Somnath, a symbol of eternality. 

How large was the original Jyotir Lingam? No definite account can tell us about the original Lingam. The Somnath Temple has been shattered and rebuilt several times, but the original Jyotir Linga stayed on till 1026AD, where this ancient and most precious Linga, formed spontaneously by the Lord, were destroyed by Mahmood Gazani, the Muslim invader. The next installed Linga was vandalised in 1300AD and and the following Jyotir Lingas also.

During an escavation in April 1940 by the Archeological Department of India the Brahma Shila, Brahma’s slab, was found and the Jyotir Linga were once again fixed on it.

The present Somnath Jyotir Linga was installed on Friday, the 11th May 1951 at 9.46AM by the then President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad.

The following extract is from “Wonders of Things Created, and marvels of Things Existing” by Zakariya al-Qazwini, a 13th century Arab geographer. It contains the description of Somnath temple and its destruction: 

“Somnath: celebrated city of India, situated on the shore of the sea, and washed by its waves. Among the wonders of that place was the temple in which was placed the idol called Somnath. This idol was in the middle of the temple without anything to support it from below, or to suspend it from above. It was held in the highest honor among the Hindus, and whoever beheld it floating in the air was struck with amazement, whether he was a Musulman or aninfidel. The Hindus used to go on pilgrimage to it whenever there was an eclipse of the moon, and would then assemble there to the number of more than a hundred thousand.”

“When the Sultan Yaminu-d Daula Mahmud Bin Subuktigin went to wage religious war against India, he made great efforts to capture and destroy Somnat, in the hope that the Hindus would then become Muhammadans. As a result thousands of Hindus were forcibly converted to Islam. He arrived there in the middle of Zi-l k’ada, 416 A.H. (December, 1025 A.D.). “The king looked upon the idol with wonder, and gave orders for the seizing of the spoil, and the appropriation of the treasures. There were many idols of gold and silver and vessels set with jewels, all of which had been sent there by the greatest personages in India. The value of the things found in the temples of the idols exceeded twenty thousand dinars.”

* It is herein that the greatness of Somnath Mahadev is really illuminated. Shiv is closely associated with funeral grounds and ashes; serving as a reminder of the cycle of birth and rebirth. He is known as the eternal and undying, and that the Lord’s temple here has been built and rebuilt seven times (rising up from the ashes of its previous forms) testifies to that very statement.