Somnath Trip – 2 : Tourist places in Somnath

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Dear Friends,

Somnath is a glittering tourist spot and a holy place of pilgrimage in Gujarat on the western coast of India. The glorious Somnath temple of Lord Shiva stands in magnificence facing the Arabian Sea.

Somnath is also known as Prabhas Patan somnath, as the Somnath Temple is situated in the town earlier known as Prabhas or Prabhas Patan. Somnath is only 6  kms from Veraval, a small port city on the coastal area of Saurashtra in Gujarat.

Somnath is an ancient place of pilgrimage which has links with two great Hindu deities – Lord Shiva and Lord Krishna.

Somnath is known for its Lord Shiva (Mahadev) temple with a Jyotirlinga. Friends! Some of you might be knowing that a Jyotirlinga is a swaroop (form) of Bhagawan Shiva with divine radiance. There are only 12 Jyotirlinga shrines of Bhagawan Shiva in India. Somnath is the place where Lord Krishna breathed his last and left for his heavenly abode. Thus, Bhagawan Krishna spent the last phase of his Avataar at Somnath.

The main places to visit in Somnath are-

• The Somnath Temple.
• NijDham Prasthan Tirth is a complex also known as Golok Dham or Dehotsarga. The vast complex contains Bhagawan Shri Krishna Charan Paduka, Gita Mandir, Balaram Dauji Sheshanag Cave and Lakshmi Narayan Temple.
• Parshuram Mandir- Jalprabhas Kund- Jaleshwar Mahadev.
• Triveni Sangam Ghat (the confluence of three rivers- Hiranya, Kapila and Saraswati).
• BhalkaTirth.
• ShashiBhushan Mahadev temple – Bhid Bhanjan Ganeshaji temple.
• The Somnath Beach.

Somnath Temple proudly stands facing the Arabian Sea. From the temple premises, you can watch the waves of the Arabian Sea dashing against the high boundary walls of the great Somnath temple.

It’s a beautifully constructed, huge temple and one feels very humble in front of it. If you visit it early morning, while the temple is adored by the morning rays and the enchanting soothing breeze, with the vast expanse of the Arabian Sea and the endless bluish sky adding to the glory, the confluence of the man’s vision and the Creator’s charisma would so charm you that you will simply be spell-bound. May be you are a theist or an atheist, you will be lost!

You have to visit Somnath to believe it! You need to visit Gujarat to enjoy Khushboo Gujarat ki!

We will continue our Somnath trip in the next letter . . .

With all good wishes,

GujTourist11.