Somnath Temple: 1000-Year-Old Jyotirlinga Found on Maha Shivratri 2025
In a remarkable revelation, spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has announced that fragments of the original Somnath Jyotirlinga, believed to have been lost after Mahmud of Ghazni's invasion in 1026 AD, have been preserved for centuries and are set to return to their "rightful home". This extraordinary claim was made by the spiritual guru in an opinion piece in The Indian Express on the occasion of Maha Shivratri.
As per Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, an ancient tradition of Agnihotri Brahmins kept these pieces hidden, taking them from Saurashtra to Tamil Nadu, where they were secretly worshipped. The spiritual guru asserts that the divine Shivalingas, which have a special magnetic field, were brought to him in his Bengaluru ashram on the orders of the Shankaracharya of Kanchi Peetham a hundred years ago.
On the way to their consecration at Somnath, these Jyotirlingas will be travelling across the nation, and bhaktas from India, from Rameshwaram to all of the 12 Jyotirlingas, will be visiting them to fetch blessings. It will be a one-of-a-kind experience for all the devotees to see these sacred relics and attain divine blessings.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had previously asserted that the fragments have an unusual magnetic quality, in contrast to common magnetic stones, their field is concentrated in the middle even though they contain very little iron. A clip uploaded on Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's official Instagram account records the missing pieces being offered to the spiritual guru in Bengaluru last month.
In his article, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar described the importance of Shiva worship, that Shiva is not worshipped as a destination, but as a gateway to the infinite, a means to transcendence, and that he is worshipped in the form of a linga. He discussed the four phases of spiritual realization, pointing out the significance of the linga as a representation of the divine.
The spiritual guru also told the story of Ghazni, who was hypnotized by the floating Jyotirlinga before desecrating the temple and breaking the Shivalinga into fragments. According to ancient scriptures, the Somnath Shivalinga was not a common relic, it hovered in mid-air, defying the laws of gravity in a divine demonstration of miraculous energy.
The restoration of the lost pieces of Somnath Jyotirlinga is a historic moment, a milestone in India's cultural and spiritual heritage. As the country celebrates Maha Shivratri, the disclosure by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a moving reminder of the strength of faith and the need to protect our cultural heritage.