 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.On 22 February 1942, upon his graduation from the Royal Military College, Sharma was commissioned into the 8th Battalion, 19th Hyderabad Regiment, of the British Indian Army (later to become the Indian Army's 4th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment).