Somnath to be on railway map

Travellers will soon get easy access to the holy place of Somnath.

As part of its plan to link all prominent pilgrimage places in the country, the Railways plans to connect Somnath with Veraval and Dwarka.

A new railway station will be constructed at Somnath while the station at Dwarka will be provided more passenger facilities. Both these stations and their surroundings will embody the cultural and traditional heritage of Saurashtra.

"Besides the importance of Dwarka and Somnath as pilgrim centres in Saurashtra, they are also of big centres for tourism. The Western Railway has thus decided to include these centres on its map. Co-operation from the Gujarat state and the Department of Tourism will be solicited for the purpose," Rajiv Kumar, additional regional manager, Western Railway (Rajkot), said.

The Somnath railway station will be just a kilometer from the site of the temple and the national highway.

Raikhav Sanghvi, the architect of Somnath railway station, said: "The Somnath railway station will have a 'C' type construction like that of the Mumbai Central station. One side of the station will have restaurants while the other will the Railway's administrative and other allied offices. The station will have a large screen and will be equipped with modern facilities".

The Somnath temple on the southern coast of Saurashtra is a famous pilgrim place. Somnath is the first among the twelve Jyotirlings. Prabhas Patan has been a pilgrimage, being the confluence of the mythological Saraswati, Hiranya and Kapila. Legend has it that Lord Shiva's Kalbhairav linga is situated at Prabhas.

The place is also associated with the moon as the Moon God is also said to have worshipped this Shivling. This is also the reason why this temple is popularly known as Somnath, the one named after the moon. Many people visiting the place round the year.

As part of the proposed Somnath pilgrimage development plan, the nearby sea shore, Bhalka Tirth, River Triveni and Dehotsarga (Lord Krishna's death place) have been named holy places and will be developed as a pilgrimage.