temples of Goa, Goa travel|Goa tourism
We at South India Holiday tours provide the complete travel guide to Goa. Goa, Jewel of India, is studded with temples and churches, which remain as silent but forceful witnesses to the intense religious history of the diverse people who lived here.Goa travel, India, Goa tourism, Goa tour, Goa tour packages, Hindu pilgrimages, Brahma Temple, Shri Bhagavati Temple, Shri Datta Mandir Hence a pilgrimage to Goa is a unique experience.
Hindu Pilgrimages in Goa
Noroa River, the Arvalem Waterfall, and the Brahma Camandolu or Water Pot of Brahma - the creator, in the old Goa Hills are the main Hindu pilgrimage spots in Goa. One more sacred place is Sidhanath Mountain in Borim Village. Goa travel, India, Goa tourism, Goa tour, Goa tour packages, Hindu pilgrimages, Brahma Temple, Shri Bhagavati Temple, Shri Datta Mandir Amongst the myriad temples found here, there is a vast representation of the gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon, which testifies to the catholicity of the people's beliefs as well as their mutual tolerance. Indeed, Goa is could be loved just for this rare quality which one feels imperceptibly on even a short visit.
The welcome is genuine and holds back nothing. Live and let live is a potent vibration in the atmosphere. The more the avenues to the beyond the better it is for the people here. Little wonder that despotic tactics never lasted beyond a brief spell in Goa, while experimenters in new ways of living have found their haven
here.
Goa Temples
In Goa start your temple tour with the principal temples like Brahma Temple in the village of Brahma Carambolim. Dating from 5 AD, it is one of the few temples dedicated to Brahma to be found anywhere.Goa travel, India, Goa tourism, Goa tour, Goa tour packages, Hindu pilgrimages, Brahma Temple, Shri Bhagavati Temple, Shri Datta Mandir The Shri Bhagavati Temple in Pernem celebrates the Goddess Bhagavati Ashtabhuja, or eight-handed Goddess, one of the forms of Durga. Shri Datta Mandir at Sanquelim is known for the miraculous cure for mental troubles, which the deity, the Hindu Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshwar, is said to offer. Shri Damodar Temple on the banks of the river Kushavati is a place of pilgrimage for Hindus and Christians alike. The waters of the river near the temple precincts are a cure for all ailments. Shri Damodar is known simply as Danubab by the faithful and he is, till today, the patron deity of Margao. The idyllic surroundings of Zambaulin make the visit quite memorable.
The Shri Chandreshwar Temple atop the Chandranath Hill dates from the pre-Christian era, when this region formed part of the Boja capital of Chandrapur today's Chandor). The famous Shiva Linga is lit up by moonlight on the full moon night, and is said to become mystically bathed in water. Sri Chandreshwar or God of the Moon is so placed so to offer the visitor a wonderful view of the green valley below.
Like many of Goa's temples, the Devaki-Krishna Temple at Marchel was moved here from two previous locations, to be safe from oppression. The beautiful and unusual image in black stone is of the baby Krishna on his mother, Devaki's hip. Could the Baby Jesus and his Mother, Mary, represented in so many of the neighboring churches here have given this temple its inspiration, or is it simply an astonishing coincidence of the overlapping of Western and Eastern traditions?
Shri Gomanteshwar Temple at Brahmapuri, in old Goa, dates back to the Kadamba Kings who ruled Goa in the 5th century AD.
We at South India Holiday tours provide the complete travel guide to Goa. Goa, Jewel of India, is studded with temples and churches, which remain as silent but forceful witnesses to the intense religious history of the diverse people who lived here. Hence a pilgrimage to Goa is a unique experience.
In ancient times, Goa was known as Gomantakesha. The name 'Goa' is formed from the first and the last syllables. Another theory about Goa's name concerns Lord Krishna, who came to this land and met the gopikas or cowherd girls and, fascinated, named it after them and their cows. 'Govapuri' was this name, which also shortens to 'Goa'. Endlessly romantic myths, whose origins are lost in the mists of time, but which nevertheless remind us of this golden land's undeniable associations with our ancient past.
Near Bandona amidst lush green surroundings is the temple of Gopal-Ganapati. A modern temple, consecrated as recently as 1966, it is built on the spot where the Maratha king Sambhaji defeated the Portuguese army in 1683. The surprise defeat was believed to be a sign of the deity's protection of the rural. The image of Gopal-Ganapati was discovered quite accidentally at this historic battlefield and sheltered under a thatched-roof until recently.
One of the most celebrated and therefore most visited of Goan temples is dedicated to Sri Mangesh or Lord Shiva, the cosmic power of Perfection. A beautiful legend surrounding the name of the Lord tells how the Goddess Parvati, Shiva's consort, came to Goa in search of her divine spouse, who had left her alone in their mountainous home after a disagreement. Seeing her, Shiva took the form of a tiger, whereupon Parvati cried aloud: thrahi mam girisha! - O save me, Lord of the mountains - thereby seeking refuge in her lord. The words mam girisha transmuted to Mangesh. Thousands of believers come here annually, to take refuge in the great Lord Shiva, as Parvati had done.
Shri Ananta Temple at Sovei Veram is a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, the second god of the Hindu Trinity, whose role is that of preservation, just as Brahma's is of creation and Shiva's is of dissolution. This is the only Ananta Temple in Goa and therefore of special interest. Surrounded on all sides by water and beautiful countryside, the aspect of the temple site inspires tranquility and peace. For village folk, the pilgrimage could be undertaken for the purpose of exorcising spells, as the belief is that the Lord has the power to do so.
Finally, pay your obeisances to three separate temples, all dedicated to the Mother Goddess, Shanta Durga. She is so named as she is said to have mediated in a dispute between her husband, Lord Shiva and the equally influential Lord Vishnu. Having established peace or shanty between the two, she acquired the somewhat paradoxical title of Shanta Durga. For Durga is traditionally a warrior-like Devi, with ten hands, armed with fierce weapons who, seated on a tiger, battles fiercely with the forces of evil on behalf of her devotees. Those who utter her name perform even the hardest tasks with ease and, in particular, she is invoked before undertaking a mission or journey. The principal Shanta Durga temples are at Fatorpa in Quepem taluka, which is visited by thousands of believers from all over Goa. The sumptuous temple at Kavalem provides lodgings like other temples too, and in famous for its interior. The third temple is at Dhargal in Pernem, amidst beautiful surroundings. The Goddess was moved here in 1550 AD for safety from the Inquisition. Perhaps her peace loving nature helped to restore harmony in the land of her adoption.
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