Somanātha Jyotirliṅga

Somanātha is the first and most famous of the twelve Jyotirliṅgas, the self-arisen liṅgas of light of Śiva (a liṅga is Śiva’s sacred sign or form). It stands at Prabhāsa Kshetra on the western coast of Bhārata (Saurāshṭra, in present-day Gujarat), where three holy rivers, the Sarasvatī, the Hiraṇyā and the Kapilā, meet the western ocean.

It began when Candra (the moon), suffering under Daksha’s curse of kshaya (wasting away), recited the Mṛtyuñjaya mantra ten crore (one hundred million) times over six months at Prabhāsa. Śiva appeared and partly lifted the curse by giving the moon its cycle of waxing and waning. He then made Prabhāsa his lasting home as Somanātha, the master of the moon (Soma).

Location

Somanātha stands at Prabhāsa, also called Prabhāsa-Pāṭan, on the coast of the Arabian Sea in the Saurāshṭra (Kathiawar) peninsula of present-day Gujarat. The tīrtha (holy place) is made sacred by the meeting of three rivers with the western ocean: the Sarasvatī, the Hiraṇyā and the Kapilā. The Skanda Purāṇa has a whole khaṇḍa (section), the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa, given to the glories of this holy place.

The Story of Its Origin

In brief: Prajāpati Daksha gave his twenty-seven daughters (the twenty-seven nakshatras, or lunar mansions) to Candra in marriage. Candra loved Rohiṇī far more than the others and neglected the other twenty-six. Daksha cursed Candra with kshaya (wasting away). As Candra quickly shrank, all plants and living things suffered. Brahmā told Candra to offer pūjā at Prabhāsa. For six months Candra recited the Mṛtyuñjaya mantra ten crore times before a pārthiva liṅga (a liṅga of earth). Śiva appeared and granted that Candra would wax and wane in a cycle. Candra then asked Śiva to stay at Prabhāsa for ever. Śiva agreed and made his home there as Somanātha.

Why It Matters

As the first Jyotirliṅga, Somanātha has a special place in the order of the universe:

• Soma (the moon) rules all plants, medicines (oshadhi), time (the lunar calendar) and the minds of beings. In saving Soma, Śiva saved all life.
• The Mṛtyuñjaya mantra, the great mantra for overcoming death, is the mantra linked with this liṅga. This makes Somanātha a leading kshetra for the upāsanā of Śiva as Mṛtyuñjaya (“conqueror of death”).
• Its place on the western ocean sets it at the edge between the known world and the great waters of the universe.

In the Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Purāṇa, Somanātha is mentioned when Kālabhīti compares the bliss he found at Guptakshetra with the bliss he had not found at Vārāṇasī, Naimisha, Prabhāsa (Somanātha), Kedāra, Amarakaṇṭaka and Śrī-Parvata. This places Somanātha among the very highest holy places.

Sources

• Śiva Purāṇa, Koṭi Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 14
• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa