The Somnath Temple Trust has embarked on a Rs 200-crore project to gold plate the historic temple, which is one of the Jyotirlingas located at Prabhash Patan in Junagadh district. The arch and pillars at the sanctum sanctorum have already been gold plated.
?We will carry out the project in phases and hope to complete it in the next three years,? said Trust manager Kamlesh Raval.
The temple has three mandaps ? Garbha, Sabha and Nritya ? and plating of Garbha, where the Jytorilinga is located, is almost over. To give back the temple its original design, the Trust is also trying to restore the old carving on the pillars of Sabha Mandap. The carvings were originally gold plated and had designs of flowers and religious symbols. The present temple, Kailash Mahameru Prasada, reflects the Chalukya architecture and skills of Sompuras, Gujarat?s master masons.
Besides gold plating, the outer structure of the temple has been painted with fungus-resistant paint to allow the porous Bella stones, which make up the structure, breathe. Located on the seashore, the structure has to face the brunt of saline and moist sea wind. The outer coating would protect the temple from fungus attack for the next 10 years.
In the past, the temple was destroyed and looted many times, the most notable being those by the Turks led by Mahmud Ghazni.
It was reconstructed for the seventh time in 1947 and the construction work continued till 1995.