BATTLE OF SOMNATH

*BATTLE OF SOMNATH TEMPLE (06 to 08 Jan 1026 CE) : ODE TO A MILLINIUM OF HEROIC STRUGGLE* 

1. *Almost 1000 years back (996 years to be precise!), the epic Battle of Somnath Temple was fought* by the Indian warriors against Turkic invader Mahmud Ghazni. Many of us would have heard about the destruction of Somnath Temple in Gujrat by Mahmud Ghazni, ruler of Ghazni (located in present day Afghanistan) in 1026 CE. However, the true significance of this battle has never been told to us. On the anniversary of this epic battle, this short write-up is my humble tribute to the 50,000 brave hearts who sacrificed their life in this battle as also to the countless others who braved a millennium of persecution to ensure that the flame does not extinguish.

2. Mahmud Gazni was a tyrant who had caried out untold miseries in present day Afghanistan, North West Iran and North-Central India. Having destroyed major temple towns of Thaneshwar (near Kurukshetr), Mathura and Kannauj in his preceding invasions into India, Mahmud launched his major operation into Gujarat coast to destroy the famous temple of Somnath. 

3. *One of the major reasons for this expedition* for destruction of lord Somnath idol was the then belief amongst some Islamic scholars that idol of Somnath was actually the idol of Manat, the goddess worshipped by the Arabs at Mecca, prior to advent of Islam. They believed that the idol of Manat had been transported by its worshippers to India to prevent it's destruction. The famous mystic poet, Sheikh Faridud-din Attar referred to it as goddess Lat, another important deity worshipped by the pre-Islamic Arabs at Mecca.

4. Mahmud Gazni commenced his operations from Gazni on 18 Oct 1025 CE with an army of around 30,000 regular cavalry and thousands of volunteers who were looking forward to grabbing Maal-e-Ghanimat (euphemism for loot and plunder). The invaders, after a short halt at Multan moved, through the Thar desert, via Mt Abu and by the end of Dec 1025 had reached Patan. The army of Patan met the invaders at Mundher (modern Modhera) but were defeated. From Modhera, Mahmud marched towards Somnath and had invested the temple town by 6 Jan 1026. The epic battle took place between 6-8 Jan 1026. 

5. According to the Islamic chroniclers, the defenders fought with unmatched heroism. On 7 Jan, the Turkic army was able to scale the temple wall; but in desperate counterattacks, the defenders were able to push the invaders back. However, by 8th Jan, the battle was coming to an end. The defending warriors, who comprised mostly of devotees who had grabbed whatever weapons they could muster and small body of professional soldiers from the rulers in the vicinity of Somnath fought resolutely. Band after band of defenders entered the sanctum sanctorum to take blessings of Lord Somnath and then rushed out to fight the invaders. As the third day of battle ended, around 50,000 of the defenders lay dead. Ganga Sarvajna, the Pashupatacharya of the temple died in front of the Shivling, before it was shattered to pieces. However, the sacrifices had not been in vain. The pitched battle had caused large number of casualties in the Turkic army too.

6. Mahmud then entered the centuries old temple and broke the idol of lord Somnath. Some portions of the idol were sent to Mecca and Baghdad and some were thrown in front of the Jama Masjid in Ghazi and his palace. The temple wealth was looted and the temple was burnt to ground.

7. After the battle, Mahmud realised that the Indian rulers were converging under King Paramdeo of Abu to block the return route of Mahmud Gazni.  Having taken a terrible beating in the Battle of Somnath, Mahmud's troops were not ready for another pitched battle with the Indians. So, loading their loot and plundering from the temple (justified by the legal term _Maal-e- Ghanimat_ ), Mahmud retreated along Westerly route through Kutch and Sindh. However, the Turks did not retreat unmolested. The Turks were led astray by a devotee of Lord Somnath who had offered to act as a guide, but to avenge the desecration of his deity, had intentionally brought the Army to a place in the deserts where water could not be found. It was with great difficulty and losses that the Turks were able to navigate out of the Desert. However, as they came out of the desert, the *Jats of Sindh* were waiting for the Turkic invaders. Al Baruni (famous writer in the court of Mahmud Gazni) says that the Jats of Sindh were worshippers of Shiva.  The Jats, living along the Indus River carried out continuous raids all along the Turkic retreat, causing a large number of casualties to the Turks. Ibn-ul-Athir writes that, "……but at last, after suffering great distress and hardship, he reached Ghazni in Apr 1026".  

8. However, this was not the first time that the Jats of Sindh had showed their fighting prowess to foreign invaders. Almost three hundred years back, their ancestors had meted the same treatment to Md bin Qassim, the Arab invader who had carried out trail of death and destruction in Sind and South-Western Punjab in 711-12 CE. The effectiveness of Jat military action can be gauged from the fact that in Mar 1027 CE, Mahmud Gazni launched an expedition specifically against the Jats staying along the Indus River. I am not sure if the present day Jats know of these glorious exploits of their clansmen. 

9. *Aftermath* . *The actual saga of a millennium of dogged perseverance begins after the battle of Somnath* .

(a) Under the leadership of King Bhimdev and his son Karna, the temple was reconstructed between 1030 to 1045-50 CE. The temple was further enlarged and renovated by King Kumarpala (under the guidance of Saint Bhava Brihaspati) in 1169 CE. This was not merely restructuring of the Temple but of the complete town. 

(b) In 1300 CE, on orders of Alla-ud-din Khliji, the temple was once again destroyed by his general Alaf Khan but not before fighting a pitched battle with the local devotees and warriors who fell fighting. However, the temple was repaired by King Mahipaldeva (1308-1352 CE); the Chundasama King of Junagarh and his son, Ra Khangar between 1325 and 1351 CE. 

(c) However, the temple was again destroyed by Zaffar Khan, the then governor of Gujrat. In 1459 CE, Mahmud Begda, the then ruler of Gujrat attacked Somnath Temple and converted the temple into a mosque. However, by 1500 CE, the temple had been reclaimed and re-built.

(d) In 1669 CE Aurangzab ordered Somnath Temple's destruction, along with destruction of a number of other notable temples of that time. However, even after the destruction of the temple, the locals continued to worship in the temple ruins. So, in 1706 Aurangzeb ordered the local Governor to destroy the temple ruins beyond the possibility of repairs and converted the broken temple into a mosque.

(e) It was only in 1783, that the indomitable Queen Ahilyabai built a new temple at Somnath. 

(f) In Dec 1812, the Gaekwads of Baroda acquired control of the Somnath temple from the Nawab of Junagarh. However, hostility of Nawabs of Junagarh ensured that no meaningful repairs could be undertaken and by 1930s the temple was in ruins with almost no repairs and other restorations having been undertaken for almost 150 years. 

(g) Post-Independence, it was on 12 Nov 1947 that Sardar Patel ordered construction of a new temple at Somnath while KM Munshi oversaw the actual construction. 

10. *Impact of the Battle of Somnath* .  Prior to the epic battle of Somnath, Mahmud had been attacking North India with impunity, carrying out untold death and destruction. However, the Battle of Somnath caused such immense losses in his Army and so thoroughly demoralised the Turkic troops that hereafter they never undertook any further invasions into India save the expedition against the brave Jats of Sindh. Even this campaign against Jats was more of a face-saving expedition. The significance of Battle of Somnath in destroying the combat power of a foreign invader is similar to what the mighty Marathas achieved against Ahmed Shah Abdali in the *Third Battle of Panipat* . In this great historic battle, Marathas, under Sadashivrao Bhau badly decimated the Afghans. Like Mahmud, after the terrible beating suffered in the Third battle of Panipat, Abdali's power was on the wane.

11. Today, the temple of Somnath stands tall, symbolic of the Indian spirit of perseverance and doggedness, unmatched by any other civilisation in the world. In contrast, tomb of Mahmud Ghazni stands dilapidated and forgotten. While the regions of India which were attacked by Mahmud are growing from strength to strength, the region of Ghazni is mired in poverty and strife. Is this the Theory of Karma in action?

12. *Balidan Stambh.*  As we approach the 1000th anniversary of this epic battle on 8 Jan 2026 it would be only fair to construct a Balidan Stambh at Somnath to commemorate the 50,000 warriors who laid down their life fighting a ruthless invader. 

 _Jai Hind!_ 

Karan Khajuria

*******   END   *******

       
       

ब्रिगेडियर_नरेन्द्र_ढंड

Brig Narinder Dhand,

Founder & Convener

Veteran's Web Portals.

NOTE - Join our Email List - Please send your Rank and Name, Regt/Corps , Email ID and Mob Number to our Member COORD at " mgr.grps@gmail.com " for Registration to receive updates on Veteran's issues regularly.

****************************
**************   PLEASE DO WRITE TO US **************

WE WELCOME YOUR COMMENTS , QUERIES, REMARKS AND SUGGESTIONS ONCE THESE ARE PLACED UNDER THE COMMENTS BELOW.

1. Kindly post your remarks under the comments below ending the same with your RANK , NAME and YOUR MAIL ID. Comments posted without your identification, we are sorry, will not be published.

2. Please AVOID EMAILING US unless you have first gone through the post in detail and have worked out the solution on your own.

3. We regret that we have no infrastructure to take on individual tasks on their behalf. Please do not embarrass us by offering donations etc to work for you, we have no commercial leanings.

4. Our aim at SIGNALS-PARIVAAR is to guide so that you can work on it as a "DO IT YOURSELF" exercise. Ours is a "NISHKAAM SEWA" to our Community.
********************************************