Somnath Temple

According to the Puranas, Somnath is the first Jyotirlinga. Somnath means Lord of Soma and temple is an eternal shrine. It is located on the southern tip of Saurashra (Gujarat). Its reference is found in vedas and Mahabharata. In older days it was believed that the water for Linga abhishek was brought from Kashi daily. This temple was a target for plunder during the Mugal invasion for a number of times. The temple has been rebuilt or renovated at least 7 times. There are still the telltale marks of the invasion and the plunder. Near this temple there is also another temple built by Maharani of Holkar. In this temple, the deities and valuables of Somnath temple were preserved to protect them from Mugal raids. Near this place and Veraval port lies Balakateertha where Lord Krishna met his end. At the triveni sangam of the rivers Hiranya, Saraswati and Kapila, the final rights of Lord Krishna were supposed to have been performed. 

The Linga at Somnath temple is a Sparsha Linga. There is a kunda known as Chandra Kunda which is believed to cure leprosy and tuberculosis. According to the Puranas, Chandra (Soma) performed severe penance to get rid of a curse. He was cursed by his father in-law – Daksha for paying more attention to Revathi than his other 26 wives. All 27 wives of Soma were daughters of Daksha. According to the curse, Chandra was to disappear completely. Lord Shiva was pleased by Soma’s penance and relieved him from the curse and granted a boon. According to this, he was to wane for 15 days and wax for 15 days i.e. he created Shukla paksha and Krishna paksha. The full moon was known as Pournima and new moon was Amavasya. Thus the Somanath Linga got its name due to the tapasya of Soma.