Somnath

સોમનાથ

Shiva · Somnath

Jyotirlinga

Prabhas Patan, Gir Somnath district, Gujarat · Shaiva tradition

It stands first in the enumerative shloka that fixes the Jyotirlinga order, which opens Saurashtre Somanatham cha.

The story begins: “Soma, the moon, is cursed and loses his lustre.”

Read the story
Directions

At the gate

Darshan hours
  • 6:00 am – 10:00 pm · Darshan
Next aarti or puja (India time)
See the schedule below
What to wear
The trust permits sarees, dhotis, trousers, t-shirts and skirts, and does not permit mini skirts or dress it describes as disrespectful.
Phones and bags
Electronic and electrical equipment is not permitted, including mobile phones, cameras, smartwatches, laptops, tablets and calculators.
Getting there
Routes not yet confirmed

Not yet confirmed: entry for visitors of other faiths, walking distance. Ask at the temple office or enquiry counter — and if you know, tell us. hello@aalayakatha.com

Full visiting details

Sthala purana

The story of this place

Told in: The Shiva Purana, Jnanasamhita

Soma's curse and the waxing moon

Soma, the moon, is cursed and loses his lustre. He travels to Prabhasa, bathes in the Saraswati at the point where the river meets the sea, and worships Shiva here until his light returns.

The remission is partial. In this account that is the explanation for the lunar cycle: the moon wanes and waxes rather than being extinguished or restored once and for all.

The site takes its name from the episode — Somanatha, the lord of Soma. The Jnanasamhita gives the story and the Jyotirlinga listing together.

The fuller Puranic frame around the curse — who pronounced it and why — is not told here, as we have not yet found it in a primary text; the circumstances differ between retellings.

Where this account comes from

  • Purana: Shiva Purana, Jnanasamhita 13
  • Scholarship: Romila Thapar, Somanatha: The Many Voices of a History, Penguin, 2004, pp. 18, 23–24

In one minute

Why Somnath matters

Each line says who it comes from and how settled it is. What the labels mean

  1. The shrine is listed among the twelve Jyotirlingas of Shiva in the Shiva Purana's Jnanasamhita.

    2 sources for: The shrine is listed among the twelve Jyotirlingas of Shiva in the Shiva Purana'
    • Purana: Shiva Purana, Jnanasamhita 13
    • Scholarship: Romila Thapar, Somanatha: The Many Voices of a History, Penguin, 2004, pp. 18, 23–24

  2. It stands first in the enumerative shloka that fixes the Jyotirlinga order, which opens Saurashtre Somanatham cha.

    Source for: It stands first in the enumerative shloka that fixes the Jyotirlinga order, whic
    • Hymn: Dvādaśa Jyotirliṅgāni, v.1 — the enumerative shloka beginning Saurāṣṭre Somanāthaṃ ca. No Purana chapter or verse attribution for it could be traced. greenmesg.org · seen 2026-09-18

  3. The medieval raids on the temple, and the question of what they actually destroyed, are among the most closely argued episodes in modern Indian historiography.

    Source for: The medieval raids on the temple, and the question of what they actually destroy
    • Scholarship: Romila Thapar, Somanatha: The Many Voices of a History, Penguin, 2004

  4. The building standing today was inaugurated in 1951, following a reconstruction begun in 1947.

    Source for: The building standing today was inaugurated in 1951, following a reconstruction
    • Press: The Week, "1951: When the rebuilt Somnath Temple was inaugurated", 13 January 2024 theweek.in · seen 2026-09-18

Shilpa

When you visit, look for…

Māru-Gurjara

Accounts of the 1951 reconstruction label its style differently — Māru-Gurjara in some, Chalukyan in others. It is shown here as Māru-Gurjara, but that is not yet verified: every account found for either label is a general encyclopedia or a compilation site, and neither has been traced to an architectural study of the building.

We have not yet sourced a description of the building — what to look for and where to stand. Until we can cite one, this stays empty rather than guessed.

Yatra

Plan your visit

Darshan times

Darshan6:00 am – 10:00 pm
Morning aarti7:00 am
Midday aarti12:00 pm
Evening aarti7:00 pm

Confirm on the day. Times change on festival days and without notice. These times are not from the temple’s own notice.

Before you go

  • Dress: The trust permits sarees, dhotis, trousers, t-shirts and skirts, and does not permit mini skirts or dress it describes as disrespectful.
  • Entry: Entry for visitors of other faiths is restricted — see the rules below (not yet verified)
  • Camera: No photography
  • Photography is strictly prohibited.
  • Electronic and electrical equipment is not permitted, including mobile phones, cameras, smartwatches, laptops, tablets and calculators.
  • The trust states that a person who has faith in Hinduism may offer prayer.

Walking, steps and access

We have not yet confirmed how much walking or climbing is involved, or whether there is wheelchair access. If you are travelling with elders, ask at the temple office or the devasthanam enquiry counter before you set out.

Getting there

Travel routes for this temple have not been confirmed yet.

PIN 362268 (not yet checked with India Post)

The order of darshan

No published source gives the order in which to visit the shrines here, so we have not invented one. Follow the queue and the temple staff.

Festivals

The temple’s festival calendar has not been sourced yet.

Itihasa

Through time

Two registers, kept apart on purpose: what the Puranas tell, and what the historical record shows. They answer different questions and we do not force them to agree.

In the Puranas and tradition

  1. Soma worships at Prabhasa and recovers his light

    The Jnanasamhita account of the site's origin. The Jnanasamhita does not say in which yuga this happened.

    Source for: Soma worships at Prabhasa and recovers his light
    • Purana: Shiva Purana, Jnanasamhita 13

In the historical record

  1. c. 1026

    Raid by Mahmud of Ghazni

    Sources differ on the year, with 1026 and 1027 both argued from the contemporary material, and they differ more sharply on the scale of what was destroyed. Later tradition reporting tens of thousands of deaths is treated by Thapar as a formulaic figure serving Mahmud's reputation rather than a count.

    Disagrees with: An inscription at the site that does not mention a destruction

    Source for: Raid by Mahmud of Ghazni
    • Scholarship: Romila Thapar, Somanatha: The Many Voices of a History, Penguin, 2004

  2. 1038

    An inscription at the site that does not mention a destruction

    Thapar reads a 1038 inscription from the site as puzzlingly silent about any destruction twelve years earlier, and argues from it for desecration and rapid repair rather than the total demolition of later accounts. The silence is evidence, and it is contested evidence.

    Disagrees with: Raid by Mahmud of Ghazni

    Source for: An inscription at the site that does not mention a destruction
    • Scholarship: Romila Thapar, Somanatha: The Many Voices of a History, Penguin, 2004

  3. 1947

    Reconstruction begun under the Somnath Trust

    Vallabhbhai Patel visited the ruins in November 1947 and resolved on rebuilding. K. M. Munshi coordinated the project and Prabhashankar Sompura designed the new shrine. Funding came from donations and princely states rather than the union government.

    Source for: Reconstruction begun under the Somnath Trust
    • Press: The Week, "1951: When the rebuilt Somnath Temple was inaugurated", 13 January 2024 theweek.in · seen 2026-09-18

  4. 1951

    Present temple inaugurated

    The rebuilt temple was inaugurated on 11 May 1951 by Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India.

    Source for: Present temple inaugurated
    • Press: The Week, "1951: When the rebuilt Somnath Temple was inaugurated", 13 January 2024 theweek.in · seen 2026-09-18

Around here

Worth the detour

Nearby places have not been added yet.

Sources

Where this page comes from

  • Purana: Shiva Purana, Jnanasamhita 13
  • Hymn: Dvādaśa Jyotirliṅgāni, vv. 1–3 — the enumerative shloka beginning Saurāṣṭre Somanāthaṃ ca greenmesg.org · seen 2026-09-18
  • Scholarship: Romila Thapar, Somanatha: The Many Voices of a History, Penguin, 2004
  • Temple administration: Shree Somnath Trust, FAQs somnath.org · seen 2026-09-18
  • Press: The Week, "1951: When the rebuilt Somnath Temple was inaugurated", 13 January 2024 theweek.in · seen 2026-09-18
Corrections made to this page (2)
  • 2026-09-18: changed “Dvadasa Jyotirlinga Stotram, v.1” to “Dvādaśa Jyotirliṅgāni, v.1 — the enumerative shloka beginning Saurāṣṭre Somanāthaṃ ca”. Two different texts circulate under the name Dvadasa Jyotirlinga Stotram: the short enumerative shloka that fixes the canonical order, and a longer 13-verse devotional stotram in a different metre beginning Saurāṣṭradeśe viśade'tiramye. The earlier citation named the wrong one. No Purana chapter and verse attribution for the enumerative shloka could be traced in any reachable source, and the commonly repeated attribution to the Shiva Purana's Kotirudra Samhita is not supported by anything found.
  • 2026-10-09: changed “traditional” to “canonical”. A dated 1947 event reported by a dated documentary source; graded the same way as every other dated modern event in the dataset.

Cite this page

Aalaya Katha Foundation, “Somnath”, Aalaya Katha, version last reviewed 2026-09-18. https://www.aalayakatha.com/temple/somnath (accessed ).

Last reviewed 2026-09-18. How we label sources and confidence