Somnath Temple is one of the twelve jyotirlinga in India. Hindu worship Lord Shiva in the form of linga and all the Shiva Linga of jyotirlinga are famous as swayambhu. Swayambhu means that manifest on its own i.e. not made by man. These lingas are self-existing and appear suddenly or mysteriously without any human efforts. When the saints or holy men see them they install them in a temple. Each of the twelve jyotirlinga, take the name of a different manifestation of Shiva. These twelve jyotirlinga are considered very holy for the Shiva devotees. All the Shiva devotees visit these jyotirlinga one by one as all are located in different locations and can’t be visited all at once. It is believed that just a visit to the temple is very auspicious and all bad deeds and sins are washed away in the feet of Lord Shiva.
Among all jyotirlinga, Somnath is considered as the first pilgrimage site. The Dwadash Jyotirlinga pilgrimage begins with the Somnath Temple. This temple is located in Prabhas Patan, in Saurashtra-Veraval in Gujarat. This temple is destroyed and rebuilt many times. This temple follows Triveni Sangam of three rivers- the Kapila, the Hiran and the auspicious river the Saraswati. It is believed that Somraj, the Moon God had built this temple out of Gold in Satyug, then it was re-built by Ravan in Silver in Tretayug, and again it was re-built by Lord Krishna in wood in Dwaparyug and finally in stone by Bhimdev Solanki in Kaliyug. Means this Somnath temple is from ancient times showering its eternal shrines and glory on the people. At last, it was rebuilt in 1951 in Chalukya style by the architecture of Hindu temple. The construction was proposed by Vallabhbhai Patel and was completed under the then head of the temple trust K.M. Munshi.
Moon then came to Prabhasa also known as Somnath. He went on a penance for six months where he worshipped Lord Shiva to get out of his curse. His Jaap and Tap pleased Lord Shiva and he came to bless him. Lord Shiva told Moon that he can’t be completely free from the curse but his gleams will appear different every day, 15 days it will grow and the next 15 days it will hide. To gain back his luster, he bathed in the River Sarasvati and the result is the waxing and waning of the moon, and is also referred to the waxing and waning of the tides at sea shore location. Lord Shiva himself came to be known as Someshwar which means famous moon (Soma).
Shravan Maas is considered very auspicious month to worship Lord Shiva and Somnath temple is famous not only as a jyotirlinga but also as a holy place where ones sins gets washed away. Visitors love the divine worship of Lord Shiva and its abhishek, aarti and the location of the temple.