Sthala Mahātmyam
Somnath, on the Saurashtra coast at the Triveni Sangam where the Hiranya, Kapila and mythical Saraswati rivers meet the sea, is revered as the first among the twelve Jyotirlingas, the place where Shiva is said to have first manifested. Its sthala legend centres on Chandra (Soma, the Moon-god), who, cursed by Daksha to wane away, worshipped Shiva here and was released from the curse; hence Shiva is called Somnath or Someshwar, Lord of the Moon. Tradition holds the shrine was first fashioned in gold by Soma, in silver by Ravana, and in sandalwood by Krishna. Repeatedly plundered and rebuilt across the centuries, famously sacked by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1024, the present temple in Chalukya (Maru-Gurjara) style was completed in 1951 and inaugurated by President Rajendra Prasad, championed by Sardar Patel. Mahashivaratri is the foremost festival, alongside the sacred month of Shravan and Kartik Purnima, when pilgrims throng the seashore shrine.