Somnath Temple is located near Veraval which falls in Saurashtra region situated on the western coast of Gujarat. It is an important temple, comprising one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva.
It is believed that the Somnath temple here was originally built by Somraj, the Moon God himself, out of gold, and then rebuilt by Ravana in silver and then by Krishna in Wood, then by Bhimdev in stone.
Amdavad is connected by Rail, Road and Air with all the major destinations. Veraval Somnath is connected with Amdavad to Rail and Road facilities. Somnath is at a distance of 465 km. from Amdavad. At present Jet Airways operates passenger flight from Bombay.
There is a story behind this that how the name “Someshwar” came in existence.
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Once Soma who is the son in-law of Daksha disregarded certain directions of his father-in-law Daksha. As a result Daksha became angry and damned him, saying, “Thou shalt wane!” The moon, who used to shine in full splendour every night till then, started to shrink. However, before the curse brought about an absolute end to the moon, many a god appealed Daksha to take back his curse. Daksha asked Soma to take a bath in the sea at the mouth of the river Saraswati and then to pray to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva pleased with his penance restored his light for half of the month. Hence the deity here is known as Someshwar or Somnath, Lord of the moon and the place as Prabhas.
The Geetamandir is built here where the divine message of Shrimad Bhagavat Geeta is carved on eighteen marble pillars. Shri Lakshminarayan Mandir is close by.
This is one of the pilgrim places to see in India
