Somnath Jyotirlinga Temple

The Complete Guide to Somnath Jyotirlinga

Everything a pilgrim needs — a millennium of history, the specifics of the sanctum's architecture, the exact darshan procedure, the annual festival calendar, and practical tips born from experience on the ground.

The Somnath Jyotirlinga, standing at the edge of the Arabian Sea in Prabhas Patan (Veraval, Gujarat), is universally recognised as the first among the twelve Jyotirlingas. Puranic tradition holds that the original shrine was built of pure gold by the Moon God Chandra, later re-built in silver by the Sun God, in wood by Lord Krishna, and eventually in stone by King Bhimadeva of the Chalukya dynasty. Its recorded history, however, is a story of resilience: the temple was plundered and destroyed at least six times between 1024 CE (Mahmud of Ghazni's infamous raid) and the sixteenth century under Aurangzeb, and each time it was reconstructed by devotees, kings, and later by an independent India. The present sanctum, in the Chalukya style of the Kailash Mahameru Prasada, was consecrated on 11 May 1951 by then President Dr. Rajendra Prasad after a national restoration project initiated by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 1947. The Baan Stambh (arrow pillar) on the seaward side famously indicates that there is no land in a straight line between Somnath and the South Pole.

Built in the Māru-Gurjara (Chalukya-Solanki) architectural idiom, the seven-storied shikhara rises 155 feet above the sanctum and is crowned by a 27-foot flag mast that carries the flag which is changed thrice daily. The temple layout follows a classical tri-parted plan of garbhagriha (sanctum), antarala (vestibule) and sabha-mandapa (assembly hall), with intricately carved kirtimukha and gaja-thara friezes running around the plinth. The exterior stone lacework, kalasha finials, and the sea-facing eastern porch are considered among the finest revivals of medieval Gujarati temple art in the twentieth century.