Somnath Sharma was born on 31 January 1923 at Dadh, Kangra in state of Himachal Pradesh. His father, Amar Nath Sharma, was a military officer. Two of his siblings served in the military.

Somnath completed his schooling at Sherwood College, Nainital, before enrolling at the Prince of Wales Royal Military College in Dehradun. He later studied at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. During his childhood, Somnath was influenced by the teachings of Krishna and Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, taught to him by his grandfather.

After his graduation from the Royal Military College, in Feb 1942, Sharma was commissioned into the 8th Battalion, 19th Hyderabad Regiment, of the British Indian Army. During World War II, he saw action against the Japanese in Burma during the Arakan Campaign. At that time he served under the command of Colonel K. S. Thimmayya, who would later rise to the rank of general and become Chief of the Army Staff from 1957 to 1961. Sharma was mentioned in despatches for his actions during the fighting of the Arakan Campaign.
Throughout his military career, Sharma was greatly influenced by his uncle Captain K. D. Vasudeva's gallantry in action. Vasudeva also served with the 8th Battalion, participating in the Malayan Campaign during which he died aiding hundreds of soldiers under his command to survive from the Japanese offensive.

On 3 November 1947, Major Som Nath Sharma, commanding D Company of 4 KUMAON, led the patrol. The patrol proceeded as planned without incident till the time came for withdrawing from Badgam. Sharma was ordered to fall back one company at a time, one company at 1400 hrs and he along with his company at 1500 hrs. At 1430 hrs, movement of tribals was seen to the West and near Badgam village. Sharma correctly surmised the movement in Badgam village was meant to divert attention while the attack would come in from the west. The lashkar attacked from the West. Sharma's company was soon surrounded by the enemy from three sides and sustained heavy casualties from the ensuing mortar bombardment. Sharma realized the importance of holding onto his position as both the city of Srinagar and the airport would be vulnerable if it were lost. Under heavy fire and outnumbered seven to one, he urged his company to fight bravely, often exposing himself to danger as he ran from post to post. Despite the forward two platoons falling, Sharma desperately clung to his position with the depth platoon.

While he was busy fighting the enemy, a mortar shell exploded on the ammunition near him. His last message to Brigade HQ received a few moments before he took his last breath was, "The enemies is only 50 yards from us. We are hopelessly outnumbered. I will not withdraw one inch but fight to the last man last round." Brigadier Sen ordered an reorganisation of the defenses. 1 PUNJAB was ordered to vacate Magam immediately and fall back to Srinagar. By nightfall troops of 1 PUNJAB were in Srinagar and detachment sent to approach the Badgam feature.The company of 4 KUMAON under Maj Som Nath Sharma was decimated. For his courageous "last man, last round" stand, Maj Sharma was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, Independent India's newly instituted highest award for gallantry.

The fierce resistance of Sharma's company had caused 200 casualties to the raiders. Also, the tribal leader of the lashkar had a bullet through his leg. The Pakistani raiders made no attempt to exploit the vulnerabilities that night and move to the airfield or to Srinagar city. It is surmised that incapacitation of the leader, the heavy losses and reports of movement of 1 PUNJAB into the area had caused the raiders to misjudge the tactical situation. This bought time for additional Indian troops to in the valley to fall back from Patan to Srinagar, reorganise and block all routes of ingress to Srinagar. Sharma's courageous fight prevented the fall of Srinagar and arguably the Kashmir Valley to Pakistan.
Being a resident of District Budgam, this tale of bravery is very close to me. Major Somnath's efforts helped us to defend Srinagar airbase, which was very crucial site for both sides as airbase was used as an ammunition supply base by Indian Army. If Major Somnath had failed to defend the airbase, protecting kashmir would have been impossible.

Salute to mothers who gives birth to such brave hearts. Jai Hind!