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Shiva temple Review

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Shiva temple

Category: Religious Sites
Location: Somnath

Fodor's Review:

The Shiva temple at Somnath, which is believed to hold a naturally occurring Shiva linga, was a landmark to mariners from time immemorial until it was broken in bits in the 11th century by Mahmud of Ghazni, an invader from Afghanistan who raided India 17 times and stole away Somnath's idol jewels. Since then the temple has been rebuilt seven times, most recently in 1950 under the patronage of Sardar Patel, a Gujarati minister in Jawaharlal Nehru's government.

The modern structure is not architecturally spectacular, but its beach setting is. Devotees stream in—through metal detectors and past watchful security guards (all purses, bags, cameras, and cell phones must be checked in at a secure locker at the entrance). They come to pay homage to one of the country's most sacred Shiva shrines. At dawn, noon, and sunset, kettle drums are beaten and conch shells blown while a large oil lamp is circled around the icon. This ceremony, known as aarti, is meant to summon the god's presence in the temple. The small Prabhas Patan museum, in a tiny lane leading off from the right of the temple, five minutes away, holds remnants of the temple's earlier incarnations. Walk out of the temple complex and around the back to get great pictures of the temple rising next to the ocean. The beach is popular with local tourists, who arrive here to take rides on colorfully decorated camels and horses, buy knickknacks, munch snacks, and sip coconut water. A kilometer or two ahead is the bustling fishing town of Veraval, which supplies much of western Indian with seafood. The fisherfolk here wear extra-bright traditional costumes.