#Jyotirlingas - Somnath

# Somnath

The Jyotirlingas have a significant religious, spiritual, historical and religious importance in Bharat. In addition to being a must do in the pilgrim circuit, the Jyotirlingas have a story to tell. Let us understand and appreciate the puranic stories behind these places, the history and the societal significance in the present context.

Somnath is the oldest Jyotirlinga. The temple is located in Veraval in Gujarat.

What is the story behind Somnath? What are the stories and mysteries associated with this temple. The story first.

Daksha, the son of Brahma had twenty seven daughters. Each of the daughters were named after the constellation of stars. King Daksha got all twenty seven of them married to Lord Chandra. Lord Chandra was expected to move across the different wives (stars) in rotation. Unfortunately, Chandra was partial to one wife, Rohini.

Although the many wives of Chandra were sisters, lack of attention from the husband did not go well with the other wives. They tried   sorting out the problem themselves but it was of no use. Chandra was too dazzled by Rohini to pay attention to his other wives.

The frustrated wives finally went and complained to their dad Daksha Prajapathi (Prajapathi means a chief or a king). Daksha was upset that his daughters were unhappy. He went and spoke to Lord Chandra “The reason I gave my daughters in marriage to you is that they can be happy and united. By focusing your attention on one of them, you are making all my other daughters unhappy. This cannot go on. You need to pay equal attention to all of your wives.”

Chandra was polite and agreed to do so. Unfortunately, he was too attached to Rohini. He did not mend his ways and the other daughters continued to be unhappy. Daksha was not able to see his daughters unhappy. He decided he needed to punish his son in law Chandra. Daksha felt that Chandra was ignoring his wives and the advice of his son in law as he had a lustrous face. Daksha decided that Chandra will come to his senses if he lost that lustre.

Daksha cursed his son in law, Chandra to lose his lustre. This meant that there was no moon and the world was dark and depressing. It also caused problems with the tidal cycles and monsoons and other natural phenomenon.

 

Daksha definitely wanted to teach Chandra a lesson. But he was not prepared for the other side effects this curse was causing the world. The Gods requested him to retract his curse. Daksha could not retract the curse, but he found a remedy.

Daksha asked Chandra to pray to Lord Shiva. Chandra did as he was told. He bathed in the river Saraswathi and prayed to Lord Shiva. Over a period he got better and he built the original temple for Shiva. Chandra built the original temple in gold. Since Lord Shiva helped Soma (Chandra) in this place, the deity there is called Someshwara. Since the temple made the moon shine, the place is referred to as Prabhas Patan in the scriptures.

In addition to being a parihara sthalam, Somnath was a place where three rivers Kapila, Hiran and Sarasvati merge and had the significance of a Triveni Sangam.

The Prabhas Patan and the greatness of this Linga is mentioned in the Mahabharata, SkandaPurana, BhagavathaPurana, Raghuvamsa amongst other texts. In the Shiva Purana this is the place where Lord Shiva mentions as a place where he is residing always.

The original temple built by Chandra in gold. Later, it was built by Ravana (some versions say it is Surya) in silver and in Dwapar Yuga, Lord Krishna built the temple with sandalwood.

The original linga was supposed to have been made of iron and was hidden under the hollow of the Shyamantaka stone – a stone with alchemic properties. This Shyamantaka stone was the one that caused trouble for Krishna in Dwaraka and led to his fight with Jambavan. When Krishna won the fight, he had married the daughter of Jambavan, Jambavati.

(https://bharatiyastories.blogspot.com/2024/02/dazzling-jewels-and-fighting-bears.html).

The stone also had certain magnetic properties that helped keep the iron lingam suspended in mid air.

Unfortunately, during the first invasion, the temple and the linga were both destroyed.

Just to give an idea of the extent of the destruction of the temple, when the first invasion by Muhammed Gazni,(1026 AD0 he looted the temple to an extent of 20 million dinars and killed 50000 people. He also destroyed the idols and structures inside the temple.

The second invasion was done by Ulugh Khan of the army of Alaudin Khilji in 1299. Again in 1395, it was destroyed by Zafar Khan.

The temple was reconstructed too seventeen times!!. Some of the recorded reconstructions include the one done by Vikramaditya of Ujjaini (2500 years ago), the Vallabhi kings (480- 767 CE), Bhimadeva of Anhilawada (11^th century AD) and Khangara, the king of Junagadh (1315 AD). The modern structure was constructed by former deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhai Patel.

It is clear the resilience of the people and perhaps the blessings of the divine made this temple resurface from the dust every time an external force destroyed it.

The temple as it stands today is perhaps one of the most significant symbols of spiritualism. In addition, it is a symbol of a civilization that believed in its spiritualism and its faith and has risen again and again.