Somnath Temple (L), Mahmud of Ghazni (R)

The Mahmud of Ghazni not only launched repeated attacks on Somnath Temple to plunder its legendary wealth but also sought to humiliate Hindus by destroying the idol of one of their most revered deities. Earlier today, the court-monitored survey of the disputed Gyanvapi structure reportedly found a Shivling inside the Wuzukhana of the mosque. The Wuzukhana is a place inside a mosque where Muslims wash their hands and feet before offering namaz.  

Gyanvapi survey: Shivling found after draining out ‘Wuzukhana’, people wash their hands and feet in it before offering namaz - Insulting the Hindus, where is the outrage???

The discovery of a Shivling inside the mosque, that too at a place associated with ‘cleansing dirt’, sparked outrage among Hindus and brought to the fore the historical aversion that Muslim rulers who attacked India harboured for Kafirs in general and Hindus or idol-worshippers in particular. 

The desecration of Somnath idol by Mahmud of Ghazni: The utter contempt harboured by Islamic marauders against Vedic faiths

One of the hallmarks of centuries of Islamic rule in India was the deep antagonism they held against Hindus, which was manifested from time to time in their perverse desire to humiliate Hindus and force them into embracing Islam. To this end, the Islamic marauders not only looted the legendary wealth of temples to fill their coffers but also subjected Hindus to mortification by destroying the temples and desecrating the idols that resided in them. 

Perhaps, no one embodied this hatred against Hindus and their deities more zealously than Mahmud of Ghazni, who led 17 attacks against the hallowed Hindu temple of Somnath and made no bones about his aversion for Hindu beliefs and idols of Hindu Gods. While his primary aim to invade India was to loot its vaunted wealth, Mahmud of Ghazni was equally fanatic in attacking India to spread Islam. In his sixteenth expedition to India in 1025, he plundered the celebrated idol of Somnath. The word “Somnath” means master of the moon. The Somnath temple located in Gujarat, India, is one of the twelve jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva.

The subjugation of kafirs and subjection of their faith to ignominy were the key objectives undergirding the Islamic conquests in medieval India. The Mahmud of Ghazni not only launched repeated attacks on Somnath Temple to plunder its legendary wealth but also sought to humiliate Hindus by destroying the idol of one of their most revered deities.

According to historical accounts, during his 16th raid on the Somnath Temple, he smashed and broke the idol of Lord Somnath into four pieces. After successfully subduing defenders of the Somnath Temple, Mahmud of Ghazni entered the temple, where he saw the majestic idol of Lord Somnath. On seeing the idol, anger coursed through him and he lifted his mace and attacked with such ferocity that the reportedly five yard-long idol of Lord Somnath was broken into pieces.