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That
the above-mentioned identifications of the site of the original temple of Somanatha are
incorrect is evident from the accounts of Abi Raihan AI-Biruni who placed it at a distance
of "a little less than three miles west of the mouth of the river Sarsuti
(Sarasvati)."20 M. Nazim tried to identify the site of the temple with one lying at a
distance of about 200 yards to the west of the temple of Bhidia and it will he interesting
to quote him below: -
"I searched for the site
of the original temple during my visit to Somanatha Patan and about 200 yards to the west
of the temple of Bhidia, about three miles from the mouth of the river Saraswati, I found
the remains of large blocks of stones joined together with a whitish cement, partly in
sand and partly washed over by the sea at high tide.
20. Tahqiq ma li’l-Hind by Al-Biruni, English
translation by Sachau, Vol. 11, p. 105.
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