The literal meaning of the Somnath is “The protector of the Moon God” and the legend has it that Soma or the Moon God constructed this temple in Gold. He was cursed by Daksha his father-in-law to wane because Soma loved only one of his wives Rohini all of whom were Daksha's daughters. Soma's other wives complained his behavior to their father Daksha, who in turn cursed him. Soma constructed a Shivlinga at the Prabhas tirth and prayed to Lord Shiva for forgiveness and assistance who removed the curse but only partially hence causing the periodic waning of moon. Thus the temple is dedicated to the Lord Shiva who is the residing deity of this temple now. The temple has been raided by the foreign invaders like Mahmood of Ghazna in 1024 CE who plundered its wealth but the temple has sustained the onslaught of foreign and the local Muslim invaders and has withstood desecration six times at the hand of different rulers. The very existence of this temple is the symbol of sustainence and the spirit of reconstruction. MakeMyTrip.com offers heavy discounts on the tickets to Somnath and offers all the vital information regarding various facts on how to reach Somnath.
Various attractions in Somnath are:
Somnath Jyotirlinga Temple,Old Somnath Temple,Parasuram Temple,Panch Pandav Gufa,Balukha Tirtha,Suraj Mandir,Junagadh Gate,Kamnath Mahadev Temple,Gita Mandir,Lakshminarayan Temple,Triveni Ghat etc. Best time to go Somnath is Oct - March.