This morning 2nd May 2005 on a hot air sunny atmosphere amidst the slogans of "Jai Shree Ram" and " Bharat Mata ki jai" by a small section of the over 3000 strong audience and a thunderous applause, His Holiness, Jagadguru Sri Bharathi Theertha Mahaswamigal of Sringeri Sharada Peetham dedicated the Shree Mhalsa Narayani Devalaya at Verna Salcete South Goa District Goa India to the people of Goa, today at 1108 hrs IST at the Old Mardol Temple site (behind the Verna Police Station).
The present President of the "Shree Mahalsa Narayani Devalaya Punarudhar (Restoration) Samiti " Mr R G Desai of Ponda ex LIC employee, narrated at the outset the brief history of the temple. In the year 1560 the erstwhile Portuguese (who ruled the Velhas Conquistas Old Conquests from 1510- 1961)in the spirit of prosyletisation (the religion of the King (of Portugal) to be that of his subjects) destroyed the temple and many others as well and the deity was shifted to its present site in Mardol,in present day Ponda Taluka (then not a part of Goa as the Portuguese ruled the Novas Conquistas New Conquests only from 1763 to 1961 and not 1510 to 1961 as is commonly believed). It was the first Chief Minister of Goa late Dayanand B Bandodkar a devotee of the Goddess Mahalsa (now at Mardol as well seated on a lion and believed to be the reason why the MGP got its LION symbol) who desired to take up the restoration of the destroyed temple and installed a "ghumti" and set up the "pooja stan" at the destroyed temple site. But it was in 1975 during the tenure of his daughter Ms Sashikala Kakodkar who at the instance of Harsischandra Verencar, Mr Arsekar and others performed the "shilanyas" under the tutelage of the then His Holiness, Jagadguru,of Sringeri Sharada Peetham. (It is a sheer coincidence that the present Jagadguru who was also present on that ocassion in 1975 as a mere disciple then, today after nearly 30 years had the honour of dedicating the temple on the auspices ocassion ). The Shree Mahalsa and the Sringeri Sharada Peetahm will work together and a silver plate was handed over to the Purohit of the Mahalsa temple as token of unity. Awards were also presented to all those that made the restoration work a success. The Goa RSS Pramukh Prof Velingkar in his vitriolic speech in Konkani narrated the Portuguese excess from destruction of temples, conversions, Inquisition, made a mention of Diego Fernandes a Portuguese for his excesses against the Hindu community. He pointed out how bread was thrown in wells and how those sitting on the same bench with a Christian were converted to Christianity in the 16th century. Reading out a message believed to have been received from the RSS chief from Headquarters in Nagpur Mr K Sudarshan-- it said that "while it is a fact that Muhammed Ghazani destroyed the Somnath Temple in Gujarat and the same was restored similarly in Goa too the destruction of the Mahalsa Temple by the cruel Portuguese and its restoration is an honour for every hindu and a national pride" (Incidentally a similar advertisement was seen on the English daily The Navhind Times announcing the three day auspices ocassion 29th April to 1st May 2005 lending credence to the belief that the local RSS unit had apparently "ghost written" the message for the RSS Chief in Nagpur) given the fact that the Goan populous especially in the Old Conquests have a history of religious tolerance. Earlier the mahajans with ex Union Minister of Finance and present Panaji Parliamentary Constituency Member of Parliament Mr Sripad Naik and purohits installed a cornice atop the three pinnacles climibing on make shift scaffolds much to the amusement of the crowd and recieved a thunderous applause. There was a huge winding crowd for being obeisance darshan. Incidentally since 1975 there is a strong movement being carried out within the Hindu community by the non Brahmins (Bahujan Samaj) who are demanding their entry into the interiors of the temple where traditionally only the Brahmins are permitted. Two books "Devle Khuli Kara" (Open the doors of the Temple) written in Marathi and Konkani by Naik Shivdas a teacher and social reformer hailing from Ponda has put the Hindu fundamentalists like the RSS VHP Bajrang Dal BJP on the defensive making their "allergy to conversions by Catholics" and hatred towards Moslems a damp squib. The over 1500 Mahajans in Goa are mostly of the Brahmin class and despite slogans like "Garv se kaho hum hindu hai" the underlying age old caste hatred and isolation of the non Brahmins from the temple activity is now turning to be a dormant volcano about to unleash its fury. Hence at the Mahalsa temple --- announcements were made that the interiors of the temple are open to all irrespective of caste creed or communities The presence of Sashikala Kakodkar and Sripad Naik (both Bahujan Samaj )made to do the honours on the dais and off the dais is a pointer to this direction. Nearby the newly reconstructed temple by architect S Sadhale of Ponda and others even from Tamil Nadu there is a bathing tank at the site which is in a very bad state and now a protected site of the Government of India. Alongside is the laterite stone carving of Mother God 8 metres brought from Curdi in Sanguem Selaulim Dam site and located here as the geographical location of both places Curdi in Sanguem and Verna is identical The erstwhile BJP led coalition Government had decided to start Heritage Tourism at this site the first phase which admeasures 1,45,800 m2 on the Verna Plateau with the NH 17 on the Western side and the Electronic City. After the first phase now which ought to have been completed on 15 March 2005 there are plans to have a Domitory Cow Camp (Goushalas) Ayurvedic centre etc then reading library documentation centre prayer room and many other amenities over the years in fact the attempt is to make this site a Global Temple. The name of Verna is a corrupted form of the earlier Varunapuri or as the Portuguese called it "Terra de Frescura " (land of fresh air). Incidentally from atop the plateau one can see the Cansaulim station and Konkan Railway meandering along the paddy fields the take off of airplanes from Dabolim Airport the Cuelim Chapel where the traditional Three kings feast is celebrated on 6th January. This is a totally Catholic dominated village of Salcete which along with its twin village Nagoa now bifurcated constitutes mainly of the Gawda community engaged in traditional occupation besides farming. Many of them are now employed in the over 194 industries in the Electronic City. The village Verna has also witnessed a proliferation of non Goans mainly from North India who are a great threat to the demographic composition of the village. No doubt they are rented in make shift apartments of the village houses -- but crimes have also been increasing. With the Dr Reddy Pharmaceuticals DLink Cipla Seimens and Finolex in the vicinity a "mini India" is in the making and villagers are attending to menial jobs for these " new masters" There is also a cross as one climbs the steep slope atop to reach the temple site. It is believed that the first mass was said at this place and therefore the Cross still continues today near the temple. There is no doubt that the plateau is an open place and cool but there is no proper transport to reach the site. With todays inauguration the temple will emerge as a pilgrim centre in the years to come. Incidentally with the revival of this temple the BJP can now pursue its HINDUTVA agenda in Goa which is known now not as the "ROME OF THE EAST" referring to the numerous Churches and Chapels in place of Hindu Temples -- but the "Kashi of the West". It may be noted that according to historical facts the pre-Portuguese era was the SUNAPARANT -- Golden west coast. region defined in the Vedic culture of seven regions a) Saurashtra (Khatiawara b) Barbar (Gujarat) c) Kharta (Thane Kolaba Ratnagiri) d) Gomantak (Sindhudurga Goa Karwar) e) Karnata (Karnataka Coast f) Tulunga (Tulu speaking regions) g) Kerala The temple at Divar referred to as the Porne Teerth was sacred to the Hindus pre portuguese era until the deity was re-located at Narve in Bicholim dedicated to Lord Shiva and known as the Sri Saptakoteshwara temple amidst the confluence of the river Mandovi (Mhadei) and Zuari rebuilt by Shivaji in 1668. The significance of seven rivers seven coastal regions and seven islands is important to the hindus. A few sidelights of the auspices ocassion: The former CMs Mr Manohar Parrikar Ms Sashikala Kakodkar the BJP President Mr R Arlekar and others were prominent by their presence. issues of politics and religion were freely discussed at the ocassion between the devotees and the politicos. A section of the crowd was full with RSS cadres under the leadership of Prof Velingkar the RSS Pramukh of Goa Many children were dressed in "Bhatji attire" some shaven giving a solemnity to the ocassion. Refreshments were available but plastic ware "use and dispose" littered the place The water tank and the board detailing the temple history set up by the Government is disfigured. Being a Sunday and a May Day holiday there was a huge crowd of devoutees from Salcete. One of the politician was seen discussing with a son of a prominent Margao trader turned industrialist from of locating a corner plot for public and political meets. The Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry President and DLINK officials were present -- Many industries in Verna have donated towards the one crore kitty of the reconstruction funds. The granite stone structure is magnificent and a lot of work still remains to be complete only the steps are too high making the old and feeble difficult to take a darshan with ease. With the "Porne Teerth" Saptokeshwar temple site at Diwar in North Goa and now the restoration of the Verna temple the right wing Hindu fundamentalists clandestinely spearhead "Hindu UNITY" from these two centres in the coming years which with vitriolic speeches on Inquisition and Portuguese excess some 450 years ago may instead of maintaining the communal tolerance in Goa lead to a polarisation of the two communities, the presence of BJP politicians and its other wings does not bode well for relgious tolerance in the state. from the Shree Mahalsa Devalaya site GODFREY J I GONSALVES Borda Margao Goa [EMAIL PROTECTED] ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your life partner online Go to: http://yahoo.shaadi.com/india-matrimony ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> DonorsChoose. A simple way to provide underprivileged children resources often lacking in public schools. 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