|
| |
Somnath-Veraval Beach, Junagadh (Gujarat)
Hotels in Somnath-Veraval
|
|
|
|
Mentioned below is a list of Hotels in Somnath-Veraval
that you can choose from. Every Somnath-Veraval hotel listed below
includes general information on the hotel along with tariff and
photographs of the hotel. We have covered hotels from budget
accommodation to 5* Category across the entire Somnath-Veraval city.
This page also provides general information on Somnath-Veraval city, how
to get to Somnath-Veraval, the places of interest in and around
Somnath-Veraval and excursions in Somnath-Veraval. Be it a one night
stay or a part of a Package tour, Somnath-Veraval has a lot to offer to
all kinds of tourists. |
|
|
|
Hotels & Resorts in Somnath-Veraval |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Somnath Temple is a
significant temple, comprising one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva.
Located in Prabhas Kshetra near Veraval (Saurashtra), Somnath Mandir falls
in Saurashtra region that lies on the western coast of Gujarat. Somnath
means "The Protector of (the) Moon God". The Somnath Temple is known as "the
Shrine Eternal", having been destroyed six times and rebuilt six times.
 History and Culture
Architecture of Somnath Temple
The seven-storied structure of Somnath is tall to 155 feet. Constructed in
the Chalukya style of architecture, Somnath Temple reflects the expertise of
the Sompuras that are master masons of Gujarat. The temple is sited in such
a manner that no mass of land can be seen from Somnath seashore till
Antarctica.
 This information is presented in an inscription, written in
Sanskrit, on the Arrow-Pillar of the sea-protection wall at the temple.
Significance of Somnath Temple
According to the legend, Soma or the Moon God built the temple in gold,
Ravana in silver, and Shri Krishna in wood. Soma was cursed by his
father-in-law Daksha to wane because Soma loved only one of his wives, all
of whom happened to be Daksha's daughters. His other wives complained about
this negligent behavior of Soma to their father Daksha, and thus the curse.
He then built a Shivlinga at the Prabhas tirth (a Hindu pilgrimage) and
prayed to Lord Shiva who removed the curse partially because asked upon by
Soma's one wife (the one that he loved more than others). Thus, causing the
periodic waning of moon. Pleased by the prayers Soma (Moon god), Lord Shiva
decided to rest in that Lingam till eternity, and thus the Jyotirlingam.
 History of Somnath Temple
Maintaining the original site, the present temple is said to have built for
the seventh time. The first temple of Somnath is regarded as a structure in
Gold, made by Moon God himself. In the 7th century, Somnath Temple was
reconstructed by Maitraka kings of Vallabhi in Gujarat. The second structure
was destroyed by the Arab governor of Sind by the name of Junayad in 725.
Again in 815, the third structure was built by Nagabhata II, who was a
Pratihara King.
This structure was erected out of red sandstone. In 1024, the temple was
raided by Mahmud Ghazni, who took camel-loads of jewels and valuables from
here. The Paramara King Bhoj of Malwa and the Solanki King Bhima of Gujarat
(Anhilwara) took the initiative to rebuild the temple during 1026-1042. For
the fifth time, the wooden structure was replaced with a stone structure by
Kumarpal.
 Consequently, the temple was destroyed in 1297 by the Sutanat of Delhi and
once again in 1394. The last attack was made by the Mughal Emperor,
Aurangzeb in 1706. The present temple was built in 1995 by Shree Somnath
Trust in the company of the Government of India. Today, Somnath Temple is
under the maintenance of Shree Somnath Trust.
The historic temple of Somnath, which is also one of the jyotirlingas
located in Prabash Patan in Junagadh district.
General Information
 Restoration of temple after Independence
Statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in front of the temple. Before
independence, Prabhas Pattan was part of the princely state of Junagadh.
On the eve of independence the Nawab (ruler) of Junagadh announced the
accession of his state to Muslim-majority Pakistan, despite the state
population being 80% Hindu.[14] The people of Junagadh rose in revolt
and set up a parallel government under Samaldas Gandhi. Unable to resist
the popular pressure, the Nawab escaped to Pakistan. The
government-in-exile or the Aarzi Hukumat ("temporary government") under
Samaldas Gandhi formally asked the Government of India to take over. The
Deputy Prime Minister of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel came to
Junagadh on November 12, 1947 to direct the stabilization of the state
by the Indian Army and at the same time ordered the reconstruction of
the Somanath temple.
 When Sardar Patel, K. M. Munshi and other leaders of the Congress went
to Gandhi with the proposal of reconstructing the Somnath temple, Gandhi
blessed the move,but suggested that the funds for the construction
should be collected from the public and the temple should not be funded
by the state. He expressed that he was proud to associate himself to the
project of renovation of the temple.] But soon both Gandhi and Sardar
Patel died and the task of reconstruction of the temple continued under
K. M. Munshi, who was the Minister for Food and Civil Supplies in the
Nehru Government.
Somanath Temple from the beachThe ruins were pulled down in October 1950
and the mosque present at that site was shifted few miles away. In May
1951, Rajendra Prasad, the first President of the Republic of India,
invited by K M Munshi, performed the installation ceremony for the
temple. Rajendra Prasad said in his address "It is my view that the
reconstruction of the Somnath Temple will be complete on that day when
not only a magnificent edifice will arise on this foundation, but the
mansion of India's prosperity will be really that prosperity of which
the ancient temple of Somnath was a symbol." He added "The Somnath
temple signifies that the power of reconstruction is always greater than
the power of destruction"
This episode created a serious rift between the then Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru, who saw the movement for reconstruction of the temple
as an attempt at Hindu revivalism and the President Rajendra Prasad and
Union Minister K. M. Munshi, who saw in its reconstruction, the fruits
of freedom and the reversal of past injustice done to Hindus.[20]
The present temple, which was built by Patel and Munshi, is managed by
Shree Somnath Trust.
Architecture of the Temple
Arrow Pillar or Baan-StambhThe present temple is built in the Chalukya
style of temple architecture or Kailash Mahameru Prasad Style and
reflects the skill of the Sompura Salats, Gujarat's master masons.
The Somnath temple is dedicated to Someshwara, another
 name of Lord
Shiva with moon on his head. The temple is situated in Saurashtra. It is
believed that Somraj, the Moon God himself had originally built the
temple out of gold. Somnath is the first of all the 12 jyotirlingas.
Though the temple is of Hindu origin, the Architecture has Jain
influences. The Somnath temple has been destroyed six times and have
been rebuilt. The temple faces the east direction. Externally the
Somnath temple resembles the Rudramala temple at Siddhapur. The dome of
the temple is the biggest ever made in this century. The temple has
large central hall with entrances on three sides, each protected by a
lofty porch. The temple carvings and the sculptures speak about the
great artistic endeavor made by the craftsmen of that era. At a certain
interval in the balconied corridor is a deformed Nataraja statue.
Somnath is also known by different names like- Deo pattan, Prabhas
Pattan or Pattan Somnath. It is believed that 2000 priests served the
idol of the temple. The Somnath temple has a long history attached to
it. The first temple of Somnath is believed to have existed before the
christian era. The second temple was built by the Maitraka Kings of
Vallabhi in Gujarat. The Pratihara King- Nagabhata II constructed the
third temple. The fourth temple was built by the Paramara King Bhoj of
Malwa and the Solanki King. Kumarpal built the fifth temple and was
again destroyed by Mughal emperor Aurangazeb. The present temple is the
seventh temple and has been rebuilt and taken care by Shree Somnath
trust.
Skanda Purana, in a chapter on Prabhasa Khanda, describes the emergence
of this Jyotirlinga. Legend goes that the moon was married to the 27
daughters of Daksha Prajapati. Amongst all his wives, he had special
love towards Rohini and neglected the others. Seeing the negligence of
Chandra towards his other wives Prajapati Daksha cursed Chandra that he
would lose his beauty and radiance. But because of a moon devoid of
radiance and beauty the entire world became lifeless. A disturbed
Chandra, came down to Prabhasa with Rohini and worshipped the Sparsa
Linga of Somnath after which he was blessed by Shiva to grow and shine
in the bright half. As the moon regained his light here, this town came
to be known as Prabhasa. Brahma, one of the trinity, installed the
Brahmashila, and paved way for the construction of the temple. On the
request of the Chandrama and other gods Bhagwan Shankar assumed the name
Somchandra (Jyotirlinga) and resided there eternally. He became famous
by the name Somnath in the three worlds. Since, it was the Prabhas
Kshetra where Bhagwan Shri Krishna performed all his Lilas. In this
temple there is a small cave in which a lamp burns continuously. The
Skanda Purana describes the Sparsa Linga of Somnath as one bright as the
sun, the size of an egg, lodged underground. The Mahabharata also refers
to the Prabhasa Kshetra and the legend of the moon worshipping Shiva.It
is believed that the Somnath temple here 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.
Places of Interest
Prabhas Patan (Bhalka Tirtha) - "Bhalka" is the name of the village, and
"Tirtha" indicates that it is a holy place. After the destruction of the
Yadu and Bhoja dynasties in Dwarka, Lord Krishna left his palaces and
came to this area called Prabhasaksetra. Uddhava accompanied him. When
he was absorbed in deep thought, a hunter named Jara shot an arrow that
accidentally hit Krishna?s foot, apparently wounding him.There is a
temple built by the tree that is said to be the same tree under which
Krishna was sitting. On the altar there is a white Deity of Krishna in a
sitting posture. One can see the bottom of Krishna?s foot, pink colored
with different auspicious symbols. Nearby is the hunter, Jara, with
folded hands and one knee on the floor. This place is a few km east of
Veraval on the road to Somnath.
Gita Mandir - is located at the confluence of three rivers, or Triveni
Tirtha, about 1km south of the Somnath Temple by the sea. It is said
that Lord Krishna walked about 4km from Bhalka Tirtha to this place
after he was s hot in the foot by the hunter, and left the planet at
this point. There are a few other temples here and the place where Lord
Balarama is said to have left the planet.
Suraja Mandir - Its a very Ancient Temple and dedicated to the sun god,
was half broken by Mahmud of Ghazni. It has some carving on it
Getting there and Around
By Air - The nearest airport is at Keshod, 47 kms, which is
connected with Bombay.
By Rail - Veraval (5 kms) is nearest railway station .
By Road - State Transport buses and private luxury coaches connect
various centres of Gujarat. |
|
|
|
