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Shantadurga Temple, Kavle
The Shantadurga Temple, located at Kavlem
near Ponda, is one of the more famous temples in Goa. The
temple is about 25 kms from the capital city of Panaji and
is always crowded with devotees who come from far and wide
to pray before the Goddess.
Originally, the Goddess Shantadurga was
brought as the family deity by Brahmin families who settled
in the area of Goa during the relocation arranged by Lord
Parashuram. The location of their settlement was a place called
Kushasthali (present day Cortalim).
As is the case with most Hindu deities in
Goa, the devotees of the Goddess took her to a more safer
abode at Kavlem in Ponda, to escape from the persecution of
the Portuguese Inquisition.
Although there is no exact date available
for the construction of the current temple, it is thought
that the building came up during the reign of the Maratha
ruler Shahu Raje of Satara around 1738.
The Goddess Shantadurga, is an incarnation
of Devi Paravati who is the consort of Lord Shiva. According
to Hindu mythology, Parvati adopted different forms to suit
the situation. In a violent, angry form, she is known as Devi
Durga while in her more peacemaking form she is known as Devi
Shanta.
The incarnation Shantadurga is a combination
of both forms. Once during a battle between Lord Vishnu and
Lord Shiva, Parvati appeared as the violent Durga but played
the peacemaker to end the quarrel. Hence the Goddess is known
by the contradictory name Shantadurga, the goddess of peace.
The building of the temple is quite beautiful
and has a ghud (top dome above the inner sanctum) which is
taller than all other temples in Goa. The idol of the deity
is beautifully dressed up on special occasions. Incidentally,
the original idol was stolen by Muslim in the year 1898 and
was replaced with the current idol in 1902.
See Also Other Temples:
| Anant
Narsinha Temple, Veling | Devkikrishna
Temple, Marcel |
| Mahalsa Temple, Mardol
| Mahalaxmi
Temple, Bandivade |
| Mahalaxmi
Temple, Panaji | Mallikarjun
Temple, Shristhal |
| Manguesh Temple,
Priol | Naguesh
Temple, Nagueshi |
| Ramnath Temple, Ramnathi
| Saptakoteshwar
Temple, Narwe |
| Mahadeva Temple,
Tambdi Surla |
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