Holy Pilgrimage – 12 Jyotirlinga Kshetras - Somanath Temple and Sri Saila Mallikharjuna Temple at 3:09 AM

 1. Somnath Temple (SOMANATH) in Saurashtra, Gujarat

saurAShTradeshe vishade.atiramye jyotirmayaM chandrakalAvataMsam | bhaktipradAnAya kRipAvatIrNaM taM somanAthaM sharaNaM prapadye ||

“Jay Somanath! Jay Somanath”!
Somnath temple, the first in the twelve jyothirlingas, is located at the Viraval port - Prabhas Pattan in Saurashtra - Gujarat.

Anceint Glory of Somnath Temple

Known as prabhAsa kshetra, Somnath occupied a much esteemed place in the Hindu holy places. It finds many references in the purANas & itihAsas.
The inner temple of the Garbhashay was supported to be aglow with the luster of these gemstones. The Nanda Deep was always kept lighted with Kannauji attar. The treasure of the temple was forever full of vast wealth and was kept safe.
For worship of the Lord-and Abhishek (worship with holy water) sandalwood scented water was brought from Haridwar, Prayag Kashi every day. However flowers for special festivities were imported from Kashmir. For the routine daily worship, one thousand Brahmins were appointed. About three hundred and fifty dancing girls were appointed for the regular music and dance concerts that took place in the Temple courts.
This religious place of worship was earning the produce of ten thousand villages. Among the twelve JyotirLingas (Lingas of light) Somanath is considered as the primary one. Because this deity is supposed to be Swayanbhu (self-born) and is always awake, lakhs of devotees visited this temple and considered themselves blessed and to have achieved piety. Offerings made by crores of devotees amounted to crores of rupees which kept the Somnath Temple always rich and abundant. Along with this, the Sun worshipping foreigners (probably Parsis) also contributed a pat of their profits to the temple treasury which kept its coffers full, all the time.

sthala purANa of Lord Somnath temple

Chandra, (moon) was the first one to receive the benefic boon of Shri Somanath of Saurashtra, the Shiva pilgrimage, Agni Teerth and Surya Teerth. Then Chandra built a beautiful golden temple and put a glorious JyotirLinga in it, the first of its kind in India.
According to Prabhaskhand of Skanda Purana, the legend goes like this:
Chandra married the twenty seven daughters (stars) of Daksha, but was very partial and showed lot more love and affection to rohini. The remaining twenty six wives not only felt neglected but also insulted. They were disappointed with their husband and went and complained to their father. Daksha was upset to see his daughters suffer thus, and tried twice to convince his son-in-law to change himself, but in vain. He put a curse on him that Chandra would be “decreasing” in size.
The Devas (Celestial gods) were very sad at Chandra’s plight and went to Brahma. The Creator, in order to find out a remedy for this condition of Chandra and get a solution for redressing the curse. Brahma told them that the only way out was to worship Vrishabhdhwaj Shankar at Prabhas Kshetra Mahamrityunjay. Chandra went on a penance for six months and prayed to Lord Shiva, at the end of which Shankara appeared before him. He gave Chandra the boon that in a month, he would grow for fifteen days in one half and in the other half he would keep loosing one Kala (shade) per day and decrease in size. He was pleased with the Devas and in order to increase the prestige of the place, Lord Shiva Himself came to be known as Someshwar, meaning famous moon (Soma). The Devas established a Someshwar Kund there. By taking a holy dip in this pond or Kund, it is believed that one would obtain release from all the sins
Chandra or moon is also called Som. That is why this JyotirLinga has become famous as Somanath. Chandra or moon looks very bright here. Therefore, this place is also known as “Prabhasapattana”.
Later, Shri Somnath Mandir was built by Ravana fro Rupa in the treda yug and Lord Krishna fro Chandran in <="" em="">. Emperor vikramAditya built the temple in the kali yug.

Troubled times and Hindu Resilience in rebuilding the grat temple of Somnath

This grand temple of Somanath came under the attack of the Muslims several times. In the year 722, Junamad, the Sindh Subedar attacked it for the first time and looted innumerable items from its treasure.
The beautiful statue of Somanath, can be seen from the center because of the miraculous magnetic power. Ghajni Mohammed, destroyed this statue on Friday, the 11th of May 1025 AD. From then onwards, Ghajni Mohammed came to be known as the “Statute Destroyer” (Iconoclast). On that day, he plundered and looted a treasure worth 18 crores.
In 1297 AD, Allauddin Kkhiji sent his Sardar Altaf Khan to Somanath on a mission of destroying and putting down the Somanath Mandir. The Somanath Temple was subjected to series of attacks starting in 1479 AD by Mohammad Begada, Mujaffar Shah, II, in 1503 AD, and finally by Aurangazeb, known to be the most intolerant towards other religions, in 1701 AD, where in, the temple was totally destroyed, plundered and looted in a most horrible way. A large number of people were killed mercilessly and a lot of money stolen.
In 1783 AD Sadhvi Alalya devi Holkar, a great devotee of Siva, built a new temple for Somanath after India become independent, the lion of Gujarat, Sardar Vallabhai Patel renovated the Somanath Temple on the advice of Kakashaheb Gadgil of Maharashtra with its revived Indian architectural beauty for which it became an unique example. It drew the attention of the world.
The Somanath JyotirLinga statue was reinstated (Pran Pratishta) on Friday the 11th May 1951 at 9.46 A.M. It was done by the then President of India, Honourable Dr. Rajendra Prasad, to the tune of the Veda chanting of Vedamurti Tarka Teertha Lakshman Shastri Joshi, in a grand manner.
This primary JyotirLinga located in India, is the cynosure of all Indian pilgrims. It is always crowded with lakhs of devotees. A large number of Sadhus and pious men can be met there. With the offerings of devotees, the Somanath Temple’s grandeur is revived. In spite of being subjected to destruction by intolerants, the faith of Indian devotees, dedication and their love was never destroyed. Shri Somanath JyotirLinga stands as the legendary example of the same.
The temples 15th memorial and the ancient monument located on the sea side of Kahiavad near Prabhaspattan. There are many famous mythological stories attached to them. The sun temple is the most ancient of all. There is no presiding deity in it, but the architecture of temple is so exquisite, that even by seeing the ruins one can imagine.
Saint Agastya, is supposed to have drunk the entire sea near Prabhasapattan. Mythological heroes like Janamejaya, Pandavas, Ravana are supposed to have visited Prabhasapattan Teerth. In the month of Magha (sometime in February) on the day of Shivaratri, Somanath JyotirLinga festival is celebrated with great aplomb.

The Somnath Temple (Gujarati: સોમનાથ મંદિર Sanskrit: सोमनाथ मन्दिर) located in the Prabhas Kshetra near Veraval in Saurashtra, on the western coast of Gujarat, India, is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of the God Shiva. Somnath means "The Protector of (the) Moon God". The Somnath Temple is known as "the Shrine Eternal", having been destroyed six times by Muslim conquerors.^[1][2] Most recently it was rebuilt in November 1947, when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel visited the area for the integration of Junagadh and mooted a plan for restoration. After Patel's death, the rebuilding continued under K. M. Munshi, another minister of the Government of India.

Significance

 According to the legend, Soma or the Moon God built the temple in gold, Ravana in silver, and Shri Krishna in wood. Soma was cursed by his father-in-law Daksha to wane because Soma loved only one of his wives Rohini, all of whom happened to be Daksha's daughters. His other wives complained about this negligent behavior of Soma to their father Daksha, and thus the curse. He then built a Shivlinga at the Prabhas tirth (a Hindu pilgrimage) and prayed to Lord Shiva who removed the curse partially because asked upon by Soma's one wife (the one that he loved more than others). Thus, causing the periodic waning of moon.^[12] Pleased by the prayers Soma (Moon god), Lord Shiva decided to rest in that Lingam till eternity, and thus the Jyotirlingam.

Timeline

The first temple of Somnath is said to have existed before the beginning of the common era.^[13]
The second temple, built by the Yadava kings of Vallabhi in Gujarat, replaced the first one on the same site around 649 CE.^[13]
In 725 CE Junayad, the Arab governor of Sind, sent his armies to destroy the second temple.^[13] The Gurjara Pratihara king Nagabhata II constructed the third temple in 815, a large structure of red sandstone
In 1024 CE, the temple was once visited by Mahmud of Ghazni^[14][15] who raided the temple from across the Thar Desert. The temple was rebuilt by the Gujjar Paramara King Bhoj of Malwa and the Solanki king Bhimadev I of Anhilwara, Gujrat (present day Patan) between 1026 and 1042. The wooden structure was replaced by Kumarpal (r.1143-72), who built the temple of stone.^[16][17]
In 1296 CE, the temple was once again destroyed by Sultan Allauddin Khilji's army.^[13][14][17] According to Taj-ul-Ma'sir of Hasan Nizami, Raja Karan of Gujarat was defeated and forced to flee, "fifty thousand infidels were dispatched to hell by the sword" and "more than twenty thousand slaves, and cattle beyond all calculation fell into the hands of the victors".^[13] The temple was rebuilt by Mahipala Deva, the Chudasama king of Saurashtra in 1308 AD and the Linga was installed by his son Khengar sometime between 1326 and 1351 AD.^[17]
In 1375 CE, the temple was once again destroyed by Muzaffar Shah I, the Sultan of Gujarat.^[13][17]
In 1451 CE, the temple was once again destroyed by Mahmud Begda, the Sultan of Gujarat.^[13][14][17]
In 1701 CE, the temple was once again destroyed by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.^[13] Aurangzeb built a mosque on the site of the Somnath temple, using some columns from the temple, whose Hindu sculptural motifs remained visible.^[18]
Later on a joint effort of Peshwa of Pune, Raja Bhonsle of Nagpur, Chhatrapati Bhonsle of Kolhapur, Queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore & Shrimant Patilbuwa Shinde of Gwalior rebuilt the temple in 1783 AD at a site adjacent to the ruined temple which was already converted to a mosque

Restoration of temple after Independence

Before independence, Prabhas Pattan was part of the princely state of Junagadh. After integration of Jungadh in to Union of India, the Deputy Prime Minister of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel came to Junagadh on November 12, 1947 to direct the stabilization of the state by the Indian Army and at the same time ordered the reconstruction of the Somanath temple.^[20]
When Sardar Patel, K. M. Munshi and other leaders of the Congress went to Gandhi with the proposal of reconstructing the Somnath temple, Gandhi blessed the move,but suggested that the funds for the construction should be collected from the public and the temple should not be funded by the state. He expressed that he was proud to associate himself to the project of renovation of the temple^[21] But soon both Gandhi and Sardar Patel died and the task of reconstruction of the temple continued under K. M. Munshi, who was the Minister for Food and Civil Supplies in the Nehru Government.^[21]
The ruins were pulled down in October 1950 and the mosque present at that site was shifted few miles away.^[22] In May 1951, Rajendra Prasad, the first President of the Republic of India, invited by K M Munshi, performed the installation ceremony for the temple.^[23] Rajendra Prasad said in his address "It is my view that the reconstruction of the Somnath Temple will be complete on that day when not only a magnificent edifice will arise on this foundation, but the mansion of India's prosperity will be really that prosperity of which the ancient temple of Somnath was a symbol.".^[24] He added "The Somnath temple signifies that the power of reconstruction is always greater than the power of destruction"^[24]
This episode created a serious rift between the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who saw the movement for reconstruction of the temple as an attempt at Hindu revivalism and the President Rajendra Prasad and Union Minister K. M. Munshi, who saw in its reconstruction, the fruits of freedom and the reversal of past injustice done to Hindus.^[24]
The present temple, which was built by Patel and Munshi, is managed by Shree Somnath Trust.^[25]

Architecture

The present temple is built in the Chalukya style of temple architecture or Kailash Mahameru Prasad Style^[12] and reflects the skill of the Sompura Salats, Gujarat's master masons.
The temple is situated at such a place that there is no land in straight-line between Somnath seashore till Antarctica, such an inscription in Sanskrit is found on the Arrow-Pillar called Baan-Stambh erected on the sea-protection wall at the Somnath Temple. This Baan-Stambh mentions that it stands at a point on the Indian landmass, which happens to be the first point on land in the north to the south-pole on that particular longitude

Transport

Somanath  is an important railway station of Western Railways. The trains connect it to major cities like Ahemedabad, Rajkot, Ratlam, Ujjain, Vadodara, Pune, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Mumbai, Trivandrum, Mumbai etc.

By road also the pilgrims can reach the holy place from every majoy towns and cities in Gujarat.

The nearest airports are Diu and Rajkot

Transport

Somnath (Gujarat):

HOW TO GET THERE

• By Road :State Transport buses and private luxury coaches connect various centres of Gujarat.
• By Rail :Veraval (5 kilometres) is nearest railway station .
• By Air :The nearest airport is at Keshod, 47 kilometres, which is connected with Bombay.

2. SriSailam - SRI MALLIKARJUNA

shrIshailashRiNge vibudhAtisaNge tulAdrituNge.api mudA vasantam |
tamarjunaM mallikapUrvamekaM namAmi saMsArasamudrasetum ||

“Jaya Mallikarjuna! Jai Mallikarjuna”
Srisailam is located in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. This whole area is full of forests of Kadali, Bilva trees, mountain ranges and Patalaganga (Krishnaveni river). All of them echo from these joyous voices of devotees.

Puranic History of Srisailam

When Kumar Kartikeya returned to Kailash after completing his trip around the earth, he heard about Ganesha’s marriage from Narada. This angered him. In spite of being restrained by his parents, he touched their feet in obeisance and left for Krounch Mountain. Parvati was very distraught at having to be away from her son, implored Lord Shiva to look for their son. Together, they went to Kumara. But, Kumara went away a further three Yojanas, after learning about his parents coming after him to Krouncha Mountain. Before embarking on a further search for their son on each mountain, they decided to leave a light on every mountain they visited. From that day, that place came to be known as JyotirLinga Mallikarjuna. It is believed that Shiva and Parvati visit this palce on Amavasya (No moon day) and (full Moon day) Pournami, respectively. Visiting this JyotirLinag not only blesses one with innumerable wealth, but also name and fame and fulfils all the desires.
Once, a princess named Chandravati decided to go to the Jungles to do penance and meditation. She chose Kadali Vana for this purpose. One day, she witnessed a miracle. A Kapila cow was standing under a Bilwa tree and milk was flowing from all of its four udders, sinking into the ground. The cow kept doing this as a routine chore everyday. Chandravati dug up that area and was dumb founded at what she saw. There was a self-raising Swyambhu SivaLinga. It was bright and shining like the sun rays, and looked like it was burning, throwing flames in all directions. Chandravati prayed to Siva in this JyotirLinga. She built a huge Shiva Temple there. Lord Shankara was very pleased with her. Chandravati went to Kailash wind borne. She received salvation and Mukti. On one of the stone-inscriptions of the temple, Chandravati’s story can be seen carved out.

Location and Development of mallikarjuna swamy temple

Shaila Mallikarjuna’s holy place is located on the banks of River Krishna. Here River Krishna is in the form of Patalaganga (underground spring). Lakhs of devotees take a holy dip here and then go for the Darshan of the JyotirLinga.
During the Karnataka Movement, Chatrapati Shivaji used to come to take a Darshan of the JyotirLinga during the Maharatri. He built a tower on the right side of the Temple and also opened a free-meal center.
The kings of the VijayaNagar Dynasty too built a Temple, Tower, Portico and a pond. Ahelyadevi Holkar, a great devotee of Siva built a strong bathing wharf consisting of 852 steps on the banks of the Patalganga.
Earlier, this part of the Shaila mountains was an unreachable tough terrain and fraught with danger. Even then, devotees, with their sheer will power, used to reach there in large numbers. Hiranyakashipa, Narada, Pandavas, Sri Ram are some of the great mythological personalities who have visited this holy shrine. shankara bhagavatpAda, rENukAchArya(2), akka mahAdevi, hemareddy mallamma are some of the great devotees who worshipped Lord mallikArjuna here.
sambandhar, appar and sundharar have sung one padhikam (3) each on the Lord of Srisailam.

Srisailam (Telugu: శ్రీశైలం) is a holy town and mandal, situated in Nallamala Hills of Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is on the banks of River Krishna, about 212 km south of Hyderabad.
Bhramaramba Mallikarjunaswamy Temple dedicated to Lord Mallikarjuna Swamy (a form of Shiva) and Devi Bhramaramba (a form of Parvathi) is located here and it is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga temples dedicated to Lord Shiva. Srisailam Dam, located about 212 km from Hyderabad and 132 km from Nandyal, is a multipurpose dam built across River Krishna and caters to the irrigation and power needs of the state

Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Temple

The Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Temple located in Srisailam is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga temples dedicated to Lord Shiva.

History

The origins of this temple have been lost in antiquity. The Skanda Purana has a chapter called Srisaila Kandam dedicated to it, which points to the ancient origin. This is confirmed by the fact that saints of the past millennia have sung its praises. It is said that Adi Sankara visited this temple and at that time he composed his Sivananda Lahiri.
Srisailam is referenced in the ancient Hindu Puranas, and the epic Mahabharata.
Shiva's sacred bull Nandi is said to have performed penance at the Mahakali temple till Shiva and Parvati appeared before him as Mallikarjuna and Brahmaramba. The temple is one of the 12 hallowed jyotirlingas; Lord Rama himself installed the Sahasralinga, while the Pandavas lodged the Panchapandava lingas in the temple courtyard.
Heroic legends from the Mahabharata and Ramayana are sculpted in stone on the temple walls and the Mahabharata epic refers to Srisailam as Sri Parvata — the blessed hill. You can hear the buzzing of a bee through a tiny hole in the Brahmaramba temple, where Parvati, in the form of a bee, slayed the demon Mahisasura.
It gained prominence in the twelfth century due to the Sharana movement and Vachana Sahitya headed by Basavanna. According to legends one of the Srisailam caves is said to be the place where the most famous poet and social reformer Akka Mahadevi achieved salvation.

Gateways

Tradition, literature as well as epigraphical sources state that the sacred hill of Srisailam has four gateways in the four cardinal directions namely,

• Tripuranthakam is in Prakasam District in the east where God Tripuranthakeswara Swamy and Goddess Tripurasundari Devi are presiding deities.
• Siddhavatam is located on the bank of the river Penna in Kadapa District in the south where Jyothisideswara Swamy and Goddess Kamakshi Devi are the presiding deities.
• Alampur is on the bank of the river Tungabhadra in Mahaboobnagar District in the west where Navabrahma Alayas, a group of nine temples of the Chalukya period, are. This Kshetram is also the seat of Goddess Jogulamba, one of the eighteen Mahasakthis.
• Umamaheswaram is located in Rangapur, Achampeta Mandal, Mahaboobnagar District in the North where God Umamaheswara Swamy and Goddess Umamaheswari Devi are the presiding deities.

Secondary gateways

Besides the main gateways, there are four Secondary Gateways in the four corner directions:

• Eleswaram: Located in Mahaboobnagar District now submerged in the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam in the northeast with Eleswara Swamy and Katyani as presiding deities.
• Somasila: Located on the bank of the river Penna in the southeast with Skanda Someswara as the presiding deity.
• Pushpagiri: Located in Kadapa District in the southwest with Santhana Malleswara as presiding deity.
• Sangameswaram: Located at the confluence of the River Krishna and Tungabhadra in Kurnool District in the northwest and submerged at Srisailam Dam with Sangameswara as presiding deity. This temple has been re-built at Alampur.

Other places of interest

Akka Mahadevi caves

During the 12th century A.D. this cave appeared to have attained its present name after the famous ascetic, lyricist and philosopher, Akka Mahadevi who hailed from Karnataka. It is believed that Akka Mahadevi did penance in this cave and worshiped the Sivalinga that naturally existed in the deep and dark end of the cave.

Hemareddy Mallamma Temple at Srisailam

Hemareddy Mallamma Temple at Srisailam was inaugurated on 26 May 2010. It was built at Srisailam by Karnataka Veerashaiva Reddy Samaj. In the adjoining ashram, one can see the place where she lived with cattle. The place is visited by lakhs of pilgrims who offer prayers at this temple. The temple is situated about a half kilometer on the western side of the Mallikarjuna Temple

Mallela Theertham

Mallela Theertham is a waterfall in the middle of the dense forest. It lies 50 km before Srisailam; take a turn to the destination and drive on a bumpy, muddy road which is unmotorable during the rainy season and around 250 steps down the valley to the waterfall.

Transport

Srisailam can be reached by road from Hyderabad. There is frequent bus service from Hyderabad to Srisailam every half an hour and also from Guntur.

Road

Srisailam is very well connected by state-run bus service APSRTC (Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation). KSRTC from major cities/towns include Hyderabad, kakinada, Guntur, Tenali, Narsaraopet, Gulbarga, Davangare, Shivamogga, Addanki, Hospet, Machilipatnam, Vijayawada, Avanigadda, Cuddapah, Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda, Devarakonda, Vinukonda, Kurnool, Ongole, Nellore, Mahanandi, Mantralayam, Anantapur, Tirupati, Chirala, Chitradurga, Bangalore, Markapur, Vishakapatnam Warangal, Podili, and Hubli. The nearest major towns are Narsaraopet and Kurnool.

Rail

The nearest railway stations are Markapur (62 km), Vinukonda (120 km) and Kurnool (190 km) on the Guntur–Hubli section. The nearest major railway stations are Narsaraopet, Kurnool and Nandyal.

Air

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport serving Hyderabad and located 195 km from Srisailam is the nearest international airport

Om Tat Sat

                                                        

(Continued...)                                                                                                                              

(My humble  salutations to the great devotees ,  wikisources  and Pilgrimage tourist guide for the collection