somnath temple

It is believed to be the first Jyotirlinga and is situated in Gujarat. Much more than the supposed divinity of this great sanctuary, it is the invasion(s) of Mahmud Ghaznavi that attracted more people to this temple. According to legends, the Turkish ruler Mahmud of Ghazani invaded the Somnath Temple 17 times. But this is apocryphal. he invaded. That is beyond any doubt, but not 17 times. The great Indian historian Ramesh Chandra Majumdar of the University of Dacca (now Dhaka) opined that he (Mahmud of Ghazni) came to attack only twice, although he looted the loot hidden in the garbhgriha (basement) of the temple. An 1869 photograph taken by the early English photographer Allen Robson shows the ruins of the Somnath Temple.

Hindu and Indian historians like Akhilesh Mishra, Meenakshi Jain and Ishwari Prasad also believed that so many invasions by one man was actually hyperbole and not feasible for anyone. Sacchidan and Sinha also endorsed this view, calling it fictitious and apocryphal. They called it ‘Muslim bragging’ (without bias).

It was the wealth of this temple in those days that attracted invaders, especially. Muslim invaders. Without delving into the socio-political scene of India at that time, I must say that the Somnath Temple is now used as a proverbial metaphor (for the collective inertia of the Indians and their excessive belief in divine intervention).

It arrived but the country did not resist, although all resentful. Why didn’t anyone try to stop the invader to loot the boot(s)? This is a million dollar question. I digress a bit, but the same thing happened when the Marathas got beaten up in the third Battle of Panipat in January 1761. Abdali’s forces just massacred the Marathas and the latter did not even resist bravely because the Hindu Marathas thought that the god would come to the rescue of him and annihilate the enemies. Unfortunately, that did not happen and the Marathas were badly beaten and bruised.

A must visit for all those who go to Gujarat and are devout Hindus. Somnath temple hours are 6 am to 9:30 pm.

Coming back to the importance of this temple, this is the first Jyotirlinga. Ironically, devotees come to this temple to pray to Lord Shiva and the main specification of this temple is that Lord Shiva destroys enemies. But why the hell did the deity remain inert during the sacking of the shrine by Mahmud of Ghazani’s marauding army?

Its calm setting is really eye-catching. British historians Gooch and Collingwood called it the richest temple in India. Imagine, even after so many attacks and looting, the shrine remained the richest temple in India. It has been taken over (or should I say USURPED?) by the Vaishno Devi shrine, Tirupati in the south and Shirdi Sai Baba in Maharashtra.

Devotees from all nooks and crannies come to visit the Somnath temple. His reverential status is unparalleled in India. But it must be said that it is the legend of Ghazani that gives an extra touch to the mystique of the Somnath Temple.