By Narendra Modi
Somnath…hearing this word instils a sense of pride in our hearts and minds. It is
the eternal proclamation of India’s soul. This majestic Temple is situated on the
Western coast of India in Gujarat, at a place called Prabhas Patan. The Dwadasha
Jyotirling Stotram mentions the 12 Jyotirlings across India. The Stotram begins
with “सौराष्ट्रेसोमनाथंच..”, symbolising the civilisational and spiritual importance
of Somnath as the first Jyotirling.
It is also said:
सोमलिङ्गं नरो दृष्ट्वा सर्वपाप ैः प्रमुच्यते।
िभतेफिंमनोर्ाञ्छितंमृतैः स्वर्गंसमाश्रयेत्॥
It means: Just the sight of Somnath Shivling ensures that a person is freed of sins,
achieves their righteous desires and attains heaven after death.
Tragically, this very Somnath, which drew the reverence and prayers of millions,
was attacked by foreign invaders, whose agenda was demolition, not devotion.
The year 2026 is significant for the Somnath Temple. It has been 1,000 years
since the first attack on this great shrine. It was in January of 1026 that Mahmud
of Ghazni attacked this Temple, seeking to destroy a great symbol of faith and
civilisation, through a violent and barbaric invasion.
Yet, one thousand years later, the Temple stands as glorious as ever because of
numerous efforts to restore Somnath to its grandeur. One such milestone
completes 75 years in 2026. It was during a ceremony on May 11th 1951, in the
presence of the then President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, that the restored
Temple opened its doors to devotees.
The first invasion of Somnath a thousand years ago in 1026, the cruelty that was
unleashed upon the people of the town and the devastation that was inflicted upon
the shrine have been documented in great detail in various historical accounts.
When you read them, the heart trembles. Each line carries the weight of grief,
cruelty and a sorrow that refuses to fade with time.
Imagine the impact it had on Bharat and the morale of the people. After all,
Somnath had great spiritual significance. It was also on the coast, giving strength
to a society with great economic prowess, whose sea traders and seafarers carried
tales of its grandeur far and wide.
1Yet, I am proud to state unequivocally that the story of Somnath, a thousand years
after the first attack, is not defined by destruction. It is defined by the unbreakable
courage of crores of children of Bharat Mata.
The medieval barbarism that began a thousand years ago in 1026 went on to
‘inspire’ others to repeatedly attack Somnath. It was the start of an attempt to
enslave our people and culture. But, each time the Temple was attacked, we also
had great men and women who stood up to defend it and even made the ultimate
sacrifice. And every single time, generation after generation, the people of our
great civilisation picked themselves up, rebuilt and rejuvenated the Temple. It is
our privilege to have been nurtured by the same soil that has nurtured greats like
Ahilyabai Holkar, who made a noble attempt to ensure devotees can pray at
Somnath.
In the 1890s, Swami Vivekananda visited Somnath and that experience moved
him. He expressed his feelings during a lecture in Chennai in 1897 when he said,
“Some of these old temples of Southern India and those like Somnath of Gujarat
will teach you volumes of wisdom, will give you a keener insight into the history
of the race than any amount of books. Mark how these temples bear the marks of
a hundred attacks and a hundred regenerations, continually destroyed and
continually springing up out of the ruins, rejuvenated and strong as ever! That is
the national mind, that is the national life-current. Follow it and it leads to glory.
Give it up and you die; death will be the only result, annihilation, the only effect,
the moment you step beyond that life current.”
The sacred duty of rebuilding the Somnath Temple after independence came to
the able hands of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. A visit during Diwali time in 1947
moved him so much that he announced that the Temple will be rebuilt there.
Finally, on May 11th 1951, a grand Temple in Somnath opened its doors to
devotees and Dr. Rajendra Prasad was present there. The great Sardar Sahib was
not alive to see this historic day, but the fulfilment of his dream stood tall before
the nation. The then Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, was not too
enthused with this development. He did not want the Honourable President as
well as Ministers to associate with this special event. He said that this event
created a bad impression of India. But Dr. Rajendra Prasad stood firm and the
rest is history. No mention of Somnath is complete without recalling the efforts
of KM Munshi, who supported Sardar Patel very effectively. His works on
Somnath, including the book, ‘Somanatha: The Shrine Eternal’, are extremely
informative and educative.
2Indeed, as the title of Munshi Ji’s book conveys, we are a civilisation that carries
a sense of conviction about the eternity of spirit and of ideas. We firmly believe
that that which is eternal is indestructible, as outlined in the famous Gita verse
“न नं लिन्दञ्छि शस्त्रालि…”. There can be no better example of our civilisation’s
indomitable spirit than Somnath, which stands gloriously, overcoming odds and
struggles.
It is this same spirit that is visible in our nation, one of the brightest spots of
global growth, having overcome centuries of invasions and colonial loot. It is our
value systems and the determination of our people that have made India the centre
of global attention today. The world is seeing India with hope and optimism.
They want to invest in our innovative youngsters. Our art, culture, music and
several festivals are going global. Yoga and Ayurveda are making a worldwide
impact, boosting healthy living. Solutions to some of the most pressing global
challenges are coming from India.
Since time immemorial, Somnath has brought together people from different
walks of life. Centuries ago, Kalikal Sarvagna Hemchandracharya, a respected
Jain monk, came to Somnath. It is said that after praying there, he recited a verse,
“भर्बीजाङ् कु रजनना रार्गाद्ाैः क्षयमुपर्गता यस्य।”. It means – Salutations to That One
in whom the seeds of worldly becoming are destroyed, in whom passion and all
afflictions have withered away.” Today, Somnath holds the same ability to
awaken something profound within the mind and soul.
A thousand years after the first attack in 1026, the sea at Somnath still roars with
the same intensity as it did back then. The waves that wash the shores of Somnath
tell a story. No matter what, just like the waves, it kept rising again and again.
The aggressors of the past are now dust in the wind, their names synonymous
with destruction. They are footnotes in the annals of history, while Somnath
stands bright, radiating far beyond the horizon, reminding us of the eternal spirit
that remained undiminished by the attack of 1026. Somnath is a song of hope that
tells us that while hate and fanaticism may have the power to destroy for a
moment, faith and conviction in the power of goodness have the power to create
for eternity.
If the Somnath Temple, which was attacked a thousand years ago and faced
continuous attacks thereon, could rise again and again, then we can surely restore
our great nation to the glory it embodied a thousand years ago before the
invasions. With the blessings of Shree Somnath Mahadev, we move forward with
3a renewed resolve to build a Viksit Bharat, where civilisational wisdom guides
us to work for the welfare of the whole world.
Jai Somnath!
(Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister of India and is also the Chairman of the
Shree Somnath Trust)
