Somnath Jyotirlinga

The story of this place

The tradition says that Soma, the Moon god, was cursed by his father in law Daksha and lost his light. He came to Prabhas, worshipped Lord Shiva here, and was freed of the curse. The Lord then stayed on at this spot as Somnath, the Lord of the Moon, and the tradition counts this as the first place where Lord Shiva appeared as a Jyotirlinga.

The temple's history is a long story of destruction and rebuilding. Invaders razed it again and again, the raid of Mahmud of Ghazni in 1026 being the most infamous, and devotees raised it again every time. After independence, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel took the vow to rebuild Somnath, and on Gandhiji's advice the money came from the public, not from the government. After Sardar Patel passed away, K. M. Munshi carried the work forward, and on 11 May 1951 Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, performed the pran pratishtha of the new Jyotirlinga. The present temple is built in the Kailas Mahameru Prasad style, with a shikhara of about 155 feet.

This soil is sacred for one more reason. The tradition holds that Bhagwan Shri Krishna left his body near here and began his final journey to his own dham. Bhalka Tirth, where the hunter's arrow struck him, is a short drive away.

What you will see

The temple stands right on the sea, and the first sight of the shikhara against the open water stays with you. Inside, the Jyotirlinga sits in a calm, spacious sanctum, and the sound of the waves follows you even into the queue.

On the sea protection wall behind the temple stands the Baan Stambh, an arrow pillar. Its inscription tells you that from this point to Antarctica there is no land in a straight line, only the open ocean. Standing there, with the whole sea in front of the Lord, is a moment every pilgrim remembers.

Within a short distance you can also visit the Triveni Sangam, where three rivers meet the sea, Bhalka Tirth with its temple marking Shri Krishna's final leela, and the old Ahalyabai temple built in the years when the main shrine lay in ruins. In the evening, the Jay Somnath light and sound show narrates the temple's story of faith and rebuilding under the open sky.

Darshan, timings and temple etiquette

The temple is open every day, and darshan generally runs from 6 in the morning to 10 at night. Aarti is performed three times a day, in the morning, at noon and in the evening, and the light and sound show runs for an hour after the evening aarti, except during the monsoon months. Timings can change on festival days, so please check somnath.org, the official website of the Shree Somnath Trust, before you go.

Entry to the temple is free. One rule surprises many first time visitors: mobiles, cameras, smartwatches and all electronic items are strictly not allowed inside. Free lockers are available at the cloak room, so plan to keep everything there and walk in with empty hands. Footwear is removed outside, and the shoe house is also free.

Dress respectfully; the trust does not permit revealing clothes. Wheelchairs and golf carts are available at the main gate for elders, and there is a lift inside the temple premises. Photography inside is prohibited, so simply stand before the Lord and take darshan with your eyes.

Best time to visit

October to March is the best season, when the coastal air is pleasant and the evenings by the sea are lovely. Summer, from April to June, is hot and humid, though the temple remains full of devotees.

In the monsoon, from July to September, the sea turns dramatic and the crowds thin out, but remember that the light and sound show does not run in the rainy season.

Shravan month, Mahashivratri and the Kartik Purnima fair are the great occasions here, when the temple town overflows with devotion. If you want those festivals, book your rooms far in advance; if you want quiet darshan, avoid those very dates.

How to reach

Somnath has its own railway station only about half a kilometre from the temple, and Veraval, a bigger junction, is about 7 km away. Trains connect this coast with Ahmedabad, Rajkot and other cities of Gujarat.

By air, Diu is the nearest airport at about 85 km, Rajkot is about 200 km, and Ahmedabad, about 390 km, has the widest flight connections. Most of our guests fly into Ahmedabad or Rajkot and drive down through Saurashtra.

Somnath sits beautifully on the Gujarat pilgrimage circuit. Dwarka, the dham of Shri Krishna, is about 230 km along the coast, the Gir forest with its lions is about 65 km, and the quiet beaches of Diu are about 85 km. A week in Saurashtra covers all of this at an easy pace, and this is one of our most loved family circuits.

Tips from our travel experts

Plan your day around the evening. Take your main darshan in the late afternoon, stay for the evening aarti, and then sit for the light and sound show; that sequence gives you Somnath at its finest. The Tirth Darshan bus of the trust leaves from the main gate in the morning and afternoon and covers the nearby temples at a nominal charge.

Since electronics are not allowed inside, keep only your wallet and locker token with you and leave the rest at your hotel or in the free cloak room. The trust runs its own guest houses, Sagar Darshan, Lilavati and Maheshwari, which can be booked online on somnath.org; the sea facing rooms at Sagar Darshan are simple and very close to the temple.

Keep half a day for Bhalka Tirth and the Triveni Sangam. Reading the story of Shri Krishna's last journey and then standing at these very places is an experience that quietly stays with you.

For our NRI and OCI travellers

Somnath is one of the easiest Jyotirlinga darshans to plan from abroad. Fly into Ahmedabad, which has direct international connections, and the drive through Saurashtra is smooth. The trust's website offers live darshan, online pooja and donation facilities, and online prasad booking, so your family can stay connected with the temple from anywhere in the world.

Many of our overseas guests combine Somnath with Dwarka for a complete Krishna and Shiva yatra of Gujarat, and add Gir for the grandchildren. If your parents are travelling, the wheelchairs, golf carts and lift at the temple make the darshan genuinely comfortable. Do remind everyone in the family about the no mobile rule in advance; it saves confusion at the gate and honestly makes the darshan sweeter.