Somnath: In a first for the Somnath Temple, a special Kumbhabhishek ceremony will be performed on the temple shikhara on May 11 using holy water collected from 11 pilgrimage sites as part of the ongoing Somnath Amrit Parva-2026 celebrations marking 75 years of the reconstruction of the temple.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Somnath on May 11, during which he will offer Mahapuja at the Somnath Mahadev temple. The Kumbhabhishek ritual will be one of the key highlights of the event, officials said.

According to organisers, a massive ceremonial kumbh containing sacred water from 11 pilgrimage sites will be lifted nearly 90 metres to the temple peak using a specially arranged crane positioned outside the temple premises. Priests accompanying the kumbh will perform Vedic chants before the holy water is poured over the temple shikhara.

Hemal Bhatt, head priest of the Sompura Brahmin Samaj, said this would be the first time such a Kumbhabhishek ceremony is being performed at the reconstructed Somnath temple.

He said the tradition is commonly followed in southern Indian temples, where temple peaks are ceremonially purified through Kumbhabhishek rituals every 10 to 12 years. “However, this will be the first such ritual in the history of the reconstructed Somnath temple,” he added.

The Somnath Amrit Parva-2026 celebrations have generated significant enthusiasm in the Somnath region, with several religious and cultural events being organised in the presence of devotees and dignitaries. DeshGujarat