Few shrines in India carry a past as dramatic as Somnath temple history: a story written in stone, fire and faith on the Saurashtra coast. Repeatedly raided and repeatedly rebuilt across the centuries, the temple at Prabhas Patan stands today as it has stood in the devotion of pilgrims for millennia — unbowed. Understanding this layered history transforms a visit from sightseeing into pilgrimage, much as the layered traditions of the Narmada’s island shrine deepen a journey to Omkareshwar. Here is the story, told respectfully and with dates held lightly where records differ.
The Shrine Beyond the Sea: Origins in Tradition
According to tradition, Prabhasa — the sacred region around present-day Prabhas Patan — was already an ancient tirtha long before any temple stood here. The Puranas celebrate Prabhasa as a place of sacrifice and penance, and the founding legend of the shrine itself concerns the Moon God (Soma), who was cursed with waning brilliance and regained his full lustre after worshipping Lord Shiva at this shore. The deity thus came to be revered as Somnath, the Lord of the Moon, and the shrine took his name.
By the early medieval period, descriptions from travellers and later chroniclers suggest that Somnath had grown into one of the wealthiest and most celebrated temples of the subcontinent, drawing pilgrims and patrons from across western India and lands beyond the sea. That wealth, and the shrine’s commanding position on the coast, would soon draw darker attention.
Waves of Destruction: The Raids and Rebuildings
The most famous rupture in Somnath temple history came in the early 11th century, when, as historical records describe, the raid led by Mahmud of Ghazni despoiled the temple and carried away its treasures. This was neither the first nor the last calamity to strike the shrine: over the following centuries, the temple suffered several more raids and periods of abandonment, alternating with patient reconstruction by local rulers, merchant guilds and devotees.
Each cycle followed a similar rhythm — destruction, grief, and then rebuilding, sometimes smaller, sometimes grander. By the late 18th century, Queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore, the great restorer of shrines across India, is credited with establishing an adjacent temple where uninterrupted worship could continue, a practice that sustained devotees through the decades that followed. It is this rhythm of return that devotees point to when they say the shrine itself was never truly destroyed.
The 1951 Reconsecration: A Temple Rises Again
The most celebrated rebirth began shortly after Independence. In late 1947, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel visited Somnath and committed to rebuilding the temple on its original site — a project that carried immense symbolic weight for the young nation. After Patel’s passing in December 1950, the work was carried forward under the leadership of K. M. Munshi, with the design entrusted to the architect Prabhashankar Sompura.
The new temple, built in the Chalukya (Solanki) style of western Indian temple architecture, was reconsecrated in May 1951, with the installation ceremony performed, as historical accounts record, by the then President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad. For pilgrims, the reconsecration is not merely a date in twentieth-century history; it is the most recent chapter of a far older story of renewal.
| Approximate Period | What Happened (as Recorded or Handed Down) |
|---|---|
| Ancient times | Prabhasa celebrated as a sacred tirtha; the Soma–Shiva legend establishes the shrine |
| Early medieval period | Somnath grows into one of India’s most renowned and wealthy temples |
| Early 11th century | The famous raid associated with Mahmud of Ghazni |
| Later medieval centuries | Repeated raids and repeated rebuilding by rulers and devotees |
| Late 18th century | Ahilyabai Holkar is credited with an adjacent temple for continuous worship |
| 1947–1951 | Reconstruction under Sardar Patel’s initiative; reconsecration in May 1951 |
| Today | The present Chalukya-style temple, administered by the Shree Somnath Trust |
Architecture of the Present Temple
The temple you see today is a masterwork of the Chalukya style: a carved stone shikhara rising approximately 45–50 metres per most descriptions, a pillared mandapa, and sculpted panels executed by craftsmen working in the Sompura lineage. The sanctum enshrines the Jyotirlinga, and the temple’s orientation deliberately opens the shrine’s presence toward the sea.
On the shoreline stands the Baan Stambh, the ancient arrow pillar, whose inscription — according to the claim engraved upon it — indicates that no land lies between Somnath and the South Pole across the open ocean. Whether read as geography or as poetry, the pillar expresses what the shrine has always meant: that from this point, the devotee’s gaze reaches to the very end of the world with nothing between them and the divine.
The Deeper Meaning: Why Devotees Call Somnath Eternal
What makes Somnath temple history spiritually compelling is not the catalogue of catastrophes but the response to them. Every generation that saw the shrine broken also saw devotees return — with chisels, with wealth, with bare hands and bhajans — to raise it again. This is the conviction captured in the phrase beloved of pilgrims, that Shree Somnath is eternal: the linga of faith could be hidden, scattered or buried, but never extinguished.
For pilgrims planning a visit, this history is best absorbed in person — at morning darshan, at Triveni Sangam where the rivers meet the sea, and in the evening retelling of the temple’s story. Our practical Somnath darshan guide covers timings, routes and stay options, and the temple’s place among the twelve is set out in our list of the 12 Jyotirlingas.
Summary
Somnath’s history is India’s own story of resilience rendered in stone: a shrine praised in the Puranas, raided and toppled across the medieval centuries, patiently rebuilt by devotees like Ahilyabai Holkar, and reconsecrated in 1951 through the resolve of Sardar Patel and the labours of K. M. Munshi and the Sompura craftsmen. The dates deserve to be held approximately — records and traditions differ on details — but the essence is undisputed: destruction wrote chapters, yet faith wrote the book. To stand before the Somnath Jyotirlinga today is to stand at the meeting point of all those chapters, where the sea has watched it all and the temple, as devotees say, stands eternal.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many times was the Somnath temple destroyed?
Historical records and temple traditions document several destructions and rebuildings over the centuries, beginning with the famous early 11th century raid. Each period of destruction was followed by reconstruction, which is why devotees describe the shrine as eternal.
Who rebuilt the present Somnath temple?
The present temple was rebuilt after Independence as an initiative of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, with the work carried forward under K. M. Munshi and architect Prabhashankar Sompura. It was reconsecrated in May 1951.
What architectural style is the present Somnath temple?
The present structure follows the Chalukya (Solanki) style of western Indian temple architecture, with a carved stone shikhara that rises approximately 45–50 metres per most descriptions.