Legend has it that a group of sages on the island of Divar in Goa undertook penance to propitiate Shiva. It took seven crore (sapta-kot) years for the Great Yogi to take notice of their exertions. When He finally showed up, the sages petitioned Him to take up residence in the village of Naroa (also…
This is the launch of a new series – the photographic documentation of the ancient Vetal idols of Goa. A few images have been included in earlier posts; those and the ones to follow are now consolidated at this link. In the village of Amona, the idol is fitted with a gleaming shell and wrapped…
In Hindu tradition, Nagesh is a manifestation of Lord Shiva, and one of the 12 jyotirlingas. The ancient shrine of Nagesh in the village of Bandivade (also known as Bandode) in Goa probably dates as far back as the 5th C. Its interior location saved it from the depredations of the early Portuguese conquests. Historically…
Deep in Goa‘s hinterland, in the tiny village of Vichundrem in Sanguem taluka, lie the ruins of an ancient temple of Narayandev, dating most likely to the 11th C. The good news is that this remarkable historical site is still under the jurisdiction of Goans, and not the Delhi babus from the rubbish Archaeological Survey…
A salient characteristic of the old temples and churches in Goa is their location – many are ensconced in exquisite surroundings. This shrine in the remote village of Maangaal (also spelled Mangal) in Goa‘s Quepem taluka sits in the middle of a cultivated paddy field. I meandered into this luscious setting on an atmospheric monsoon…
