Mangueshi Temple

Shree Manguesh Saunsthan
Name
Other names	Mangueshi Temple
Geography
Country	India
State/province	Goa
District	North Goa
Locale	Mangeshi Village, Priol
Culture
Primary deity	Manguesh
Consort	Shantadurga
Important festivals	Rama Navami, Akshaya Tritiya, Anant Vritotsava, Navaratri, Dussera, Diwali, Magha Poornima Festival (Jatrotsav) and Mahashivratri
History and governance
Date established	1560
Date built	1560

Shri Mangesh temple (Devanagari: श्री मंगेश मंदीर) is located at Mangeshi Village in Priol, Ponda taluk, Goa. It is at a distance of 1 km from Mardol close to Nagueshi, 21 km from Panaji the capital of Goa, and 26 km from Margao.

This temple is one of the largest and most frequently visited temples in Goa. In 2011, the temple along with others in the area instituted a dress code on visitors of the temple.

This temple had its origins in Kushasthali Cortalim, a village in Saxty (Salcette) which fell to the invading Portuguese in 1543. In the year 1560, when the Portuguese started Christian conversions in Salcete taluka, the Saraswats of Vatsa Gotra moved the Mangesh Linga from the original site at the Kushasthali or Cortalim on the banks of river Aghanashini (Zuari) to its present location at Mangeshi in Priol village of Atrunja Taluka, which was then ruled by the Hindu kings of Sonde of Antruz Mahal (Ponda), to be more secure.

Since the time of the shifting, the temple has been rebuilt and renovated twice during the reign of the Marathas and again in the year 1890. The final renovation occurred in the year 1973 when a golden kalasha (holy vessel) was fitted atop the tallest dome of the temple.

The original site was a very simple structure, and the current structure was only built under Maratha rule, some 150 years after it had been moved. The Peshwas donated the village of Mangeshi to the temple in 1739 on the suggestion of their Sardar, Shri Ramchandra Malhar Sukhtankar, who was a staunch follower of Shri Mangesh. Ironically, just a few years after it was built, this area too fell into Portuguese hands in 1763, but by now, the Portuguese had lost their initial religious zeal and had become quite tolerant of other religions, and so, this structure remained untouched.

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Wikipedia