Shree Somnath Trust welcomes you to the holy
place of the Aadi Jyotirling Shree Somnath Mahadev and the sacred soil from where Bhagvan Shri Krishna took his last journey to his neejdham.
Somnath temple stands
at the shore of the Arabian ocean on the western corner of Indian subcontinent in Gujarat State.
This pilgrimage is one of the oldest and finds its reference in the ancient
texts like Skandpuran, Shreemad Bhagavat, Shivpuran etc. The hymn from Rig-Veda
quoted below mention the Bhagvan Someshwar along with the great pilgrimage like
Gangaji, Yamunaji and Eastward Saraswati. This
signifies the ancient value of this Tirthdham.
Somnath is in Prabhas Patan very near to Veraval.
The Moon God is said to have been relieved
from the curse of his father-in-law Daksha Prajapati by the blessings of
Bhagvan Somnath. In the Shiva Purana and Nandi Upapurana, Shiva said, `I am always present everywhere but specially in 12 forms and places as the jyotirlingas`. Somnath is one of these 12 holy places. This is the first among the twelve holy Shiva Jyotirlings.
The
shore temple of Somnath is believed to have
been built in 4 phases-in gold by
Lord Soma, in silver by Ravi, in wood
by lord Krishna and in stone by King Bhimadeva.
It
has withstood the six-repeated desecration by the Muslim invaders. The very existence
of this temple is symbol of reconstructive spirit and cultural unity of our
society.
The seventh existing temple is built in the
Kailas Mahameru Prasad style. The Iron man of India Sardar Shri Vallabhbhai
Patel is the pioneer of the existing temple.
The temple is consisting of Garbhgruh,
Sabhamandap and Nrityamandap with a 150 feet high Shikhar.
The Kalash at the top of the Shikhar weighs 10
tons and the Dhwajdand is 27 feet tall and 1 foot in circumference. The Abadhit
Samudra Marg, Tirsthambh (Arrow) indicates the unobstructed sea route to the South Pole. The nearest land towards South Pole is about 9936 km. away. This is a wonderful indicator of the ancient Indian wisdom of geography and
strategic location of the Jyotirling. The temple renovated by Maharani
Ahalyabai is adjacent to the main temple complex.
Hari Har Tirthdham is here in Somnath. This is the
holy place of Bhagvan Shri Krishna's Neejdham Prasthan Leela. The place where
Bhagvan Shri Krishna was hit by an arrow of a poacher is known as Bhalka Tirtha.
After being hit by the arrow, Bhagvan Shri Krishna arrived at the holy
confluence of Hiran, Kapila and Saraswati and their Sangam with the ocean. He
performed his divine Neejdham Prasthan Leela at the sacred and peaceful banks
of river Hiran.
The Geetamandir is built here where the divine
message of Shrimad Bhagavat Geeta is carved on eighteen marble pillars. Shri
Lakshminarayan Mandir is close by. The Balramjiki Gufa is the place from where
Bhagvan Shrikrishna's elder brother Balaramji took journey to his
nijdham-patal.
Here is the Parshuram Tapobhumi, where Bhagvan
Parshuramji carried out penance and he was relieved from the sin of Kshatriya
killings. The Pandavas have said to have visited this place and taken holy bath
in the Jalprabhas and built five Shiv temples.
The
Somnath Trust has endeavored to develop the whole Shri Krishna Neejdham
Prasthan Tirtha in an wholesome manner. The pilgrims please contribute generously
to this noble cause.