Somnath temple

SOMNATH TEMPLE
सौराष्ट्रदेशे वसुधावकाशेज्योतिर्मयं चंद्रकलाविंसर््।
भक्तिप्रदानायं कृ िाविारंिं सोर्नाथं शरणं प्रपधेधे ।।

LOCATION
Somnath Temple is located in a small village known as
Saurashtra in the state of Gujrat.
It is constructed in such a manner that its front faces
the Arabian Sea.
Shree Somnath is the first among the twelve Aadi
Jyotirlingas of India. It is the holy place of the Aadi
Jyotirlinga Shree Somnath Mahadev. It also has the
sacred soil from where Bhagvan Shri Krishna took
his last journey.

FEATURES
• Architectural Style : Chalukya Style of Temple
Architecture or Kailash Mahameru Prasad
• Architect : Prabhaschandra
• Period : No specific period, as it was rebuilt 7 times.
• Reason for Construction : It stands as a dedication to
Lord Someshwar.

LEGEND
Emperor Daksha had 28 daughters. Sati being one of them,
grew up and became the wife of Lord Shiva. While the
rest of Daksha’s daughters were married off to Chandra,
the Moon God.
Out of his 27 wives, Chandra held deep affections towards
Rohini, and neglected the others. Seeing his biased
behavior, Daksha cursed Chandra that he would loose all
his beauty and radiance. When this happened, the entire
world became lifeless.
Chandra came down to Earth with his wife and began
worshipping the spars linga of Lord Somnath…

an
…
Impressed by Chandra’s dedication, Lord Shiva lifted his
curse. Since it was this place, where Chandra regained his
light here, this town came to be known as Prabhasa.
Brahma, one of the trinity, installed the Brahmashila, and
paved the way for the construction of the temple. On the
request of Chandra and the other gods, Bhagwan Shankar
assumed the name Somchandra (Jyotirlinga) and resided
there eternally. He became famous by the name Somnath
in the three worlds.

HISTORY
• Somnath has had a very troubled history, with being
destroyed and rebuilt seven times.
• The first of the Somnath temple was built in an
unknown time in the past. It is believed that the
Somnath temple was originally built by Somraj, the
Moon God himself, out of gold, and then rebuilt by
Ravana in silver and then by Krishna in wood, then
by Bhimdev in stone.

DEMOLITIONS AND
RESTORATIONS
• In 725; destroyed by Junayad, the Arab governor of
Sindh. Gurjara Pratihara king Nagabhata II
constructed the third temple in 815, with red
sandstone.
• In AD 1024, destroyed by Mahmud Ghazni. Rebuilt
by Solanki King Bhim Dev between AD 1026-1042
with wood.
• Kumarpal, replaced the structure and made a structure
of stone.
....

….
• In AD 1296, destroyed by Sultan Allauddin Khilji’s army.
Rebuilt by Mahipal Deva, the Chaudasama King of
Saurashtra in AD 1308, and the Linga was installed by his
son Khengar between AD 1326-1351.
• In 1375, destroyed by Muzzaffar Shah I, the Sultan of
Gujrat. Rebuilt by local public in AD 1400.
• In AD 1451, destroyed by Mahmud Begda.
• In AD 1701, destroyed by Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb built a
mosque at the site using some columns from the temple,
whose Hindu sculptural motifs remained visible. Queen
Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore rebuilt the temple in 1783
A.D. at a site adjacent to the ruined temple which had
been converted to a mosque by then.

A picture showing the ruined Shikhar of an early
version of Somnath Temple.

Picture of a painting depicting the demolition of Somnath Temple
by Mahmud Ghazni’s Army

PRESENT TEMPLE
The final and present resurrection of Somnath took place in
1947, when after Independence Sardar Patel and K M
Munshi went to Gandhiji with the proposal to reconstruct
the Somnath temple. Gandhiji suggested that the funds
for the construction, be collected from the public and that
the temple should not be funded by the state. Soon, both
Gandhi and Sardar Patel died and the task of temple
reconstruction continued under the eminent statesman K
M Munshi. It was completed in 1951. The Pran-Pratistha
(a rite or ceremony by which God Shiva is invoked into
the idol) was performed in the temple by the President, Dr
Rajendra Prasad on May 11, 1951.

ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES
• Built in Chalukaya Style of Architecture.
• It is made up of Sand Stone.
• But since it has underwent a series of destruction and restoration, it has
faint influences of various other architectural styles like that of Jain, Narga
and South Indian.
• Shikhar rises to a height of about 155 ft.
The top of the Shikhar has a kalash
(pot vessel) resting on it which
weighs 10 tons.
• The flag mast on the pinnacle
is 37 ft. long and is changed thrice
everyday.
• It has a Shikhara, Garbhagriha,
Sabha mandap Nritya Mandap.
....

….
• The temple faces East and
has three entries, each from
East, North and South.
• The temple rests on a set
of 64 intricately carved
Pillars.
• In its external design it compares well with the temple of
Rudramala at Siddhapur and is more or less of the same
length. The dome, however, is as large as any other built in this
period.
….

1. The plan is of typical Hindu Temple
Architecture kind.
2. The front steps lead to a pillared hall
called the Rang Mandap where dance
performances were held.
3. Rang Mandap is followed by another
bigger hall called the Sabha Mandap
where religious preaching were given.
4. The Garbhagriha or the Sanctum
Sanctorum, holds the image of the
deity.
5. The dome over the Sabha Mandap is
the biggest ever built in entire India.
Garbhagriha
Sabha Mandap
Nritya Mandap
Or Rang Mandap
PLAN OF SOMNATH
TEMPLE

….
• The extensive carvings on
the pillars and walls is proof
of the fact that the temple’s
architecture has Jain
influences.
....

….
• The sculptures made on
the pyramidal domes is
characteristic of South Indian
Architecture.

….
• The Shikhar of the temple has
Aedicules which resemble the Nagara
Style of Architecture.

….
• The entrance gate of the
temple has Jharokhas which
are elements os Rajputi style
of architecture. Also the gate
has beautifully carved torans
hanging above the arched
gateway which again
signifies the Jain traces.

….
Pictures showing the insides of the temple.
The Garbhgriha has marble flooring and
Holds the Shivlinga.
The sabha mandap and rang mandap
have stone flooring and the sabha
Mandap has an Idol of Nandi.

….
Pictures showing the sculptures
of Gods and dancing apsaras
Inside the temple complex.

….
A compound wall of about 8 meters
surrounds the temple, which is kissed
by sea waves during high tides.
The fragments that lie scattered at a short
distance from the site give same idea of
the sculptured decoration of the temple.

Somnath temple has had a very troubled history. It was looted and destroyed many times. With
each king or emperor who restored the temple over the centuries, a new style or feature was
added to the temple every time it was rebuilt. Therefore, the temple has no particular type of
architecture. It is a fusion of many kinds of styles.
Over the years, temple architecture has evolved in ways that has changed the identity of
temples. Earlier, temples were seen merely as places of worship and for making offerings to
Gods. But as the social mores intensified, temples were being used as places for social
gatherings. Earlier the temple buildings were primitively planned with just one room for
worshipping. But as social needs pressed on, mandaps, kunds etc. were added later to serve
religious and social purposes.
The early versions of Somnath temple began
with having the primitive planning. But after every
restoration, according to the social mores of that era,
a new element was added. And today, Somnath Temple
stands as a single live example of the entire evolution process,
the Temple Architecture has seen in India…

PRESENTED BY:
• Sneha Sharma
• Rashi Jain
THANK YOU
• Shivani Daad
• Vartika Aggarwal
• Vidhushi Methwani
• Yashika Aggarwal

Somnath temple

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