Invaders like Mahmud of Ghazni attacked Somnath temple, but couldn't break our faith: Gujarat DyCM

Gandhinagar, Jan 8 (PTI) Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi on Thursday said while invaders like Mahmud of Ghazni damaged the walls of the Somnath temple, they failed to break the faith of devotees.

He was speaking at the Swaminarayan temple in Gandhinagar, where he offered prayers on the occasion of his birthday.

"Many invaders like Mahmud of Ghazni attacked the Somnath temple, and they damaged the walls of the temple, but they could not break our faith to this day," Sanghavi said.

The deputy CM later celebrated his birthday with differently-abled children of a tribal residential school in Gandhinagar.

The four-day-long 'Somnath Swabhiman Parva' began on Thursday at the historic Somnath Temple near Veraval town of Gujarat's Gir Somnath district. As part of it, chanting of 'Om Namah Shivay' began at 9 am with thousands of devotees from across the country joining the 72-hour Omkar chanting.

Sharing details of the event, Sanghavi said the Omkar chanting will continue not only at the Somnath temple but also at thousands of Shiv temples in the state until January 10, followed by a Maha Aarti at Somnath in the evening, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"This festival is a historic moment," he added. PTI KVM PD NP