Somnath

somnath development with time

1. SOMNATH Also Known As Prabhas Patan HAR! HAR! MAHADEV Prepared By: Bhavik B. Raval School of Planning B.C.H.S., A.P.I.E.D.

2. Narmad says: Jai ! Jai ! Garvi Gujarat ! Uttar ma Amba maata Purava ma Kali Maata Chhe Dakshin Disha ma Karant   raksha Kunteshwar Mahadev , Ne Somnath ne Dwarkesh ae  Pachcim Kera dev Chhe Sahayamanb Sakshaat Jai ! Jai ! Garvi Gujarat !

3. Introduction: The  Somnath  temple located in Prabhas Patan near Veraval in Saurashtra on the western coast of Gujarat, India, is the first among the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva. This legendary temple has been destroyed and rebuilt several times by Islamic kings and Hindu kings respectively.  50000-60000 tourists daily visit Somnath temple.

4. ARCHITECTURE The community of architects who designed and constructed the temple were the Sompura Shilpakar Brahmins. The seven-storied structure of Somnath is tall to 155 feet. Constructed in the Chalukya style of architecture. South of the temple, on the wall at the sea shore, a pillar is erected. On the top, an arrow is indicating that between the Somnath Temple and the South Pole there is no land area only the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.

5. Location: State Gujarat Coordinates : 20°53′16.9″N 70°24′5.0″E West coast of Gujarat. In Saurashtra Region. 6 km from Veraval. 79 km from Junagadh . Population: 3.5 lacs. Male : Female – 1000 : 965 Somnath

6. Geography : Situated at coast of Arabian sea. On tip of Kathiawar Peninsula. Mean tides are 3m. Weather : The climate in Somnath is moderate as it is close to the Arabian Sea. The summers are slightly hot, whereas the winters are mild. Monsoon is windy and experiences heavy rainfall . The best season to visit Somnath is from October to March. June is the hottest month with it's average high temperatures at 29.4 C. The coldest month is January with average highs at 21.4 C .

7. History : Somnath is named after ‘ Som ’ God of Moon. Somnath is first Jyotirling among the 12. Somnath was invaded several times and destroyed by Islamic Invaders, 1 st being Mohamed Ghazni till Aurangzeb. Still it have survived the time and was rebuilt by several Kings and last it was renovated by Sardar Patel. The Somnath Jyotirlinga statue was reinstated (Pran Pratishta) on Friday the 11th May 1951. It was done by the then President of India, Honourable Dr. Rajendra Prasad. It was part of Junagadh district. Gir-Somnath was announced as a district on August 2013.

8. Pilgrimage Spots: Somnath Temple: 1 st Jyotirlinga of 12. Bhalka Tirth: Place at Triveni Sangam where 3 rivers meet Hiranya, Kapila and mythical Saraswati where Lord Krishna departed from his Earthly abode. Somnath Temple Bhalka Tirth

9. Other Tourist Attraction: Prabas Pata Museum The Prabas Pata Museum is strikingly laid out in courtyard centered rooms and contains interesting remains of the previous temples, with lots of beautiful fragments, including an elaborate 11th century ceiling.

10. Development of Somnath: Reconstruction of temple was initiated by Sardar Patel and K.M. Munshi in 1947. It is developing since then. As it was developed by Somnath Trust with help of people’s funding.

11. Figures shows development from the year of 2003-2015

12. The trust consist of 8 members: 4 are nominated by state government of Gujarat. 4 are appointed by GoI. (one of these trustees needs to be the regional commissioner, one a resident of nearby Junagadh city, and one a current or past donor, one general criterion for selection of trustees is that they be eminent men from India.) organizational chart in next slide. Looking to increasing pilgrimage Somnath came up with various plans.

13. Organizational Structure:

14. Out of which 1 st step was taken as to keep the Temples clean. Darshan & Pooja arrangements were made smooth by: By introducing guiding channels for darshan. This reduced havoc during festivals like Shivratri. New posts were introduced and there duties were well defined and work process was smoothened. Encroachment of 120 acres of land was demolished and the street hawkers were given shops at concessional rates. Project of the construction of a cultural center where social, cultural and spiritual activities could be organized.

15. This centre provided a location where the social and religious ceremonies of the local community could be held at minimal cost. Small businesses that operated around the temple, such as tourist photography, Horse and Camel riding, were registered and authorized to operate. Tool kits were supplied to them . The trust made cash contribution to local community services and donation to public service project e.g. contribution to Somnath Sarovar Yojna. Finances were monitored and proper system of supply and renovation of temple was made. Temple Trust adopted simple but robust system of auction of shops for lease which were construct near it.

16. The three parties which made Somnath working smooth were brought together in harmony such as: The Government: contributed by developing the infrastructure namely road, rail, power supply, the dam for water supply etc. The Trust: owned various tourists amenities projects like lodging, boarding, vehicle parking, house-keeping at the temple and its guesthouse, conducting various cultural and spiritual fairs & festival projects. The Donors: sponsored major temple projects like temple landscaping, guesthouse development, temple carving and gold coating of precious temple carvings in order to prevent the damage caused by corrosive winds from the ocean.

17. Broad Gauge railway lines were laid to reduces stress on tourist for forced change and connected it to various cities. Similarly, the government commissioned drinking water pipeline scheme in 2002. The Triveni Dam project got underway, express (= 24Hrs) electricity supply to temple and other premises materialized. Broad band communication facility arrived A new road linking major tourist spots of Somnath was constructed . The Government:

18. The Trust: The Trust side resulted into aesthetic landscaping of the temple area . The approach to the temple improved. General tourists amenities like reception and tourist information, public conveniences, cloak room, water huts, shoe house, sea-view gallery etc. were added . If the visitors still wanted to see more of places of interest surrounding Somnath, now a site-seeing coach was made available.

19. Environmental Development: Somnath, due to its coastal location suffered from saline ingress. This not only created a severe problem of drinking water, but the temple area became almost barren. The flow of the river Hiran was too weak and mixed with sea water. As a result, the most critical pooja substance in any Shiv temple, the Bilva Patra had to be brought from the restricted area of Geer forest. Firstly , a scheme of water supply through pipe line was commissioned in time in 2002 . 5500 Bilva trees and hundreds of spiritually and medicinally important plants of Parijat, Kadamb, Tulsi, Peepal, and Banyan trees were planted and successfully raised using scientific botanical techniques and drip irrigation .

20. Hari- Har Van project involving plantation of 6 to 7 thousand valuable plants was carried out in association with the state department of forest. A compost plant was set up for recycling organic waste that was normally disposed off in the sea. Bhalka Upvan and Bhalka Pond were developed. A project for greening of the seashore bordering the temple (Ratnakar Tat Vikas Prayojna) was completed. Proposal to the State Government for building a Dam on Triveni Sangam was made. Sea-shore Chowpaty development. Environmental Development:

21. Shree Somnath Sanskrit University was established while the existing Sanskrit Pathshala was expanded . Kartiki Purnima fair was shifted to larger place. New interpretation center was proposed t he theme would be this place of pilgrimage, the faith behind it and the heritage that might be lost if not reinterpreted in light of the modern times .

22. Golak Dham: This Project is initiated by Somnath Trust.

23. SHIV SHRUSTI PROJECT:

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