Temple and two ancient kunds.
TREEVENI SANGAM SNANGHAT: The holy confluence of three river Hiran, Kapila and Saraswati and their sangam with ocean is very sacred moksha tirtha for Hindus. The bathing facilities are being renovated by Shree Somnath Trust with the assistance of State Government in the fond memory of Shree Morarjibhai Desai, the Ex-Prime Minister and Chairman of Shree Somnath Trust.
SHREE SHASHIBHUSHAN MAHADEV & BHIDBHANJAN GANAPATIJI: The holy temple of Shashibhushan is located at a distance of 4 km on the Somnath-Veraval highway with a beautiful sea-shore. The Jara poacher is said to have taken aim from this spot while hitting an arrow towards Bhagwan Shree Krishna. The ancient Somnath Poojacharya Shri Bhav Brihaspati is said to have built this temple. Bhagwan Shashibhushan with Bhidbhanjan (Saviour form of) Ganesh is worshipped here with traditional spiritual traditions.
SHREE VENESHWAR MAHADEV TEMPLE: The Rajputa “Vaja”clan was in charge of Somnath during the Muslim desecrations. The devotional episode of the princess “Veni” is depicted in the novel by Shri K.M.Munshi. The temple was outside of the fort wall of Prabhaspatan at the time of holy war with Gazani.The soldiers of Gazani attempted an abduction of “Veni” who regularly visited the temple to offer her services to Shiva. The traditions maintain that the Shivling was sportaneously got divided and the princess got burried into it. The Shiv temple here is knows as “Veneshwar” temple after the fond memory of divine episode of Veni.
