Somnath Temple in Junagadh
The Somnath temple located near Veraval in the Prabhas Kshetra is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva. The temple was destroyed 6 times due to the wars by Islamic kings and rulers and was rebuilt again every time. Somnath means "The Protector of (the) Moon god" and is related to a number of legendary gods. The temple is on the shore of the Arabian Sea and is believed to be built in 4 phases. The first phase was built by Lord Soma in Gold, and later second phase was built by Ravi using Silver, Lord Krishna built the third phase using wood and final phase was built by King Bhimadeva using stone. The present structure was built in Kailas Mahameru Prasad style.
History Behind Somnath Temple in Junagadh
The temple was rebuilt by the Yadava kings of Vallabhi around 649 CE. Junayad, the Arab governor of Sind destroyed the temple in 725 CE and was rebuilt by Gurjara Pratihara king Nagabhata II in 815 CE. Mahmud of Ghazni raided the temple in 1024 and destroyed it. Solanki king Bhimadev I of Anhilwara and Gujjar Paramara King Bhoj of Malwa has rebuilt the structure between 1026 and 1042. Sultan Allauddin Khilji's army has again destroyed the temple in 1296 and Mahipala Deva, the Chudasama king has rebuilt the temple in 1308. His son Khengar installed the linga somewhere between 1326 and 1351. The temple was once again destroyed by Muzaffar Shah I in 1375 and Mahmud Begda in 1451. And later Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb once again ordered to destroy it in 1665. Later in 1783 Raja Bhonsle of Nagpur, Queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore, Peshwa of Pune, Shrimant Patilbuwa Shinde of Gwalior and Chhatrapati Bhonsle of Kolhapur joined hands to rebuild the temple adjacent to the destroyed one. Later after Independence of India, Sardar Vallabhai Patel took up efforts reconstruction of the temple and was completed under the guidance of K. M. Munshi.