Question

The Somnath Temple which was destroyed by Mahmud of Ghazni was dedicated to Lord___
A.Vishnu
B.Shiva
C.Surya
D.Ganpati

Answer 1

Hint: Mahmud of Ghazni was a Turkish invader who attacked India 17 times between 1000 and 1024 AD for the dual purposes for accumulating wealth and spreading Islam. In 1024 AD, he raided Gujarat and took away all the wealth of the Somnath temple, damaging it severely. He was responsible for taking up a lot of wealth from India, plundering it for its resources and using them for the sake of his own empire.

Complete answer:
Mahmud of Ghazni succeeded his father in 998 AD and established a huge empire in Central Asia, with Ghazni as the capital. He raided India for the first time in 1000 AD. He later attacked Kabul, Delhi, Kanauj, Mathura, Kangra, Thaneshwar, Kashmir, Gwalior, Malwa, Bundelkhand, Tripuri, Bengal and Punjab.
In 1024 AD, he raided the temple of Somnath on the coast of Saurashtra. This was supposed to be one of his biggest raids. He broke the Jyotirlinga of Somnath’s Shiva temple. About 50,000 Hindus died in the Battle of Somnath, after which, Mahmood stole all the gold and riches from the temple.
He was ruthless and his invasions were harshly plunderous. He transformed places like Mathura, Kanauj, Thaneshwar into ruins. He was considered to be a great Islamic hero as he looted the wealth of the temples and then destroyed them completely at various places such as Jwalamukhi, Maheshwar, Narunkot and Dwarka.
The invasions had significant impacts - they indicated that Rajputs had no political unity amongst them, and provided a source of growing hatred between the Hindus and Muslims.
Indian resources were drained, the economy suffered severely and the demolitions served as a major setback to Indian arts, architecture and sculpture.

Hence, the correct answer is option (B).

Note: Ghanzi’s conquests made the frontiers of India weak and allowed the Afghan and Turkish rulers to enter the territories of Gangetic Valleys at any point of time.