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St. Mary's Convent High school, Mapusa is staging a play titled "Lion King"
December 1, 2007 - Hanuman Hall, Mapusa
to fundraise for a false ceiling for the school hall
& upgrading the school playground
Headmistress Sr. Namika A.C. / Teacher Mrs. Sonia Noronha
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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A story told in stone
By Rohit Phalgaonkar
During the course of my temple research, I came across the first ever
recorded temple of Goa. It is Goa's only ancient monument with an
epigraphical record naming the first king of the dynasty. Yes!! It is the
temple of Shri Mahadev at Salaulim. The temple is located in picturesque
surroundings on a plateau facing the huge Salaulim Dam Reservoir.
The temple was originally located at Angod in Kurdi. It was then
transplanted by the Archaeological Survey of India to the other side of the
river because of the threat of being submerged under the Salaulim Dam
waters. Each laterite stone of the temple was dismantled and was brought to
the current site. The stones were reassembled again, to be present in their
original structure.
Why is this temple so important? The temple has witnessed the first Kadamb
king of Goa who probably ordered the temple to be built. An inscription
dating to 960AD was found near the doorjamb of the temple. The language of
the inscription is Sanskrit and the script is the Nandi Nagari which is
partly illegible today. It mentions the name of the founder of the Goa
Kadamb dynasty, Shastha Deva I. He earned the titles like 'Raj Maharaj',
'Parmeshwar'
which are legible on the inscription. He was also known as 'Kantakaachary'.
This 10th century temple is entirely built of exposed laterite. It has
typical Kadamb styled Shikhars along the periphery of its external. These
are a common feature of Kadamb art. The small Sabhaamandap with an image of
Nandi and Ganapati is adorned by two basalt stone pillars with beautiful
mouldings. Other motifs like the female devotees, the Kirthimukh, etc. are
seen on the entrance of the Garbgrih.
Take a look at the temple ceiling and you will spot a stone 'Kamal'
encompassed within rectangular squares. This was a typical feature of the
Kadamb School of Art.
According to Dr. V. T. Gune, the temple in Kurdi was located on the banks of
a stream near a small rock cut cave. There was a flight of steps leading
towards the stream.
The temple of Shri Mahadev in Tambdi Surla and Shri Saptkoteshwar temple of
Opa are also built on river banks. It seems that during the ancient times,
river banks were chosen for construction of temples.
So the next time when you visit the Salaulim Dam, do not forget to visit the
first recorded temple of Goa.
Goa Plus - Nov 23, 2007
