Shree Somnath Trust welcomes you to the holy place of the Aadi Jyotirling Shree Somnath Mahadev and the sacred soil where from Bhagvan Shri Krishna took his last journey to his neejdham. The temple is built at the shore of the Arebian ocean on the western corner of Indian subcontinent. This pilgrimage is one of the oldest and find its reference in the ancient texts like Skandpuran, Shreemad Bhagvat, Shivpuran etc. The hymn from Rigveda quoted below mention the Bhagvan Someshwar alongwith the great pilgrimage like Gangaji, Yamunaji and Eastward Saraswati. Which signifies the ancient value of this Tirthdham.

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. This is the first among the twelve holy Shiv Jyotirlings. It has withstood the six repeated desecration by the Muslim invadors. The very existance of this temple is symbole 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 indicates the unobstructed sea route to the south pole. 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.

This is the Hari Har Tirthdham. 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 Tirth. 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 Bhagvat Geeta is carved on eighteen marble pillars. Shri Lakshminarayan Mandir is closeby. The Balramjiki Gufa is the place from where Bhagwan Shrikrishna's elder brother Balaramji took journey to his nijdham-patal. We have the Parshuram Tapobhumi here, 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 endeavoured to develop the whole Shri Krishna Neejdham Prasthan Tirth in an wholesome manner. The pilgrims can contribute generously to this noble cause.

SOMNATH DARSHAN
SHREE SOMNATH JYOTIRLING TEMPLE (Kailas Mahameruprasad)

Shree Somnath is first among the twelve Aadi Jyotirlings of India. It has a strategic location on the western coast of India.

Ancient Indian traditions maintain a close relationship of Somnath with releare of Chandra (Moon God) from the curse of his father-in-law Daksha Prajapati. Moon was married to Twenty Seven daughters of Daksha. However he favoured Rohini and neglected other queens. The aggrieved Daksha cursed Moon and the Moon lost power of light. With the advice of Prajapita Brahma, Moon arrived at the Prabhas Teerth and worshipped Bhagwan Shiva. Pleased with the great penance and devotion of Moon, Bhagwan Shiva blessed him and relieved him from the curse of darkness. Pauranic traditions maintain that Moon had built a golden temple, followed by a silver temple by Ravana, Bhagwan Shree Krishna is believed to have built Somnath temple with Sandalwood.

The research based on ancient Indian classical taxts show that first Somnath Jyotirling Pran-Pratistha was done on the auspicious third day of brighter half of Shravan month during the tenth Treta yug of Vaivswat Manvantar. Swami Shri Gjananand Saraswatiji, Chairman of Shrimad Aadhya Jagadguru Shankaracharya Vedik Shodh Sansthan, Varanasi suggested that the said first temple was built 7,99,25,105 years ago as derived from the traditions of Prabhas Khand of Skand Puran.Thus, this temple is a perennial source of inspiration for millions of Hindus since time immemorial.

The later sources of history account for several desecrations by Muslims invaders during eleventh to eighteen century A.D. The temple was rebuilt every time with the reconstructive spirit of the people.The modern temple was reconstructed with the resolve of Sardar Patel who visited the ruins of Somnath temple on November, the 13th 1947. The Pran-Pratistha at the existing temple was done on 11th May 1951 by then President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad.

Other spots in the temple are Shri Kapardi Vinayak and Shri Hanuman Temple in addition to Vallabhghat. Vallabhghat is a beautiful sunset point. The temple is illuminated every evening. Similarly the Sound & Light Show “Jay Somnath” is also displayed every night during 8.00 to 9.00, which allows the pilgrims an ethereal experience in the backdrop of grand Somnath temple and the holy wave sounds of the Ocean. Ahalyabai temple is also closeby, which was built by the queen mother Shri Ahalyabai Holker during 1782. This temple maintained the Pooja Parampara of Bhagwan Shiva during the hostile political conditions.