Temples
in Goa
Shri
Saptakoteshwar Temple
The
Saptakoteshwar temple at Narve is considered to be one of the six great
sites of temples of Lord Shiva in the Konkan area. The village of Narve is
located about 35 kms from Panaji and can be reached via an interesting route
which requires a a ferryboat from the island of Divar.
This is
also an ancient temple, Saptakoteshwar having been the deity of the Kings of
the Kadamba dynasty around the twelfth century. Coins found from this era
mention the name of the deity along with that of the King Jayakeshi.
In
1352, when the Kadamba kingdom was conquered by the Bahamani Sultan
Allauddin Hasan Gangu and Goa was under the rule of the Sultan for about
fourteen years. A number of temples were destroyed during this period and
the linga (symbol of Lord Shiva) at the Saptakoteshwar temple was also dug
up by the troops.
In 1367, the army of Vijayanagar King Hariharraya
defeated the Bahamani Sultan's troops in Goa and managed to restore most of
the temples to their former glory including that of Saptakoteshwar.
After
the Portuguese conquest, in the year 1540 during the years of the
Inquisition, once again the linga at the temple was removed and misused.
Soon afterwards, it was smuggled away by one of the locals named Narayan
Shenvi Suryarao and taken to a place called Latambarsem where it remained
for 3 years. In 1543, it was installed in a temple near the island of Divar.
The
Maratha King Shivaji conquered the area in 1664. On one of his many
expeditions to Goa against the Portuguese in 1668, he gave the order for the
Saptakoteshwar temple at Narve to be rebuilt and the linga installed in its
proper place. The stone plaque mentioning this order can still be seen near
the temple entrance today.
The legend behind the name
Saptakoteshwar is also quite interesting. According to the legend, seven
holy sages once set out to pray to Lord Shiva near the place where five holy
rivers met the sea. They prayed for seven crore years at the end of which,
Lord Shiva appeared to grant their wishes and agreed to stay at the place in
one of his incarnations. This incarnation is known as Saptakoteshwar (sapt
means seven and koteshwar means lord of crores).
The most important
festival celebrated at the temple, attended by thousands of devotees from
Goa and other parts of India, is Gokulashtami which is considered to be the
day on which Lord Shiva appeared in this incarnation to grant the wishes of
the seven holy sages.
Goa
City Guide
