Karnal, June 9 -- After flagging off a special train from Kurukshetra to Somnath, Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini said that pilgrimages are a great means of social integration and devotees will return with renewed energy, inspiration, and a new consciousness. More than 1,100 devotees from various parts of the state are travelling on the train under the Mukhyamantri Tirath Yatra Yojana. Earlier, Saini offered prayers to Lord Shiva with chanting of mantras at the Shri Sarveshwar Mahadev Temple located at Brahmasarovar. The CM said that this is the beginning of a journey of devotion, faith, culture and eternal consciousness from the land of Haryana, which connects us to India's thousands of years old spiritual heritage. "The history of the Somnath Temple is a saga of India's resilience. The temple was destroyed and looted numerous times, but each time it rose with redoubled courage. History bears witness that whenever Somnath was attacked, the soul of the entire nation was hurt. But each time, the nation proved that our faith cannot be destroyed by swords," he said. "When the call for the reconstruction of the Somnath Temple and the cultural renaissance of independent India was made, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel described the construction of the temple as the restoration of national construction, which served to connect the nation to its cultural roots," he added....