Somnath

The Somnath temple at the tip of the Saurashtra peninsula is one of the twelve jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva and a place of such historical significance that it has been destroyed and rebuilt seventeen times, most recently in 1951 under the direct supervision of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

The temple has been the target of systematic destruction by successive rulers beginning with Mahmud of Ghazni in 1026. The specificity of the targeting — Somnath attacked not only for its wealth but for the symbolic power of destroying the pre-eminent Hindu shrine — made each rebuilding a political act as much as a religious one. The current temple, completed in 1951, uses Chalukyan architectural style and was laid in foundation stone by Patel himself three months after independence, as a statement about the relationship between the new state and Hindu cultural heritage.

The setting of the Somnath temple — on a promontory above the Arabian Sea, with the temple's feet almost touching the water and the horizon beyond it completely unobstructed — is one of the most dramatically positioned temple sites in India. The evening aarti conducted on the shoreside platform with the sea behind the priest and the illuminated temple above is the most visually complete ritual setting available in Gujarat.

Places to Visit in Somnath

• Somnath Temple
• Triveni Sangam
• Bhalka Tirth
• Somnath beach

Things to Do in Somnath

• Temple darshan
• Evening light and sound show
• Triveni Sangam boat ride