THE BIRTH OF THE SOMNATH TEMPLE!

THE BIRTH OF THE SOMNATH TEMPLE!

I was reading about the Somnath temple. It was so interesting that I thought I should share it with all of you. So lets get started! Let me start with telling you the story behind the establishment of the temple. The Somnath temple in Gujarat is one of the Jyotirlingas and is the result of the curse on Moon god [chandra]. Mythology says that the Moon god had been married to the 27 daughters of Daksh Prajapati. Among all his 27 wives the Moon god favored only Rohini. This angered Daksh Prajapati and he cursed the Moon god to wane. Troubled by the curse the Moon god prayed to Lord Shiva at the Prabhas Tirtha. Pleased by his penance Lord Shiva freed him of Daksh Prajapati’s curse. As a sign of gratitude, the Moon god built the first of the Jyotirlingas in gold. The next was built by Ravana in silver and the one in sandalwood was built by Lord Krishna. King Bhimdev built another temple in stone.zThe most interesting fact about this temple is the fact that it was destroyed six times. The structure that stands tall today, is the seventh form of the temple. The temple is constructed in the Chalukya style and it has its own peculiarity. The construction leaves no land between the temple shore and the south pole. I hope you will remember this information when you visit the Somnath temple next time.

- Kruti Beesam