The Famous Temples of Goa

This year too we had our customary holiday to Goa. Every time we visit Goa, we plan to stay at a different Goa hotels.

Since we were traveling with our family this time, five star amenities, proximity to the beach and yummy food was on our agenda. So we decided to stay at none other than the Park Hyatt Hotel.

Every time, my parents travel to Goa they make sure they visit the famous temples in Goa and so this year we joined them too.

Goa is famous for the beautiful churches and the Portuguese culture.

But did you know about the two iconic temples of Goa.

So in today's post I am going to write about these two beautiful temples.

The Mangueshi Temple

The Mangueshi temple is located in the Mangeshi village in Ponda Taluka of Goa. It is a temple dedicated to Lord Manguesh, an incarnation of Lord Shiva. He is worshipped in the form of a Shivlinga. He is the Kuldevta of many Goud Saraswat Brahmins.

The Manguesh temple in Goa is almost 450 years old and is a simple but beautiful structure consisting of several domes and pillars.

Did you know that the illustrious musical family of Mangeshkars get their surname from the Mangeshi village?

Deenanath Mangeshkar, the father of Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosale, Hridaynath Mangeshkar was a well known Marathi Theatre actor, a Natya Sangeet musician and Indian classical music vocalist.

He was born to Ganesh Bhatt Navathe who served as a priest at the famous Mangueshi Temple in Goa. Since his family had the privilege of performing the Abhishekam ceremony for the Shiva lingam of the Mangueshi Temple since ages, they came to be known by the surname "Abhisheki." But since Deenanath's mother belonged to the Devadasi community of Goa, he did not inherit the surname. He was given the surname "Mangeshkar," which means "of Mangesh."

Now...how interesting is that!

The Shanta Durga temple

Shanta Durga is considered as the Kuldevi of many Konkani Saraswat Brahmin families. The Shanta Durga temple is a private temple belonging to the GSB Community, again in the Ponda Taluka of Goa and is 450 years old too.

Goddess Shanta Durga is the goddess who mediates between Lord Shiva and Vishnu.

In our old scriptures/Puranas, there are references of a battle between Shiva and Vishnu. The battle was so fierce that its effects would be grave, hence Lord Brahma prayed to Goddess Parvati to intervene, which she did in the form of Goddess Shanta Durga.

The idol of Goddess Shanta Durga is shown holding 2 serpents, one in each hand, which are symbolic of Shiva and Vishnu.

So the next time you are in Goa, apart from visiting the gorgeous churches of Goa, make sure you visit these two beautiful and iconic temples of Goa.