Somnath Temple
Prabhas Patan, Veraval, Gujarat, India
VerifiedDocumented history
- Deities
- Somnath (Shiva)
- Traditions
- shaiva
- Worship status
- active
- Coordinates
- 20.888, 70.4013
- Darshan hours
- Varies by temple and season; consult the temple's own trust/devasthanam for the current daily schedule before visiting.
- Best time to visit
- October to March for cooler coastal weather; Maha Shivaratri and Kartik Purnima are major observances.
- How to reach
- Nearest airport Diu (~85 km) or Rajkot (~200 km); nearest railway station Veraval (~7 km); well connected by road.
- Festivals
- Maha Shivaratri (February/March), Kartik Purnima (October/November)
Location
Open in Google MapsTraditionally the first among the twelve Jyotirlingas, Somnath on Gujarat’s Saurashtra coast has an unusually well-documented history of repeated destruction and reconstruction. It was sacked at least four times — by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1026 CE, by Alauddin Khalji’s forces under Ulugh Khan in 1299, by Muzaffar Shah I in 1395, and by Aurangzeb’s order in 1706 — and rebuilt multiple times in between, notably by Kumarapala around 1169 and Mahipala I in 1308. Its present structure was reconstructed beginning in 1950 at the initiative of Indian statesman Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, with the temple consecrated in May 1951.
Sources
- historical record: The temple's repeated destruction (notably by Mahmud of Ghazni, 1026 CE) and its 20th-century reconstruction under Sardar Patel's initiative (consecrated 1951) are extensively documented history.
- historical record: Cross-checked against Wikipedia's account of Somnath temple, accessed during verification pass: confirms the 1026 CE raid by Mahmud of Ghazni, further destructions by Alauddin Khalji's forces (1299), Muzaffar Shah I (1395), and Aurangzeb (1706), intervening rebuildings by Kumarapala (1169) and Mahipala I (1308), and the present reconstruction begun in 1950 at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's initiative and completed in May 1951.