Somnath Temple History Significance and Redevelop

on the western coast of gujarat lies the magnificent temple the first jyotirling amongst 12 in the country it is one of the oldest pilgrimage sites for the hindus and finds reference in skandapuran srimad bhagavad-gita shivpuran and rigvede it is said that somraj the moon god first built a temple in somnath made of gold this was rebuilt by raman in silver by krishna in bud and by bhimdev in stone however this temple was destroyed 17 times by various invaders hi i'm richard vedi and today we take a look at the somnath mandir's current form and what all efforts have been made to preserve this part of our history in india that is [Music] temple was one of the wealthiest temples in india ever known a description of the temple by al-biruni an arab traveler was so glowing that it prompted a visit in 1024 80 by probably the most unwelcome tourist the legendary looter mahmoud of ghazni from afghanistan at that time the temple was so wealthy that it had 300 musicians 500 performers and even 300 barbers mahmoud of ghazni took the town and temple after a two-day battle in which it is said 70 000 defenders died mahmoud not only stripped it off its wealth but also shattered the jyotirling with its sword and so began a pattern of destruction and rebuilding that continued for centuries the temple was again raised by mughals in 1297-80 1394-80 and finally in 1706 by oranjee following india's freedom from the british rule and the accession of junagar state into indian.

union saldar bhai patel the then union home minister pledged that sumnat will be reconstructed and restored to its original glory however when patel approached mahatma gandhi with the idea gandhi endorsed the plan but said instead of the government funding it the contribution for the reconstruction of the temple should come from the public following the demise of patel the task of the restoration of the temple was ably led by km munshi a cabinet minister in the jawaharlal nehru government dr rajendra prasad india's first president had performed the installation ceremony of the temple in 1951. 

he said and i quote by rising from its ashes again the temple of somnath is so to stay proclaiming to the world that no man and no power in the world can destroy that for which people have boundless faith and love in their hearts we are reinstalling the idle today and it is my conviction that it will as long as it has place and foundation in the hearts of the people he also added that it was the creative urge for civilizational renewal nurtured in the hearts of the people through centuries that had once again led to the pran pratishtha of the somnath deity the rebuilding of somnath will not be complete till india attains the prosperity of the yesteryear he said but the all india radio had blacked out dr rajyantra prasad's speech from airing the then prime minister jawala nehru distanced himself from the ceremony days before the inauguration he had called km munchie and said that he didn't like the idea of restoration and that it was hindu revivalism however the ceremony was attended by more than 100 000 devotees from all over the country who arrived in trains planes and bullock carts to witness one of the biggest moments of dharmic history during the time the sumnat temple was planned to become a cultural center a sanskrit university was announced to be set up that would make it an intellectual center for scholars from all over the world eventually over the years the somnath temple complex was developed into a cultural center as aid the somnath sanskrit university was set up by the then chief minister of gujarat narendra modi in 2005 with the aim to preserve india's cultural and linguistic heritage it was also during his tenure that several decisions to develop the sunnat temple.

complex were taken in another indicator about the significance of the solar temple the temple trust appointed prime minister narendra modi as its chairman this year making him the second prime minister after murarji desai to hold the position to add to the ongoing development of the somnath temple as a cultural center the somnath promenade somnath exhibition center and the reconstructed present of old sumnath at the somnath temple complex near viral was inaugurated by prime minister narendra modi today via video conferencing he also laid the foundation stone of a temple dedicated to goddess parvati that will be constructed with a total outlay of rupees 30 crores the construction will be done in sum pura salat's architectural style and will have a garbhagriha which is the sanctum santorum and nithyananda the 1.48 kilometer promenade has been developed under prasad which is pilgrimage rejuvenation and spiritual heritage augmentation drive scheme at a total cost of rupees 47 crores this will not only add to pilgrim facilities but also prevent erosion of the coast the exhibition center displays the exhibits from dismantled parts of old somnath temple and its sculptures having nagar style temple architecture of old sonar our heritage our history our temples our culture have withstood the test of time and with the right intent and will they can be preserved for our future generations centers of devotion and faith that bring millions of devotees together that share the same roots in this land that is bharat do let us know in the comments below how you liked this episode of india that is bharat until next time this is richard signing off namaste.