PM Modi Performs Puja At Shree Somnath Mandir, Offers 'Abhishek'

Somnath: Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed puja at the Shree Somnath Mandir on Sunday as part of the Somnath Swabhiman Parv, the four-day-long national event celebrating 1000 years of unbroken faith and resilience since the first recorded attack on the Somnath Temple in January 1026 by Mahmud of Ghazni. 

Visuals from inside the temple showed him offering prayer, pouring sacred water on the Shivling, with mantras being chanted. 

After the prayers, the Prime Minister greeted seers, saints, and devotees. Earlier in the day, he paid floral tributes to the statue of Veer Hamirji Gohil, who sacrificed his life defending the Somnath Temple in 1299 A.D. from Zafar Khan's invasion. He offered tributes to the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, as well.

PM Modi also participated in the 'Shaurya Yatra' at Somnath. Visuals from the event showed him standing in an open vehicle decorated with flowers, accompanied by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi. During the procession, the Prime Minister played the conch and acknowledged the greetings of the gathered crowd.

The 'Shaurya Yatra' is a symbolic procession organised as part of the Somnath Swabhiman Parv. It represents courage, sacrifice and the indomitable spirit that preserved Somnath through centuries of adversity.Ahead of the yatra, 108 horses of the Gujarat Police Mounted Unit arrived to participate in the event.

What Does Somnath Swabhiman Parv Signify

Somnath Swabhiman Parv, being held from January 8 to January 11, 2026, marks the 1,000th anniversary of the first attack on the Somnath Temple in 1026, marking the beginning of a long period during which the temple was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt over centuries. 

Somnath withstood the test of time, and never ceased to exist in the collective consciousness of the people, proving that it was a living embodiment of belief, identity, and civilisational pride of India.

On Kartak Sud 1, Diwali day, November 12, 1947, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel visited the ruins of Somnath and expressed his resolve to rebuild the temple, viewing its restoration as essential to reviving India's cultural confidence. The reconstruction, carried out with public participation, culminated in the consecration of the present temple on May 11, 1951, in the presence of then-President Rajendra Prasad.

In 2026, India marks 75 years since the historic 1951 ceremony, reaffirming India's civilisational self-respect. Believed to be the first among the 12 Aadi Jyotirlingas, the historic Somnath Temple, crowned by a 150-foot shikhar, stands majestically along the Arabian Sea, symbolising the nation's faith and national resolve. (With ANI inputs)

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