River Saraswati, Prabhas-Patan and Somnath

Somnath has inspired many poets and writers.

Jai! Jai! Garvi Gujarat!
Uttarman Amba maata
Puravaman Kali Maata
Chhe Dakshin Disaman Karant raksha Kunteshwar Mahadev,
Ne Somnath ne Dwarkesh ae Pachcim Kera dev
Chhe Sahayamanb Sakshaat
Jai! Jai! Garvi Gujarat!
Wrote Kavi Narmad, the poet saint of Gujarat.

New Somnath Temple

Somnath Temple is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga’s of Lord Shiva. It is 79 kms. from Junagadh and 450 kms from Ahmedabad.
According to legend, Somnath is as old as creation, built by none other than the Moon God himself, Somaraj hence the name Somnath. Somnath has withstood the shocks of time and survived the attacks of Muslim invaders. The construction of the existing temple was initiated by Sardar Vallabbhai Patel. It now has an arresting Chalukya architecture and is a stunning sight facing the blue vastness of the Sindhu Sagar (Arabian Sea) a part of the Indian Ocean. The spire of the temple is 150 feet high and the flagpole is 27 feet tall and 1 foot in circumference. The Somnath Temple was destroyed five times and built seven times during the last 2000 years; the temple of Somnath has been rightly called the Shrine Etenal

Triveni Sangam (of Saraswati, Hiranya and Kapila) at Prabhas Patan

From the early days Prabhas-Patan, Somnath is a pilgrim place. It is the confluence of mythological Saraswati, Hiranya and Kapila. About 5000 years ago, River Saraswati traversed a distance of over 1600 km., through Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat, to reach Sindhu Sagar at Prabhas-Patan, Somnath. This is emphasized in the Mahabharata and other ancient texts.

Photograph of Somnath in 1869

A river is always holy in Hinduism. And the place where all the three rivers - Hiranya, Kapila and mythical Saraswati - come together and meet Sindhu Sagar, is thirty times more important! The Triveni Teerth at Prabhas-Patan is an important place of pilgrimage,
A short distance from the Somnath temple is Balkha Teerth, where Lord Krishna was struck by the stray arrow of a Bhil tribal. The Mahabharata says that the entire Yadav clan went on a drinking spree near Hiranya River at Prabhas Patan. They drank merrily and destroyed each other. Only two Yadavas and Sri Krishna survived. The Pandavas are reported to have performed penance at Prabhas Patan. It is on account of all these reasons that the Mahabharata and the Puranic literature speak of Prabhas-Patan with great reverence.

Mythology :

Somaraja is the Moon God. Somaraja is the son in-law of Daksha (son of Brahma). Daksha had 27 daughters, who were the 27 Nakshatras, married them to Somaraja. Daksha had asked Somaraja to treat all his daughters alike. Somaraja, however, was giving special treatment to his ‘favorite’, Rohini. Daksha was enraged. He put a curse on Somaraja, saying, "You shall wane into nothingness!" The moon, which used to shine in full splendor every night till then, started to shrink. However, before the curse brought about an absolute end to the moon, the other daughters of Daksha pleaded with him to revoke his curse. Daksha then asked Somaraja to take a bath in the sea at the mouth of the River Saraswati and then to pray to Lord Shiva. The intenseness of the curse was reduced and we now see the periodic waning and waxing of the Moon.
Brahma then asked Somaraja to construct a temple and dedicate it to Shiva at the spot where he had prayed. Hence at Prabhas Patan, Shiva Temple is known as Somnath, the Lord of the Moon. Since Somaraja once again regained his light and brightness at this place it is known as ‘Prabhasa’ meaning light. Somnath is also known by several other names - Deo Patan, Prabhas Patan or Patan Somnath, which it acquired during its long and eventful history.
It is said that Somaraja originally built this temple in gold. Ravana, a passionate bhakta of Lord Shiva built it in silver and later Lord Krishna who ruled Dwarka built it with sandalwood.
The Somnath temple has been destroyed several times, mainly by the barbaric Muslim invaders. It had to be rebuilt several times from scratch. Each time the community of architects who designed and constructed the temple were the Sompura Shilpakar Brahmins. Prabha Shankar Sompura designed the present temple and his descendents are still building temples in India.

ll Yatra gangach, yamunach l
Yatra prachi saraswati l
Yatra someshwarach devah: tatra mamarut kaddhi l
Indrayendo paristrava ll
Posted by: Vivek Hattangadi

vivekhattangadi@yahoo.co.in