1)Yeah,i've really lost my hold on english these days.After i type a new post in this blog, I've to read and re-read it many times over until i've corrected(or debugged it,if u'd like it that way) all the errors.
2)it really does seem grammatically wrong to say Shrine Eternal rather than Eternal Shrine.
This being the fact,I do assure you that there's no mistake as far as the title of this post is concerned.....
The Somnath Temple in Gujarat is known as "Shrine Eternal".The first thing that would strike your mind when I mention this temple is Mohd.Ghazni who tore the temple to pieces.But there's a lot more to the temple which stands tall as a symbol of sacrifice,hope and pride for millions of Hindus all over the world.The bloody history of the Somnath temple is a cycle of destruction,resurrection,determination,self assertion and liberation.The history of the Somnath temple is reflective of the history of India itself.
The Hindu tradition has it that the Somnath temple was first built by the Moon God in gold.Later,Raavan,the king of Lanka built it in silver.Lord Krishna later built it in sandalwood.Finally,it was built in stone by Bhimdhev Solanki,the ruler of Gujarat.
This temple was destroyed in 725 by Junayad,the Arab Governor of Sind.Those were the early days in which the humiliation of Hindus started.In 815,King Naghabhatta reconstructed the temple,in red sandstone.
In 1024,it was destroyed by Mohd.Ghazni.The king had heard about the splendour of the temple.What would be held in great wonder by any soul,mohd of Ghazni held in disgust.king Ghagha Rana died fighting for the temple at the age of 90,thereby sacrificing his entire clan.Mohd.Ghazni killed all the 50,000 people who tried to protect the temple.The speciality of the temple idol was it it was neither supported from below nor was it suspended from above.it just seemed to float mid-air.Lord Shiva seemed to be defying the laws of gravity and the laws of common sense.When the king asked his companions what they had to say about the marvel of the idol, and of its staying in the air without prop or support, several maintained that it was upheld by some hidden support. The king directed a person to go and feel all around and above and below it with a spear, which he did, but met with no obstacle. One of the attendants then stated his opinion that the canopy was made of loadstone, and the idol of iron, and that the ingenious builder had skillfully contrived that the magnet should not exercise a greater force on anyone side-hence the idol was suspended in the middle. Some coincided, others differed. Permission was obtained from the Sultan to remove some stones from the top of the canopy to settle the point. When two stones were removed from the summit the idol swerved on one side, when more were taken away it inclined still further, until at last it rested on the ground.The idol was broken to pieces.this was the first time the actual idol was broken,since the time the Moon God built it.The broken pieces were shipped to his homeland where they were used to lay the roads leading to a newly-built masjid,to show the superiority of Islam.All the muslims would now stamp over the idol while praying at that masjid.I don't know how people can be so heartless..
The wooden structure was replaced by Kumarpal (r.1143-72), who built the temple of stone.
In 1296 A.D., the temple was once again destroyed by Sultan Allauddin Khilji's army. 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". The temple was rebuilt by Mahipala Deva, the Chudasama king of Saurashtra in 1308 A.D. and the Linga was installed by his son Khengar sometime between 1326 and 1351 A.D.
In 1375 A.D., the temple was once again destroyed by Muzaffar Shah I, the Sultan of Gujarat.About 1400 A.D. it was reconstructed by the local public.
In 1451 A.D., the temple was once again destroyed by Mahmud Begda, the Sultan of Gujarat. It was reconstructed again.
In 1701 A.D., the temple was once again destroyed by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb built a mosque on the site of the Somnath temple, using some columns from the temple, whose Hindu sculptural motifs remained visible.Queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore rebuilt the temple in 1783 A.D. at a site adjacent to the ruined temple which was already converted to a mosque.
Somnath temple in 1869...After independence,Sardar Vallabhai Patel,destroyed the mosque on 19th October,1950 and promised the people of India that a new Somnath temple would be built yet again.Gandhi insisted that the temple must be built,not on government money,but on people's money.It was ok for him to fund haj pilgrimages but not to fund the reconstruction of the Somnath temple.It is noteworthy that it was Nathuram Godse who donated 500Rs. for the construction of the temple dome.Vallabhai Patel was the lawyer who bought death to Godse.Strange,indeed are the laws of nature.....
Work on the Somnath temple was completed in 1995 and it was thrown open for the service of the nation by Prem Kumar Dayal,the then President of India.
The Somnath temple was destroyed 7 times and rebuilt 7 times.Thats why it is known as the "Shrine Eternal".The temple is a symbol of Hindu pride and of Hindu revivalism.A beacon of hope to all of us who want to restore Hinduism's honour and regain its fading glory.............
Somnath temple-today
MAY LORD SOMNATH BLESS THE WORLD WITH DHARMIC BLISS.
MAY PEACE PREVAIL.
