Shree Somnath is one of the oldest and largely visited spiritual sites in Bharat. It is the first Jyotirling among the 12 Jyotirling’s in the country dedicated to Shiva. It is also called ‘The Aadi Jyotirling’. Shree Somnath temple is located at Prabhas Patan in Gujarat, Bharat. Prabhas Patan is mentioned in the Mahabharat as a ‘tirtha sthal’. It also finds a mention in ancient Hindu texts like Shreemad Bhagavat, Skandapuran, Shivpuran and Rig-Veda which signifies the importance of this temple in Bharat. Somnath temple was an integral part of the Indus valley civilisation as well. There is an interesting story around the creation of Somnath temple. Let’s get to know it today.
Soma marries Daksha’s daughters
Prajapati Daksha was the son of Brahma. Out of Daksha’s many daughters, he got twenty-seven of them married to Chandradev or Soma – the Moon God. These twenty-seven daughters are often viewed as the twenty-seven Nakshatras (lunar stars) on the Moon’s orbit. When Prajapati Daksha gave away his daughters in marriage to Chandradev, he asked for a promise. The promise was that Chandradev would never look down upon any of his daughters. He would forever treat all the 27 daughters with equal love and care. On learning about this, Chandra promised that he would treat his wives with equality.
Rohini was one of the twenty seven daughters married to Chandradev. Chandra was so fond of Rohini that he started spending most of his time with her alone. The other daughters were very upset with this and went to Daksha. They complained to Daksha and told him that Soma hardly pays any attention to them and lives mostly with Rohini. Daksha repeatedly warned Chandradev, but he never paid attention and continued spending all his time with Rohini.
Daksha curses Soma (Chandradev)
Daksha realized that Chandra has broken his promise of loving all his wives equally. This angered Daksha. He cursed Chandra that he will have to suffer from ‘Kshay’- deterioration of body within a short period of time. As a result, all creatures dependent on the moon too started decaying. Only a small portion of the moon was visible. Affected by the curse, the moon took refuge in the ocean. Without the moon, the balance of Nature soon became disturbed and many lives depend on the light of the moon started suffering.
Chandra realized that he did not have the power to stop Daksha’s curse. He then approached Indradev. Indradev asked Soma to approach Brahma for help as he was the only one who could save him. Brahma directed Soma to seek help from Lord Shiva. It is believed that he advised Chandra to chant the ‘Mahamritunjaya Mantra’ to please Shiva.
Soma’s penance and Shiva’s boon
Chandradeva performed one of the hardest penances of ‘Mahamritunjaya Mantra’ composed by Rishi Markandeya in the Prabhas Patan region. On the occasion of Mahashivratri, Shiva appeared in front of him and informed him that he could not get rid of the curse because what he had done was also unjust. Chandra surrendered himself to Shiva and begged for his forgiveness.
Shiva said that Daksha’s curse cannot be completely ignored. In order to make Chandra free from the curse, Shiva had to place him on his head. Chandra looked like a curved bowl on Shiva’s matted hair and the last part of his beauty, remained forever. Daksha’s curse could not affect Chandra further now. Then Shiva granted Chandra a boon, that he would wither for fifteen days and then grow to his full size, for the next fifteen days. Shiva further added that Chandra would now influence influence every living being on earth with his planetary position and would be a giver of life force through his waxing and waning periods.
The day when Chandra is fully deteriorated is called ‘Amavasya’ (No Moon Day) and when Chandra is fully radiant in his original form, it is called ‘Pournima’ (Full Moon Day). According to Shiva’s boon, Chandradev is said to wane during Krishnapaksha and during Shuklapaksha (the brighter part of the lunar fortnight), Chandra is said to wax.
Soma builds a temple
After receiving this boon from Shiva, Soma built a huge temple for Shiva. This place today is called Somnath Jyotirling. All the above events are believed to have happened at Prabhas Patan. Shiva also blessed this place with his energies.
Somnath Jyotirling today
It is said that Soma first built the Somnath temple in gold. This was rebuilt by Ravan in silver. Shri Krishna built it in wood and then Bhimdev built it in stone. The temple apparently has been destroyed and rebuilt 17 times. In recorded history, the temple suffered destruction at the hands of Mahmud Ghazni in 1024, Khilji’s army in 1296, Muzaffar Shah in 1375, Mahmud Begada in 1451 and Aurangzeb in 1665. The current temple was built in Chalukya architectural style of Hindu temples and was completed in 1951. It holds immense religious significance and is known as the “The Shrine Eternal” due to its resilience against repeated attacks and destruction over centuries.
The temple is situated at such a place that there is no land in a straight line between Somnath seashore until Antarctica. Such an inscription in Sanskrit is found on the Bāṇastambha (lit. arrow pillar) erected on the sea-protection wall. The Bāṇastambha mentions that it stands at a point on the Bharat landmass that is the first point on land in the north to the South Pole at that particular longitude. It is amazing how the people of Bharat had this knowledge in the ancient times when there was no modern technology or equipment. Even today, we don’t know how they knew this fact so long ago.
The Shivalinga in the temple is believed to have been safely hiding within its hollowness the famous Syamantak Mani, the Philosopher’s stone, which is associated with Shri Krishna. It is said that it was a magical stone, which was capable of producing gold. It is also believed that stone had alchemic and radioactive properties and could create a magnetic field around itself that helped it remain floating above ground.
Somnath in Skanda Puran
According to Skanda Purana, the name of Somnath Temple will change every time the world is reconstructed. It is believed when Lord Brahma will create a new world after ending the recent one, Somnath will acquire the name of Pran Nath Temple. According to the Prabhaskhand of Skanda Purana, answering to the question of Parvati, Shiva reveals that so far Somnath has been named 8 times. Shiva also reveals that in the 7th Yuga, the name of the temple is Somnath and in the last Yuga the Shivlinga was called Mrityunjay.
Somnath Jyotirling is one of the most ancient and sacred spiritual sites in Bharat. It is a witness to so many landmark events in ancient Hindu history. Everyone should try and visit the holy land of Prabhas Patan atleast once in their lifetime.
