Mangueshi Temple,Ponda

Posted on by VEDANT Nayak
The Mangueshi temple or the Manguesh Devasthan is perhaps the most famous of all Goan temples. It is located at Priol in Ponda taluka, about 21 kilometers from the capital city of Panaji. The surrounding area is known as Mangueshi.
In ancient times the temple was located at Kushasthali (presently known as Cortalim). During the Portuguese Inquisition, a number of Hindu temples were destroyed in Goa.
To avoid a similar fate, the devotees of God Manguesh removed the linga (symbol of Lord Shiva) from the original temple and transferred it in the middle of the night to the present location at Priol which was under the control of Adil Shah.
The shifting of the deity took place in the year 1560. The area surrounding the temple was given to the temple by Ramchandra Sukhtankar an important officer in the Court of the Peshwas after obtaining it from the Raja of Soundem.
Since the time of shifting, the temple was rebuilt and renovated twice during the reign of the Marathas and yet another time in the year 1890. The final renovation occurred in the year 1973 when a golden kalash (holy vessel) was fitted atop the tall dome of the temple.

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