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This famous Temple is dedicated to Damodar deity – the reincarnation of Shiva God. Here such Gods as Ramnath (the incarnation of Lord Shiva), Chamundeshwari (the fierce form of Shakti, a tutelary deity), Mahakali (the Hindu Goddess of time and death, considered to be the consort of Shiva the God of consciousness, and as the basis of Reality and existence) and Mahesha (one more incarnation of Lord Shiva) are also honored and hold in reverence. Originally the Temple was built in the City of Margao, but in 1565 during the Portuguese Inquisition it was destroyed and a Church of Holy Spirit was elevated on its place. Darmodar is a place of worship for both Hindus and Catholics. The Shri Damodar Temple is one of the most beautiful and famous architecture constructions in Goa. It stands on the bank of Kushawati River near the Zambaulim Village, just 22 km from the City of Margao on the border of Quepem region (Quepem taluk) and Sanguem region (Sanguem taluk), in Soth Goa. Hindus believe that...

This temple is dedicated to Goddess Durga, one of the most powerful of all Hindu deities. The main idol has the idol of Lord Shiva on one side and Lord Vishnu on the other. Lores have it that while Goddess Durga brought a ceasefire between the two, bringing peace to the world. Owing to this, she was named as Shri Shantdurga , which means peace in Hindi. It was built over a course of years from 1713 AD to 1738 AD. Shantadurga is the mother Goddess worshipped by our countrymen since times immemorial. She takes various forms and shapes. In Bengal, she is the Durga, in Gujrat she is the Amba. She is the Dravidian Goddess who was incorporated in the Aryan pantheon. In fact in Goa, she was worshipped as 'ant¬hill' (roinn) by the pre-historic Goan people. The Shantadurga deity was brought to Goa by the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins who are supposed to have migrated to Goa from especially the Gaud region of Bengal, Tirhut (Trihotrapur) in Bihar. Tirhut, being the original place from where t...

Vimaleshwar Temple is located in Rivona village of Sanguem taluka in the state of Goa, India. Vimaleshwar is a form of Lord Shiva and is worshiped in the form of a Shivalinga. It is a " Swayambhu" shivlinga. The Prabhu Dessai family of Rivona (GSBs) and the Daivajna Brahmins with surname 'Rivonkar' or 'Revankar' are Mahajans of the temple.

The temple of Goddess Mahalasa had been on the plateau of Verna village in Salcette taluka from ancient times long before the advent of the Portuguese rule in this part of Goa. It is said that Parushuram brought 10 Saraswat families in Gomantak from their settlements in Trihotra in the North. These 10 families brought with them their following family deities: Mangueshi, Mahadeva, Mahalaxmi, Mahalasa, Shantadurga, Nagesh and Saptkoteshwar. Later, more Saraswat families came to Goa and they too brought with them their own family deities. In all, there were 66 families which settled in Salcette taluka. Of them, six families settled in Varyenapur or Varunapur (old Mhaddol), commonly known as Vernem during Portuguese rule and Verna now.

This is one of the greatest Shaivite shrines of Goa which has a chequered and turbulent history of more than one thousand years. Saptakoteshwar was the family deity of the Kadambas of Goa, and they honoured it by featuring the legend and the Shikara on their gold coins. The gold coins of Jayakeshi I (1050-1080AD) and Jayakeshi II (1104-1147 AD) carry the inscription. The temple was destroyed several times by the marauding Muslims and later by the Portugese. The Lingam itself is one of the most sacred relic which has been equated with that of the Kedarnath in the Puranas and its presence endowed on Goa the designation of Konkan Kashi. This sacred relief, however, had to be buried inthe paddy fields to avoid desecration and had to face the ignominy of being turned into the step of a well so that people drawing water could commit the sacrilege of stepping on it. This same mukhalingam, however, had the privilege of being venerated by two very illustrious personalities in the Indian histo...

The Shri Mangeshi Temple is a Beautiful Temple Dedicated To Lord Shiv a. It is considered to be the Most Important Temple In Goa, it belongs to the typical Goan Hindu temple style of architecture. It is very distinctive with its white towers, welcoming at the entrance even though it is small and exquisite. It is located on a Hillock at Proil which is in the Ponda Taluka, surrounded with lush greenery which creates a separate place in the hearts of the onlookers. It is 22 kms from Panjim and 26 kms from Margao. It is one of the largest, wealthiest and most frequently visited temples in Goa. Legend has said that once Lord Shiva And Mata Parvati were playing dice in their abode at Mount Kailas. Shiva kept losing, and in the last roll of the dice staked his heaven. Having lost that too, he had to leave the Himalayas. He wandered southwards and presently crossed the Sahyadri mountains and came to Kushasthali, now Cortalim, where Lopesh, his faithful devotee, entreated him to remain. Forlorn...

Ramnath is a Divine Symbol of the unity of Hari (Vishnu) and Hara (Shiva). Ramnath is a compound word formed by the unity of two words Rama and Natha. So, Ramnath means the Lord of Rama. In another way Ramnath also means the one whose Lord is Rama. So, the Lord of Rama is Shiva and the Lord of Shiva is Rama. Shivshankar drank the poison (Halahal) which came out during the churning of the ocean. His throat became blue and he started getting burning sensation. That sensation was soothed by the recital of Rama Nama. So, our Ramnath is a symbol of unity of Hari and Hara and we should be proud of being Kullavis of such Daivat. Must Read - Story Of Samudramanthan The temple of Ramnathi is located in Ramnathim, Bandivade in Goa. This temple belongs to the Goan Brahmin community (Saraswat and Daivadnya Brahmins). Similar to other Goan Brahmin temples, Ramnathi too incorporates the system of Panchayasthan, therefore this temple house 5 main deities namely - Shri Ramanath (chief deity), Shant...