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THE MANGESHI SHIVA TEMPLE , GOA, LATA MANGESHKAR AND PANDIT JITENDRA ABHISHEKI
We were told that more than 300 ancient temples were demolished and raised to the ground by the Portuguese in Goa right from the 16th century. A few like the ancient Surla Mahadeva Temple survived this destruction. However, some new temples also came up in the 19th and 20th centuries mostly by Maratha warrior Kings. Presently some highly venerated temples thronged by Hindus of Goa are; Shantdurga Temple, Nageshi Maharudra Temple and the Mangeshi Shiva Temple. The Mangeshi Shiva Temple falls in Mangeshi village, Ponda about 21 km from the capital city of Panjim. I liked the magnificent Deepstambha of Mangeshi Shiva Temple ."Deepstambha" (Lamp Towers) also called as Deepa Jyoti is a common site in temples in and around Maharashtra. Lighted during the pooja and special occasions, this element of temple architecture was used in temples built by "Yadavas of Devagiri" and later adopted by Maratha rulers adding to the temples across the Maratha Empire.
We saw the painful history of Goa in its art, literature and inside its museums. We find broken idols of Hindu deities retrieved from demolished temple sites inside the ASI Museum, Goa.Further , as you enter Museum of Goa ( MOG) , there is a huge art installation done by Sudhir Kerkar ,the well known Goan artist showing Hindus fleeing in a boat along with their deities removed from temples destroyed by Portugese Inquisition squads.
We were also informed that the Portuguese destroyed the original Shantdurga temple in 1566. Later, Maratha warriors under the leadership of Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj, the grandson of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj built a new temple that looked like a church from the outside to avoid further persecution. More so, the Office of the Goan Inquisition had put a total ban on the construction of new temples. Shantdurga was the holiest amongst some holy Hindu temples in Goa for which even converted Christians felt sad. One must read Goa Inquisition to know the truth. I came to know that the well-known artist Mario Miranda's ancestors were Sardesai Saraswats before their forcible conversion by the Portuguese. They were attached to Shantdurga as their Kuldevi or family deity. I came to know that Mario's family continued to give annual groceries for the Temple fair even though being Christians. And Mario had wished that after his death, he should be cremated.
The Surla Mahadeva is the only old or ancient stone temple that survived destruction and demolition at the hands of Portuguese Christian missionaries. The temple is small, peaceful, and active. It is a 12th-century-old, Kadamba-style structure that sits calmly in the Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary. It is close to the Karnataka border.
The Nageshi Maharudra Temple was built in 1413 when the region was under the rule of King Veer Pratap Devaraya of the mighty Vijayanagara Empire. The temple underwent an extensive renovation process in the days of Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj the Maratha ruler of Satara. The Shree Nageshi Maharudra Temple, home to the Swayambhu shrine of Lord Shankar, is known to citizens all across India.
Inside the Mangeshi Shiva Temple, a local person told us this:
" The original ancient temple has faced plunder after the 14th century when the Muslim invasions started in Goa. From the early 16th century, when the Portuguese arrived and constituted the infamous 'Office of Inquisition' to aggressively convert Hindus to Christianity, they raised to ground all the ancient temples to build Churches at these sites. The original site of the Shiva Mangeshi Temple was near the banks of the Zuari River in the village of Kushasthali. The Portuguese destroyed that Temple and changed the name of the village to Cortalim. However, the deity of this Temple was always hidden and kept safe by the people of the village. The Maratha rulers renovated the Temple in 1763. It was again renovated by Marathas in 1890. The Marathas also built a 7-storey Deepstambha in the temple compound. You can see this lamp tower or Deepstambha done in typical Maratha-style temple architecture. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj gave tough resistance to the Portuguese in Goa.
We hold a Rath Yatra on Magh Purnima when the Mangeshi festival is celebrated here. The main deity is Lord Mangesha or Shiva. There are shrines on the back side dedicated to Mulakeshwsar, Virbhadra, Saanteri, Lakshminarayana, Suryanarayana, Garuda and Kaal Bhirava. Every Monday before the evening Aarti, the idol of Lord Mangesh is taken out in a procession in a Palki with devotional music being played by singers. There is a dress code instituted by the temple management.
The Mangeshkar family is from this village. Lata Ji's grandfather was Ganeshbhat Bhikaji Abhisheki. They write Mangeshkar to remain connected to their roots. The Brahmins of this village have ancestry that is linked to this temple. They have been devotional singers of Shiva Mangesha, the deity. Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki the renowned classical singer is from our village. An event called Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki Mahotsav, which is named after him is celebrated in Goa every year, around September or October. He was a vocalist, music composer, and music teacher who made a massive impact on the history of classical music and the Marathi music industry. "
( Avtar Mota )
CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.
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