Somnath Temple: A Thousand Years of Destruction and Rebuilding

Somnath stands at Prabhas Patan near Veraval, on the Arabian Sea coast of Gujarat. A Jyotirlinga is a shrine where Shiva is believed to have appeared as a column of light. Tradition counts twelve of them. Somnath is counted first among them.

What makes the site holy?

• The temple lies where the Kapila, Hiran and Sarasvati rivers meet the sea.
• Tradition says the Moon god, Chandra, was freed from a curse here by Shiva’s blessing.
• The name Somnath means “lord of the Moon”, since Soma is the Moon.
• Tradition says it was built in gold, then silver, then wood, then stone.
• Official pages call the present temple the seventh existing temple.

What is the memory hook?

Think “first of twelve, at Prabhas Patan”. Rank, place and name go together.

Al-Biruni was a scholar of the early 11th century who wrote a long account of India. He calls Somnath the most famous idol-worship place of south-west Sindh. He also says why. It was a harbour for sailors. That is the “description” UPSC meant.

What details does he give?

• Pilgrims brought a jug of Ganges water daily, and flowers from Kashmir.
• People believed the lingam, a stone symbol of Shiva, cured every old illness.
• Sailors sailing between East Africa and China stopped at its harbour.
• He links the name to the tides, with the Moon ruling ebb and flow.

What does he say about the destruction?

• He dates the destruction of Somnath to year 416 of the Hijra.
• The Hijra is the Islamic calendar, counted from AD 622.
• He adds that part of the idol lay in the hippodrome at Ghazna.
• A hippodrome is an open ground for horse and chariot races.

What is the memory hook?

Think “Al-Biruni: harbour, tides, Hijra 416”. One scholar, three clues.

Mahmud of Ghazni attacked Somnath in January 1026, the first recorded attack. He looted its treasure and broke the lingam. The Chaulukya king Bhima I ruled Gujarat then. Chaulukya was a ruling dynasty of Gujarat.

How do sources date and describe it?

• Official pages give January 1026 as the first attack.
• Some pages say late 1025 or early 1026.
• One source reports a two-day battle, with about 70,000 defenders killed.
• That figure is an estimate, so do not treat it as exact.

How was it rebuilt afterwards?

• Bhima I and Raja Bhoj are named among the rebuilders.

What is the memory hook?

Think “Mahmud, Bhima I, loot, 1026”. Raider, king, plunder and year in one line.

The temple fell again and again, and was rebuilt each time. Kumarapala rebuilt it in stone in the 12th century. Later sultanate raids broke it again. In the 1780s Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore built a new temple beside the ruins. It kept worship alive.

What is the usual timeline?

• Kumarapala (reigned 1143-72) replaced a decaying wooden temple with stone. A 1169 inscription records it.
• Ulugh Khan, a general of Alauddin Khalji, sacked it in 1299. One source gives 1297.
• Mahipala I, a Chudasama king of Saurashtra, rebuilt it in 1308.
• His son Khengara installed the lingam between 1331 and 1351.
• Zafar Khan, later founder of the Gujarat Sultanate, destroyed it in 1395. One source gives 1394.
• One source says it was destroyed again in 1706, under Aurangzeb.

What did Ahilyabai Holkar do?

• She was the Holkar queen of Indore.
• She decided in 1783 to build a new Somnath temple, paying from her personal treasury.
• She placed it slightly inland, away from sea waves.
• The new shrine stood next to the ruined original.
• Worship could then go on without a break.

What is the memory hook?

Think “Kumarapala stone, Ulugh Khan 1299, Ahilyabai 1783”. Builder, breaker, saver.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel ordered the rebuilding of Somnath in November 1947. K. M. Munshi, a Cabinet minister, backed the work. Dr Rajendra Prasad, President of India, consecrated the temple on 11 May 1951. In 2026 the nation marked 1,000 years since 1026 and 75 years since 1951.

How did the rebuilding begin?

• Patel came to Junagadh on 12 November 1947, around Diwali, and ordered the rebuilding.
• The Cabinet first chose to rebuild at government cost.
• Gandhi advised Patel to raise the money from the people instead.
• Patel accepted, and a Trust was formed to collect funds.
• Jam Saheb Digvijay Singh gave one lakh rupees and was the Trust’s first chairman.

Who performed the consecration?

• Prasad went and performed the Pran Pratishtha on 11 May 1951.
• Pran Pratishtha is the rite that installs the deity in a temple.

What is the present temple like?

• It follows the Kailash Mahameru Prasad style.
• It has a garbhagriha (inner sanctum), a sabhamandap and a nrityamandap.
• The shikhara (tower) is about 150 to 155 feet tall.
• A 10-tonne Kalash crowns it.

What happened in 2026?

• Somnath Swabhiman Parv ran from 8 to 11 January 2026.
• It marked 1,000 years since 1026 and 75 years since the 1951 reopening.
• It included 72 hours of non-stop Omkar chanting.
• On 11 January, PM Modi took part in the Shaurya Yatra, with 108 horses.
• The yatra honoured warriors who died defending the temple.
• On 11 May 2026, the Somnath Amrut Mahotsav marked 75 years since the reopening.

What is the memory hook?

Think “Patel 1947, Gandhi’s advice, Prasad 1951”. Vow, funding, ceremony.

UPSC CSE Prelims 2022 asked about Somnath in GS Paper I, Q96. Statement 1 (Jyotirlinga) and statement 2 (Al-Biruni) were correct. Statement 3 was false. The 1951 Pran Pratishtha was by President Rajendra Prasad, not S. Radhakrishnan. The answer was (a), 1 and 2 only.

Which traps repeat?

• Prasad, then President, performed the 1951 consecration. S. Radhakrishnan is the false option.
• Do not mix up the 1951 temple with Ahilyabai’s smaller 1783 temple.
• Mahmud’s raid is 1025-26. Hijra year 416 is the Al-Biruni date.
• Later destruction dates differ by source, 1297 or 1299 and 1394 or 1395. Prefer the dates in the question stem.
• The Parv covered two anniversaries: 1,000 years and 75 years.

What is the memory hook?

Think “Somnath: Al-Biruni wrote, Prasad consecrated”. Writer and installer, never Radhakrishnan.