Male Deities of Goa | Goa State PSC (GPSC) Preparation - GPSC (Goa) PDF Download

 Page 1


MALE DEITIES  
In the preceding chapter female deities have been dealt. 
The male Saivite deities discussed in this chapter. It has 
been already mentioned that Siva is a non-Aryan deity and has 
origins. in the tribal society. This can be seen even in the 
region of Goa. Mangesh is a regional deity of Goa and is an 
aspect of Siva and Gavdas were associated with the origin of 
Mangesh The other deities like N -agesh, Chandreshwar, 
Bhutan-5th, Saptakoteshwar, Ramanath,. Ravalraith, Vetal, Paik 
deva Dadd and ancestor worship are discussed in this chapter. 
a) MANGESH  
In Goa Mangesh is one of the epithets of Siva and is a 
well known deity of Goa. The shrine of Mangesh was originally 
in Kushasthali which was known as Kutthali in leonkani and it 
became Cortalim after the Portuguese conquest. After the 
destruction of Mangesh shrine of Kushasthali the LLI&I of 
Mangcsh was reconstructed in Priol village in Ponda taluka. 
In the list of the temple destroyed by the Portuguese the 
name of this deity is not mentioned as Mangesh butManganath 
and therefore is a deity of the Nath-Panthis.I The traces of 
Na -th-Panthis found in Goa arc earlier to the period in which 
Mangesh Mall'atmya (now onwards abbreviated as M.M.) was 
Page 2


MALE DEITIES  
In the preceding chapter female deities have been dealt. 
The male Saivite deities discussed in this chapter. It has 
been already mentioned that Siva is a non-Aryan deity and has 
origins. in the tribal society. This can be seen even in the 
region of Goa. Mangesh is a regional deity of Goa and is an 
aspect of Siva and Gavdas were associated with the origin of 
Mangesh The other deities like N -agesh, Chandreshwar, 
Bhutan-5th, Saptakoteshwar, Ramanath,. Ravalraith, Vetal, Paik 
deva Dadd and ancestor worship are discussed in this chapter. 
a) MANGESH  
In Goa Mangesh is one of the epithets of Siva and is a 
well known deity of Goa. The shrine of Mangesh was originally 
in Kushasthali which was known as Kutthali in leonkani and it 
became Cortalim after the Portuguese conquest. After the 
destruction of Mangesh shrine of Kushasthali the LLI&I of 
Mangcsh was reconstructed in Priol village in Ponda taluka. 
In the list of the temple destroyed by the Portuguese the 
name of this deity is not mentioned as Mangesh butManganath 
and therefore is a deity of the Nath-Panthis.I The traces of 
Na -th-Panthis found in Goa arc earlier to the period in which 
Mangesh Mall'atmya (now onwards abbreviated as M.M.) was 
compiled. 2 	 If the deity was known as ManganIth would have 
definitely mentioned it . It seems that before the spread of 
the NWth-Panthi, the worship of Mangesh was prevalent in Goa. 
The Portuguese who were not familiar with the religious 
traditions in Goa and might have mentioned the deity 
incorrectly ManganIth. 
In a section titled Shankarasya 4hrarupa dh7ranam which 
.t ¦ 
forms part of MM we get the reference to the. origin of 
Mangesh. Siva and P5rvati were playing dice. 3  PWrvati won the 
game and revoked Siva harshly. He was annoyed and left 
Himalayas. P-(irvati went in search of him and in course of 
search she came to Kushasthali(Cortalim). She was excessively 
charming with Vcena in her hand and she sang in praise of 
Siva. She was on her way to AghanWsini (Zuari) for taking 
bath. A ferocious mighty roaring tiger with wide opened mouth 
stood in front of her. She was frightened. of the tiger and 
uttered tr-ahi  MA hi Girish (please protect me from tiger). 
1)rvati surrendered to Siva. The kind hearted Siva now 
appeared from the body of the tiger. Therefore it is believed 
that Mangesh has its origin in Ma hi Girish. 4  
YA 
in Gomanchal Kshetra Mahatma ‘  of SKH there are references 
to the consecration of Mangesh linga by Brahma. It is further 
mentioned that ParasurWma brought it to Shup5rak and finally 
installed it. in Kushasthali. 5  This Purani.c account had 
influenced earlier writers like Saldana 6  and Kosamhi. 7  Hence 
Page 3


MALE DEITIES  
In the preceding chapter female deities have been dealt. 
The male Saivite deities discussed in this chapter. It has 
been already mentioned that Siva is a non-Aryan deity and has 
origins. in the tribal society. This can be seen even in the 
region of Goa. Mangesh is a regional deity of Goa and is an 
aspect of Siva and Gavdas were associated with the origin of 
Mangesh The other deities like N -agesh, Chandreshwar, 
Bhutan-5th, Saptakoteshwar, Ramanath,. Ravalraith, Vetal, Paik 
deva Dadd and ancestor worship are discussed in this chapter. 
a) MANGESH  
In Goa Mangesh is one of the epithets of Siva and is a 
well known deity of Goa. The shrine of Mangesh was originally 
in Kushasthali which was known as Kutthali in leonkani and it 
became Cortalim after the Portuguese conquest. After the 
destruction of Mangesh shrine of Kushasthali the LLI&I of 
Mangcsh was reconstructed in Priol village in Ponda taluka. 
In the list of the temple destroyed by the Portuguese the 
name of this deity is not mentioned as Mangesh butManganath 
and therefore is a deity of the Nath-Panthis.I The traces of 
Na -th-Panthis found in Goa arc earlier to the period in which 
Mangesh Mall'atmya (now onwards abbreviated as M.M.) was 
compiled. 2 	 If the deity was known as ManganIth would have 
definitely mentioned it . It seems that before the spread of 
the NWth-Panthi, the worship of Mangesh was prevalent in Goa. 
The Portuguese who were not familiar with the religious 
traditions in Goa and might have mentioned the deity 
incorrectly ManganIth. 
In a section titled Shankarasya 4hrarupa dh7ranam which 
.t ¦ 
forms part of MM we get the reference to the. origin of 
Mangesh. Siva and P5rvati were playing dice. 3  PWrvati won the 
game and revoked Siva harshly. He was annoyed and left 
Himalayas. P-(irvati went in search of him and in course of 
search she came to Kushasthali(Cortalim). She was excessively 
charming with Vcena in her hand and she sang in praise of 
Siva. She was on her way to AghanWsini (Zuari) for taking 
bath. A ferocious mighty roaring tiger with wide opened mouth 
stood in front of her. She was frightened. of the tiger and 
uttered tr-ahi  MA hi Girish (please protect me from tiger). 
1)rvati surrendered to Siva. The kind hearted Siva now 
appeared from the body of the tiger. Therefore it is believed 
that Mangesh has its origin in Ma hi Girish. 4  
YA 
in Gomanchal Kshetra Mahatma ‘  of SKH there are references 
to the consecration of Mangesh linga by Brahma. It is further 
mentioned that ParasurWma brought it to Shup5rak and finally 
installed it. in Kushasthali. 5  This Purani.c account had 
influenced earlier writers like Saldana 6  and Kosamhi. 7  Hence 
these scholars trace the origin of the worship of Mangesh to 
MOngher in Bihar. Both of them believed that Goud SAraswats 
brought the worship of Mangesh to Goa. 
Mgngirish Puja Mah-itmya  is a section of MM and this 
furnishes the tradition of Kanoji Brahmin and his association 
with Mangesh. Devasharma, on his return journey from Rameshwar 
stayed at Kushasthali. He used to take bath in Aghanasini  
river and go to the other side. On the three consecutive days 
he saw a cow entering into the river and again returning. He 
inquired the people what was in the river ? People agreed to 
join him in finding the cause of the disappearance of the cow 
in the river. By holding the tail of the cow he went into the 
river and saw the cow pouring milk over the lustrous linga and 
Parvati saha Parameshwara. As per the desire of Siva, the the 
linga was brought out of the river Aghanasini and consecrated 
in Kushasthali. 8  
Finally KapilW mahatmya  which is also section of M M a 
different legend regarding linga is mentioned. A cow was 
stranded in a marshy place . A Brahmin named Dcvadatta rescued 
the cow with the assistance of a shudra boy from the marshy 
place. This cow was pouring milk over the linga.  From the 
legends furnished in M M as well as KapilamahStmya  it is 
evident that there is no unanimity in the legcnds. 9  The 
verses 22 should have been last verse of KapilE  mhgtmya.  The 
next five verses are redundant and seems to be later a 
Page 4


MALE DEITIES  
In the preceding chapter female deities have been dealt. 
The male Saivite deities discussed in this chapter. It has 
been already mentioned that Siva is a non-Aryan deity and has 
origins. in the tribal society. This can be seen even in the 
region of Goa. Mangesh is a regional deity of Goa and is an 
aspect of Siva and Gavdas were associated with the origin of 
Mangesh The other deities like N -agesh, Chandreshwar, 
Bhutan-5th, Saptakoteshwar, Ramanath,. Ravalraith, Vetal, Paik 
deva Dadd and ancestor worship are discussed in this chapter. 
a) MANGESH  
In Goa Mangesh is one of the epithets of Siva and is a 
well known deity of Goa. The shrine of Mangesh was originally 
in Kushasthali which was known as Kutthali in leonkani and it 
became Cortalim after the Portuguese conquest. After the 
destruction of Mangesh shrine of Kushasthali the LLI&I of 
Mangcsh was reconstructed in Priol village in Ponda taluka. 
In the list of the temple destroyed by the Portuguese the 
name of this deity is not mentioned as Mangesh butManganath 
and therefore is a deity of the Nath-Panthis.I The traces of 
Na -th-Panthis found in Goa arc earlier to the period in which 
Mangesh Mall'atmya (now onwards abbreviated as M.M.) was 
compiled. 2 	 If the deity was known as ManganIth would have 
definitely mentioned it . It seems that before the spread of 
the NWth-Panthi, the worship of Mangesh was prevalent in Goa. 
The Portuguese who were not familiar with the religious 
traditions in Goa and might have mentioned the deity 
incorrectly ManganIth. 
In a section titled Shankarasya 4hrarupa dh7ranam which 
.t ¦ 
forms part of MM we get the reference to the. origin of 
Mangesh. Siva and P5rvati were playing dice. 3  PWrvati won the 
game and revoked Siva harshly. He was annoyed and left 
Himalayas. P-(irvati went in search of him and in course of 
search she came to Kushasthali(Cortalim). She was excessively 
charming with Vcena in her hand and she sang in praise of 
Siva. She was on her way to AghanWsini (Zuari) for taking 
bath. A ferocious mighty roaring tiger with wide opened mouth 
stood in front of her. She was frightened. of the tiger and 
uttered tr-ahi  MA hi Girish (please protect me from tiger). 
1)rvati surrendered to Siva. The kind hearted Siva now 
appeared from the body of the tiger. Therefore it is believed 
that Mangesh has its origin in Ma hi Girish. 4  
YA 
in Gomanchal Kshetra Mahatma ‘  of SKH there are references 
to the consecration of Mangesh linga by Brahma. It is further 
mentioned that ParasurWma brought it to Shup5rak and finally 
installed it. in Kushasthali. 5  This Purani.c account had 
influenced earlier writers like Saldana 6  and Kosamhi. 7  Hence 
these scholars trace the origin of the worship of Mangesh to 
MOngher in Bihar. Both of them believed that Goud SAraswats 
brought the worship of Mangesh to Goa. 
Mgngirish Puja Mah-itmya  is a section of MM and this 
furnishes the tradition of Kanoji Brahmin and his association 
with Mangesh. Devasharma, on his return journey from Rameshwar 
stayed at Kushasthali. He used to take bath in Aghanasini  
river and go to the other side. On the three consecutive days 
he saw a cow entering into the river and again returning. He 
inquired the people what was in the river ? People agreed to 
join him in finding the cause of the disappearance of the cow 
in the river. By holding the tail of the cow he went into the 
river and saw the cow pouring milk over the lustrous linga and 
Parvati saha Parameshwara. As per the desire of Siva, the the 
linga was brought out of the river Aghanasini and consecrated 
in Kushasthali. 8  
Finally KapilW mahatmya  which is also section of M M a 
different legend regarding linga is mentioned. A cow was 
stranded in a marshy place . A Brahmin named Dcvadatta rescued 
the cow with the assistance of a shudra boy from the marshy 
place. This cow was pouring milk over the linga.  From the 
legends furnished in M M as well as KapilamahStmya  it is 
evident that there is no unanimity in the legcnds. 9  The 
verses 22 should have been last verse of KapilE  mhgtmya.  The 
next five verses are redundant and seems to be later a 
interpolation. In the earlier section, the consecration of 
Mangesh linga at Shuparak is ascribed to ParasurWma and later 
he brought it to Kushasthali.  Therefore, there is no unanimity 
about the consecration of the linga of Mangesh. 
seAtleirs 
The carlyLyavdas of Goa were the worshippers of Mangesh. 
Incidentally the earliest linga  from Consua cave is ascribed 
to c. 400 A.D. and the cave of Consua is hardly 4 kms from the 
ancient site of Mangesh temple." No Puranic sanctity was 
attached to the linga of Mangesh till about c . 1400 A. D. 11 
 Therefore, attaching Puranic 	 sanctity , the assistance of 
Shudra boy and his salvation are referred to in the 
KapilamaliStmya. Even at present the Gavdas have certain 
privilege in Mangesh temple. It seems that during the c. 1400 
A. D. Mangesh Mahatmya  was added to SKH . This is an appendix 
of SKH. 12 	 From the above discussion it is evident that 
Mangesh is an epithet of Siva and had origins in Goa and was 
not brought from Tirhut or Shuparaka as mentioned in SKH. 
b) INIXGESH  
The temple of lagesh is at Bandivade in Fonda taluka. 
This is an epithet of Siva. The word Nag  is Prefixed to Ishl-
(Siva). It is one of the twelve jyotirlinga -s and is located 
near Ahmednagar in Maharashtra . Tree and serpent worship arc 
closely related with phallus worship in many areas of the 
world. In Ynjur and Atharva veda's specially in the latter. Ved-6 
Page 5


MALE DEITIES  
In the preceding chapter female deities have been dealt. 
The male Saivite deities discussed in this chapter. It has 
been already mentioned that Siva is a non-Aryan deity and has 
origins. in the tribal society. This can be seen even in the 
region of Goa. Mangesh is a regional deity of Goa and is an 
aspect of Siva and Gavdas were associated with the origin of 
Mangesh The other deities like N -agesh, Chandreshwar, 
Bhutan-5th, Saptakoteshwar, Ramanath,. Ravalraith, Vetal, Paik 
deva Dadd and ancestor worship are discussed in this chapter. 
a) MANGESH  
In Goa Mangesh is one of the epithets of Siva and is a 
well known deity of Goa. The shrine of Mangesh was originally 
in Kushasthali which was known as Kutthali in leonkani and it 
became Cortalim after the Portuguese conquest. After the 
destruction of Mangesh shrine of Kushasthali the LLI&I of 
Mangcsh was reconstructed in Priol village in Ponda taluka. 
In the list of the temple destroyed by the Portuguese the 
name of this deity is not mentioned as Mangesh butManganath 
and therefore is a deity of the Nath-Panthis.I The traces of 
Na -th-Panthis found in Goa arc earlier to the period in which 
Mangesh Mall'atmya (now onwards abbreviated as M.M.) was 
compiled. 2 	 If the deity was known as ManganIth would have 
definitely mentioned it . It seems that before the spread of 
the NWth-Panthi, the worship of Mangesh was prevalent in Goa. 
The Portuguese who were not familiar with the religious 
traditions in Goa and might have mentioned the deity 
incorrectly ManganIth. 
In a section titled Shankarasya 4hrarupa dh7ranam which 
.t ¦ 
forms part of MM we get the reference to the. origin of 
Mangesh. Siva and P5rvati were playing dice. 3  PWrvati won the 
game and revoked Siva harshly. He was annoyed and left 
Himalayas. P-(irvati went in search of him and in course of 
search she came to Kushasthali(Cortalim). She was excessively 
charming with Vcena in her hand and she sang in praise of 
Siva. She was on her way to AghanWsini (Zuari) for taking 
bath. A ferocious mighty roaring tiger with wide opened mouth 
stood in front of her. She was frightened. of the tiger and 
uttered tr-ahi  MA hi Girish (please protect me from tiger). 
1)rvati surrendered to Siva. The kind hearted Siva now 
appeared from the body of the tiger. Therefore it is believed 
that Mangesh has its origin in Ma hi Girish. 4  
YA 
in Gomanchal Kshetra Mahatma ‘  of SKH there are references 
to the consecration of Mangesh linga by Brahma. It is further 
mentioned that ParasurWma brought it to Shup5rak and finally 
installed it. in Kushasthali. 5  This Purani.c account had 
influenced earlier writers like Saldana 6  and Kosamhi. 7  Hence 
these scholars trace the origin of the worship of Mangesh to 
MOngher in Bihar. Both of them believed that Goud SAraswats 
brought the worship of Mangesh to Goa. 
Mgngirish Puja Mah-itmya  is a section of MM and this 
furnishes the tradition of Kanoji Brahmin and his association 
with Mangesh. Devasharma, on his return journey from Rameshwar 
stayed at Kushasthali. He used to take bath in Aghanasini  
river and go to the other side. On the three consecutive days 
he saw a cow entering into the river and again returning. He 
inquired the people what was in the river ? People agreed to 
join him in finding the cause of the disappearance of the cow 
in the river. By holding the tail of the cow he went into the 
river and saw the cow pouring milk over the lustrous linga and 
Parvati saha Parameshwara. As per the desire of Siva, the the 
linga was brought out of the river Aghanasini and consecrated 
in Kushasthali. 8  
Finally KapilW mahatmya  which is also section of M M a 
different legend regarding linga is mentioned. A cow was 
stranded in a marshy place . A Brahmin named Dcvadatta rescued 
the cow with the assistance of a shudra boy from the marshy 
place. This cow was pouring milk over the linga.  From the 
legends furnished in M M as well as KapilamahStmya  it is 
evident that there is no unanimity in the legcnds. 9  The 
verses 22 should have been last verse of KapilE  mhgtmya.  The 
next five verses are redundant and seems to be later a 
interpolation. In the earlier section, the consecration of 
Mangesh linga at Shuparak is ascribed to ParasurWma and later 
he brought it to Kushasthali.  Therefore, there is no unanimity 
about the consecration of the linga of Mangesh. 
seAtleirs 
The carlyLyavdas of Goa were the worshippers of Mangesh. 
Incidentally the earliest linga  from Consua cave is ascribed 
to c. 400 A.D. and the cave of Consua is hardly 4 kms from the 
ancient site of Mangesh temple." No Puranic sanctity was 
attached to the linga of Mangesh till about c . 1400 A. D. 11 
 Therefore, attaching Puranic 	 sanctity , the assistance of 
Shudra boy and his salvation are referred to in the 
KapilamaliStmya. Even at present the Gavdas have certain 
privilege in Mangesh temple. It seems that during the c. 1400 
A. D. Mangesh Mahatmya  was added to SKH . This is an appendix 
of SKH. 12 	 From the above discussion it is evident that 
Mangesh is an epithet of Siva and had origins in Goa and was 
not brought from Tirhut or Shuparaka as mentioned in SKH. 
b) INIXGESH  
The temple of lagesh is at Bandivade in Fonda taluka. 
This is an epithet of Siva. The word Nag  is Prefixed to Ishl-
(Siva). It is one of the twelve jyotirlinga -s and is located 
near Ahmednagar in Maharashtra . Tree and serpent worship arc 
closely related with phallus worship in many areas of the 
world. In Ynjur and Atharva veda's specially in the latter. Ved-6 
serpents are mentioned as a class of semi-divine beings along 
with Gandharvgs and other celestial beings. Prayers (sutrgs) 
prescribe offering to them. Zoomorphic divinities are known to 
the Vedic Aryans only to a limited extent. The worship of 
serpent deities in India would appear to have come from 
Austric world. 13  This independent of cult of Naga -s,  was 
incorporated into Hinduism between c. 600 B.C. to 400B.C. 14  
The influence of the Naga  cult in Goa and the adjoining 
regions could be traced from the copper plate of Siroda 
belonging to the Bhoja ruler. One of the ministers mentioned 
in this copper plate had the name Prabhu:igga Bhogikgmaya. 
This clearly indicates that the Hindu society by c. 400 A.D. 
in this region had worshipped Nggas. 15  The stone sculpture of 
Naga (c. 400-500 A.D.) which has been reported from Peddem 
(Canacona) also bears testimony to the worship of N5-g5s.16 
(Plate No. V;13 and Pp There are place names in KOnkan and on 
the Deccan plateau indicating the spread of Nggg cult for e.g. 
NNgasthan in Sindhudurga district. In Goa there are two 
villages bearing the name Nagoa, one in Bardcz taluka and the 
second one is in Salcete. Before the spread of Vedic culture 
in Goa region the linga of Nggesh  may have been consecrated by 
the Gavdas and worshipped in NEgeshi  shrine of. Ponda taluka. 17  
In addition to the above mentioned facts in SKH these is 
a section called Vigavya mahamya  and in this section Siva is 
closely associated with NEgEs.  vs. No.5 mentions that Siva was