Thread by @Telugutalli

#Panaji Walking to Temples in Goa. Amma was as surprised as I was when I first read the threads on the temples here by @kokumsherbet ever since been wanting to visit and finally we did it...grateful to @rahul_goa ji for suggesting the best driver for this trip, a local who knows

so the air tickets from Hyd were verrry expensive so we took the overnite sleeper bus....resting up a bit in the Latin Quarter before getting on with it..in Fontainhas...at Hospedaria ..family owned

we had just missed the yearly jaatra by a day but the decorations and the festivities were in full swing for the evening

the Maruti mandir at Malaa sits on a hillock and is very beautiful, the climb is worth it, also our first Goan temple, it was fascinating to experience

amma ends up climbing a temple on a Friday whenever she travels with me ! Fridays when she fasts and does not eat anything until the next day...

kept staring at this..have never encountered a temple like this until now...what is happening here architecturally?

one look at the Chandeliers inside and it is all clear....

the wood, stone, pillars, hallways...nothing like I have known in other temples..yet the bhakti and shraddhaa is completely intact

...and shaurya too..this is how it was and this is how it ought to be...temples as centres of learning

on our way back we ran into him...the jaatra would have been so much fun...

next morning we started off early with an in house breakfast. most memorable as we covered 12 temples in a single day!

the drive to Tambdi Surla a 12th cent. Mahadev mandir was an hour and half, totally worth it - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahadev_T…

it is missing its top shikhara and the nandi head has been chopped off, yet the serenity here is unmistakable, it rests in the Bhagawan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary and is green and gorgeous all around

ASI protected, worship is allowed but only with flowers and deepa at the garbhagriha, for the rest there is provision outside

Mahadeva 🙏

come early morning and bring a picnic and stay the day....unlike us...rushing to the next...

the path leading in/ out of the temple premises..there is a small hamlet outside, villagers sell flowers for pooja, tea, lime juice and such...

always interesting to spot different species of desi cows ..these ones had very unique horns..wonder what they are called...

all through the winding roadside we saw groups of youngsters all agog with excitement putting up banners, flags, to mark Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ji's 392nd birth anniversary

a church? a basilica? a temple!

this is the famous Kavlem Shantadurga mandir, it is a maTha too en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanta_Du…

this temple was destroyed in its original site and devi was shifted here and current temple constructed during Shivaji Maharaj's reign...

stained glass and chandeliers - fear changes aesthetics

yet the deepasthamba, the temple pond, the agrashalas / guesthouses for those whose kuldevi is Shantadurga, are all a testimony of courage in the face of terrible history

each temple we visited had a unique colour to it, keep observing, this one is deep brown..Maruti mandir was saffron...

temples in Goa are not under the government - thank god - and these are sansthaans/ sausthans managed by maThas etc, very efficient - canteens on premises, rooms, offices, temple chariots, they are an all-in-one community centres..and very NEAT

lots of rituals and rites specific to GSBs I suppose, not aware of what this is...

a young boys upanayanam, love love love the colours and flowers, this is Goa milords!

getting ready for the homa...

next stop was Bandiwade Mahalakshmi mahalaxmibandora.com

we got used to style and structure of temples here - you enter a great hallway of pillars, then another with stained glass, chandeliers, paintings, arches, pillars, fans, where devotees rest, sit, chant, then finally the garbhagriha which is completely traditional 'south indian'

we rather enjoyed this experience, it was less restrictive and formal than the ones we were used to back home/south, a more community feel to them..obviously, as it is not at all touristy and frequented only by the local or kula bhaktas for ceremonies etc

here the colour is all dark yellow...the white lattice work on its walls and domes is quite characteristic of the temples here

..and then onwards to Ramnath Devasthan - ramnathi.org yes also called Ramnathi

the flooring is all tiled up and modern too

among all the modern paraphernalia....there is that silver, that ancient metal speaking the unspoken

this feels more like it..doesn't it...

waiting for the right occassion

..and they too shall have their say

the moortis in all the temples here are beautiful...and very powerful

we decided to have our lunch at Ramnathi as Eknath bhau our driver said so, it is like the sabha canteens in Chennai...locals know where the best food is!

one of the most delicious meals we have had

onwards to the rest of the temples, next stop - Veiling Shantadurga. Also Veiling Lakshmi Narsing/ Narasimha...Mardol....Mangeshi Mahadev...Keri Vijaydurga..Savoi Verem Anantashayana...Marcel Devaki Krishna...but all that for another day...Go Goa!

from Ramnathi we went to Nagueshi en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagueshi today let us savour only this temple, do not go by the exterior! this is one of the few temples which remains in its original place..and like many other temples in the area, does not allow entry of foreigners

pink it is!

are we in Vatican? 😊

the deepasthambas in all the Goan temples are magnificent, first encountered them in Ujjain..also Kolhapur I think...was so enamoured...we do not have them in the South..like this

what does one say to that? jai ho!

yes, it gets better and better...we are still reeling from that day's intoxication

🙏

there was a celebration going on at the temple - homam, bhojanam and all...it was so festive..

Nagesh ji dikh gaye

so when we got to this temple we decided to take it slow...how could we leave this in a hurry!

just the juxtaposition...

ya...take it easy policy...

we had just missed the homa

...but just in time for the mahaaprasaadam... we had just had lunch remember...so we regretfully accepted only the paravannam/ kheer which was tres delicious..I managed to squeeze some bajjis in too...I mean ..

they were calling us to come and eat...how can one say no to such sincere hospitality

the piece de resistance has to be the temple pond, flanked with palms all around so so gorgeous!

sigh!

picture perfect it was, truly

not sure what is next to the Tulasi vrindavan

this Nandikeshwar is content

leaving the temple we were too overwhelmed..did not think that the next temple could top this....but it did, and how!!

So now we arrive at a temple whose deity was shifted from Salcete and established here in 1567, Veling's Lakshmi Narsing Temple..which made us forget Nagueshi ! trawell.in/goa/panjim/shr…

it was as though tied up neatly in pista green lace

some construction was going on when we visited so no one else was there except us, it was absolutely tranquil, a personal favourite of all the temples we visited that day...well we kept saying that at every temple from Nagueshi onwards...

tulasis flanked both sides of the entrance and the first hall had a gallery of painted saints ..the interior hall had tales from Narasimha Purana..the temple was spotlessly clean ..unfortunately the garbja gRuha was closed for darshan yet we stayed long...

one can visualize a temple dancer who has exited stage right

paintings, pillars, aakash kandils..all for our eyes only

Om namo bhagavatae nRsimhaaya

this is the gorgeous end of the first hallway leading to the second with bells dropping from the ceiling and yonder is Narasimha..although he could appear from any one of those pillars around us...

waiting for the Mahajan to arrive..maybe he will open the doors..

each pillar is solid enough to house Narasimha in it

somehow this reminded me of Kerala temples - the red tiled roofs, the palm lined ponds and these intricately carved solid wooden pillars

assuming this is paalki for utsava vigraha

maDi baTTalu...remember this from my childhood...amma says her grandmother had only 2 saris, she would wash one put it out to dry and wear the other..and so on it went...austere disciplined lives they lead..my ancestors...this visual just choked me up

Being a Narasimha temple all you see here are pillars galore, each more exquisite than the other...just so wonderful to see fresh garlands in all the temples we visited and not just for the devi devata

..and the brass lamps...not just a Kerala, Tamil Nadu prerogative seems like, look at the variety!

all the temples have a music gallery space...as it should be, we offer sangeetam and naaTyam as part of our daily pooja

🙏

walking towards the temple pond

so the first chowka I think this is called? is usually designed for pilgrims to rest..amma sat and chanted Lalitha Sahasranamam..the large flat concrete slabs reminded her of arugus back home in Undi Agraharam..which were constructed for travellers to sleep on / rest...

we walk out to this...stunned..just as I was in Verinag, in the Union Territory of Kashmir (Jammu and)

other devatas were there for darshan behind the main temple

and this twinning is the first time seeing something like this Om namaha shivaaya!

One last look at the resplendent beauty..

..and we were out...reluctantly