Somnath Temple

Somnath Temple Latest News

Prime Minister is set to visit the iconic Somnath Temple in Gujarat to mark the 75th anniversary of the restored Hindu temple’s inauguration by President Rajendra Prasad in 1951.

About Somnath Temple

• It is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.
• It is located in Prabhas Patan near Veraval in Saurashtra on the western coast of Gujarat.
• It is the first of the 12 jyotirlinga shrines in India that are regarded as the manifestation of the Lord Shiva Himself.
• The site of Somnath has been a pilgrimage site from ancient times on account of being a Triveni Sangam: the confluence of three rivers, namely Kapila, Hiran, and Saraswati. 
• The ancient temple’s timeline can be traced from 649 BC but is believed to be older than that. 
• The temple faced several invasions, the most notable being by Mahmud Ghazni in the 11th century.
• Reconstruction Efforts: Rebuilt multiple times by different dynasties, including the Paramaras, Chalukyas, and the Marathas. 
• The present temple was reconstructed in the Chalukya style of Hindu temple architecture and completed in May 1951.
• The reconstruction was completed by Vallabhbhai Patel.

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Somnath Temple Architecture

• The temple features an elaborate and extravagant architecture marked with many rich, intricate carvings. 
• The temple is seven-storied and reaches up to a height of 155 ft.  
• The temple’s positioning is quite unique. The temple is positioned in such a way that not a single piece of land is visible from the Somnath seashore until Antarctica. 
• A magnificent Kalash or pot vessel tops the temple Shikhara and weighs up to 10 tons approximately. 
• The summit is adorned with a flag whose mast is 37 ft in length.

Source: OPI