" Ghazni went down in history as the most hated looter to reach Somnath. He was fanatical about destroying the Shiv lingam. Mahmud personally took on the task of smashing the temple’s lingam to smithereens. The stone fragments from the lingam were transported back by him to Ghazni. These fragments were scattered upon the steps leading to the city’s Jamiah Masjid—a new mosque that was under construction. The idea was to ensure that the feet of worshippers at the mosque would tread all over the lingam’s fragments as they entered the mosque. "

― Ashwin Sanghi , The Krishna Key