JYOTIRLINGA TOUR OF AN OLD COUPLE (15)

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JYOTIRLINGA TOUR OF AN OLD COUPLE (15).

28th July, 2009 - Tuesday.

As planned earlier we went to Somnatheswar Jyotirlinga Mahadev temple by 5-30 am. First we went to the temple of Lord Vighneswara which is situated on the right hand side after entering the temple from its Mahadwar and performed puja to the Lord. Then we proceeded to the main temple and I again purchased a Rudrabhishekam ticket for Rs.100. After darshan of Mahadev, the priest performed sankalpam and after reciting Namakam and performing manasika puja from outside we came out of the Sanctum Sanctorium, taking leave from Mahadev and requesting him to grant another opportunity of visiting Him.

BRIEF HISTORY OF SOMNATH TEMPLE AND SOME FACTS :

Legend says that Somnath temple was originally built by Moon God out of Gold, later by Ravana with Silver and then again by Sri Krishna in Wood and yet again by Bhimdev Solanki in stone in 10th century. The temple was destroyed by Muslim Invaders/Rulers several times and the temple now existing was rebuilt in1950 by K.M. Munshi with the prerana of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. It is said that Lord Somanatheswar was known as Bhairaveshwar in Krita Yug, Shravanikeshwar in Treta Yug and Shrigaleshwar in Dwapar Yug. It is believed that taking bath in the Sea and worshipping Somnatheswar will surely restore health.

From the beginning the Somanatheswar temple is considered as the richest temple in the country. It is also historically recorded by a Muslim Traveller in 10th Century that the temple existing was one of the Wonders of Things Created and Marvels of Things Existing. For these reasons the temple attracted several Muslim Rulers for plundering the wealth and destroying the Hindu faith so that Muslim faith can be spread in India. The Somnath idol in the Sanctum Sanctorium in 10th Century was considered as a Wonder of Things and a Marvel in that the icon was said to be hanging in the middle of the Sanctum Sanctorium without anything to support it from the below or from the above. It was held in the highest honour among the Hindus, and whoever beheld it floating in the air was struck with amazement, whether he was a Muslim or an infidel. Every Hindu brought his most precious things and offered the same to Somanatheswar.

The Kings endowed the temple with precious jewels and offered about 1000 villages for its maintenance. More than 1000 Brahmin priests and more than 500 Damsels were said to have been in the service of the Lord. The Muslim King who invaded the temple in the 10th century asked his companions what they had to say about the marvel of the idol, and of its staying in the air without any support, several of wisemen maintained that it was upheld by some hidden support. The King directed a person to go and feel all around and above and below it with a spear, which he did, but met with no obstacle. One of the attendants then stated his opinion that the canopy was made of loadstone, and the idol of iron, and that the ingenious builder had skilfully contrived that the magnet should not exercise a greater force on any one side and hence the idol was suspended in the middle. After obtaining the permission of the Sultan to remove some stones from the top of the canopy, the point was settled that when two stones were removed from the summit the idol swerved on one side, when more were taken away it inclined still further and finally rested on the ground. The present temple is the seventh temple reconstructed on the original site.


SOMNATH TEMPLE IN 1869.
When Md.Ghajani raided in 1024 AD and destroyed the temple and plundered the wealth, the then Ruler Ghogha Rana at the age of 90 died fighting against Ghajini. In 1296 AD Allauddin Khilji again destroyed the temple defeating the then King Raja Karan and killed 50000 soldiers and captured about 25000 as slaves. Finally in 1701 AD Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb destroyed the temple and constructed a mosque in its place using the material of the destructed temple. Queen Ahalya Bai built the temple by the side of the mosque in 1783 AD. Queen Ahalya Bai also similarly built the Kasi Viswanatha Temple in Varanasi by the side of the mosque constructed by Aurangazeb with the destructed material of Viswanath Temple. Each and every time the temple was destructed, it was rebuilt. But, it could not be built the way it was existing in 10th Century i.e., the idol hanging in the air in the middle of the Sanctum Sanctorium. However, the Darshini Gates of Somnath Temple taken by Muslim Rulers to Afghanistan were brought back by the mighty Sikh Army of Maharaj Ranjit Singh and appears to have been installed in the Golden Temple of Amritsir. In 1947 when the Nawab (Junagadh Nawab) declared independence and decided to merge the State in Pakistan, the Deputy Prime Minister of India Sardar Vallbhbhai Patel directed the occupation of the State by the Indian Army and at the same time ordered the reconstruction of the Somanath Temple. Finally after independence in 1947, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel determined to rebuild the temple by shifting the mosque. It was completed by KM Munshi and inaugurated by the President of India Dr.Rajendra Prasad, who saw in its reconstruction the fruits of freedom and reversal of injustice done to Hindus. The present rebuilt temple is looked after by Shree Somnath Trust which was created for the purpose.

Statue of Sardar Vallbhbhai Patel in front of the Temple.
Some hold the view that the reason for Ghajini Mohmmad raiding the Somanath Temple several times must be different from the looting of wealth. When once or twice the wealth of the temple is looted where were the valuables afterwards? Perhaps his aim must be different. The whereabouts of the Svayambhu Jyotirlingam were not known. It is said that he made the Jyotirlingam into pieces and taken away with him. There is no history of any piece preserved by any Muslim Ruler. Some are of the view that these pieces were used in the construction of Mosques in their Kingdoms. Will anyone take so much trouble several times to use a piece of stone plundered in construction of a Mosque? Why was not the richest temple nearby was not looted - Dwarakadheesh Temple in Dwaraka? Some still hold the view that Ghajini Mohammad raided several times the Somnath temple to have the darshan of the Jyotirlingam and finally must have taken the same along with him to his Kingdom.
Had Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel been alive for a few more years, perhaps, he would have found a peaceful solution to the temples of Ayodhya and Varanasi, the most precious temples of Hindus.
ARROWN PILLAR
ARROW PILLAR erected on the sea-protection wall at the Somnath Temple. The temple is situated at such a place that there is no land in between from Somnath Seashore to Antarctica South Pole. Such an inscription in Sanskrit is found on this Arrow Pillar.
Having completed the darshan of twelve Jyotirlinga Temples with the final visit to Somanatheswar Temple, we came out of temple premises by 9 am and proceeded to the Restaurant near our Room for breakfast. After finishing breakfast returned to the room and started our onward journey to Hyderabad. This time we decided to proceed direct to Hyderabad without making any further pilgrimage on the way, as my wife wished to be at Home in time for Varalakshmi Vratam to be performed on 31st July.
BY 10 am we started from the room and by evening 9 pm reached Bharucha Town via Mahuva, Bhavnagar, Dholera, Nagra, Jambusar. Though the roads in Gujarat State are very good, this stretch is the worst. Stayed in Hotel Rang at a cost of Rs.960 after 10% discount.



29th July, 2009 - Wednesday.
We started at 7 am from Bharucha, the mileage of our tour reaching 5,108 km. By 7 pm in the evening reached Pune for night halt, via Valsad, Talasari, Mandva, Bhiwandi, Navi Mumbai travelling on NH 8 and from Navi Mumbai on Express High Way to Pune on NH 4. Here I have to mention about the traffic jam in Bhiwandi Town. We were stuck up in the traffic jam for more than 4 hours. When enquired the Lorrywalas and autowalas stated that this was a regular feature in Bhiwandi Town. The roads were so dirty with pot holes and by no stretch of imagination, they can be called Roads. My friend Dr.Ramji made arrangements in I.T.Guest House in Pune for our night stay.
30th July, 2009 - Thursday.
By 6-15 am we started from Pune the tour mileage reading 5,593 km. We reached our Home at Hyderabad by 7-15 pm travelling on NH 9 via Tambhurni, Solapur, Umargaon, Homnabad, Zaheerabad, Sadasivpet, BHEL. The tour mileage on reaching our Home was 6,156 Km.
SOME USELESS TOUR DETAILS
TOTAL DISTANCE TRAVELLED : 6,156 KM.
NUMBER OF DAYS : 27 Days.
PUNYA KSHETRAS VISITEED : Ganugapur, Tuljapur, Bhimasankaram, Nashik, Omkareshwar, Ujjain, Ajmir, Pushkar, Deshnok (Karni Mata temple), Nathdwar, Mt. Abu, Gandhinagar, Dwaraka, Bet Dwaraka, Nageswara Jyotirlingam, Gopi Talab, Harshad Mata Temple, Veraval, and Somnath.
TOURIST/HISTORICAL PLACES VISITED : Chittoregarh, Bikanir, Jaisalmer, Sam village (Thar desert), Jodhpur, Udaipur, & Ahmedabad.
TOLL FEES PAID ON NATIONAL HIGH WAYS : Rs.1,151/-.
PETROL CONSUMED : 358 LITRES at Rs.18,802/
VEHICLE USED IN THE TOUR : Maruti WagonR - 2005 Model.
NAMES OF OLD COUPLE : Mr.Raghavarao U.V.G.V. Duggirala - 64 Years and Mrs.Girija Vardhani - 60 Years.
NAMES OF STATES INVOLVED : Starting from Andhra Pradesh --Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
OM TAT SAT OM TAT SAT OM TAT SAT
RAGHAVARAO U.V.G.V. DUGGIRALA,
HYDERABAD, Dt.18th OCTOBER, 2009.

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Comments

[ramanamurty]

thanx a lot
very interesting travellog. I have just planned to visit somanath,dwaraka,ujjain,omkareswar,ghrishneswar,varanasi,gaya,allahabad,chitrakoot, places. I felt extremely happy to read the travellog, which would certainly help me in my tour. Ofcourse, i planned by air, wherever flights are available and by trains and buses. thanx a lot Had u given ur mobile or landline, certainly I would have thanked you over phone. Anyway, please accept my sincere thanks for giving so much information, very clearly and useful things. --- ramanamurty

[Raghavarao]

Thank you for your nice comments.