The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hindusim vol 2

Somnath
Somnath Shore Temple, Gujarat.
660
the Kali [Age]” (Kalivarjya), although it
had been permitted in earlier times.
Somnath
Temple and sacred site (tirtha) in the
state of Gujarat. The temple is named
for its presiding deity—the god Shiva in
his manifestation as the “Lord of the
Moon.” Shiva is present at Somnath in
the form of a linga, the pillar-shaped
image that is his symbolic form, and the
Somnath linga is one of the twelve
jyotirlingas, a network of sites deemed
especially sacred to Shiva, and at which
he is uniquely present. According to the
site’s charter myth, the moon is married
to all of the twenty-seven nakshatras, or
signs in the lunar zodiac, but he loves
Rohini nakshatra so much that he stays
with her all the time, and neglects his
other twenty-six wives. His father-in-law
Daksha protests to the moon, but when
he refuses to give them equal time,
Daksha lays a curse on him that he will
lose all his light. The moon overcomes
this curse by worshiping Shiva at
Somnath for six continuous months and
is given the boon that he will only shrink
during half the lunar month, and that
during the other half he will grow. As
a sign of this gift, Shiva takes
residence there as Somnath, and
remains to this day.
Aside from its importance as a sacred
site, the Somnath temple is a potent
political symbol. The original temple
was razed and pillaged by Mahmud of
Ghazni in 1024, who reportedly carried
off astounding booty. The present temple
at Somnath was built after Indian
independence in 1947 and consecrated
in 1951. As a symbol, Somnath is thus
associated with past oppression and
depredation, and with the revitalization
of Hindu culture in India. For this reason,
the Somnath temple is a popular
image for proponents of Hindutva, an
idea that identifies Hindu identity and
Indian citizenship.
Sonar
In traditional northern Indian society, a
Hindu jati whose hereditary occupation
was gold smithing and jewelry making.
Traditional Indian society was modeled
as a collection of endogamous, or intermarried,
subgroups known as jatis
(“birth”). These jatis were organized