Thursday, June 23, 2011

Somnath Darshan - The holy place of the Aadi Jyotirling Shree Somnath Mahadev

The Somnath Temple 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 Moon God".

Somnath Jyotirlinga Temple, one of the 12 Jyotirlinga temples dedicated to Lord Shiva.



The Somnath Temple is known as "the Shrine Eternal", having been destroyed six times and rebuilt six times.[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.

The Moon God is said to have been relieved from the curse of his father-in-law Daksha Prajapati by the blessings of Bhagvan Somnath.  In  the Shiva  Purana  and Nandi  Upapurana, Shiva  said, `I  am  always present everywhere  but  specially  in  12  forms  and places as  the  jyotirlingas`. Somnath is one of  these 12 holy places. This is the first among the twelve holy Shiva Jyotirlings.


The  shore  temple of Somnath is  believed  to  have  been  built  in  4  phases-in  gold  by  Lord Soma,  in  silver  by  Ravi,  in wood  by  lord  Krishna  and  in  stone  by  King Bhimadeva. 




Timing for Darshan at Somnath Temple :

6.00am to 9.00pm Timing for Aarti : 7.00 am, 12.00 Noon and 7.00 pm

Jay Somnath Sound and Light Show : 8.00 pm to 9.00 pm

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Dwarka Darshan - Shri Krishna Temple

Dwarka About this sound pronunciation also spelled Dvarka, Dwaraka, and Dvaraka, is a city and a municipality of Jamnagar district in the Gujarat state in India. Dwarka (Dvaraka in Sanskrit - used in this article when referring to the city in a historical context), also known as Dwarawati in Sanskrit literature is rated as one of the seven most ancient cities in the country. The legendary city of Dvaraka was the dwelling place of Lord Krishna. It is believed that due to damage and destruction by the sea, Dvaraka has submerged six times and modern day Dwarka is therefore the seventh such city to be built in the area.


The Dwarakadhish Temple



The present temple was built in 16th century CE, while the original temple was believed to have been built by Krishna's grandson, Vajranabha. The 5-storied temple is made of limestone and sand. A flag hoisted in the temple tower five times each day. There are two gateways - Swarga Dwar, where pilgrims enter, and Moksha Dwar, where pilgrims exit. From the temple one can view the Sangam (confluence) of River Gomati flowing towards the sea. In Dwaraka, there are also shrines for Vasudeva, Devaki, Balarama and Revati, Subhadra, Rukmini Devi, Jambavati Devi and Satyabhama Devi.

There is a special temple for Rukmini Devi on the way to Bet Dwarka temple, which can be reached by boat. A similar deity of Lord Dwarakanath is also kept in Bet Dwaraka. The temple has many Shrines for Lakshmi Narayana, Trivikrama, Jambavati Devi, Satyabhama Devi and Rukmini Devi.

Darshan, Sevas and Festivals



There are many Darshan and Sevas for Lord Dwaraknath. The dress is changed accordingly. The Darshans follow the Pushti Marg Vaishnava scriptures established by Shree Vallabhacharya and Shree Vitheleshnathji. Dwarkadhish temple is a Pushti Marg Temple. The Darshan are

    * Mangala

    * Shringar

    * Gval

    * Rajbhoj

    * Uthapan

    * Bhog

    * Sandhya Aarati

    * Shayan