Why in Goa, Lord Shiva is called as Mangesh or Mangeshi.

                                             

Once Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati were playing a game of dice. As per the game rule, the loser had to surrender his/ her property to the one who wins. After few rounds, finally Parvati won and Lord Shiva had to surrender all his properties to her. Out of anger, he left mount Kailash, his home in the Himalayas. He wandered around and reached the southwest part of India.  Dense forests lined by endless beaches made the place look beautiful and calm. Beaches and trees??? Yes… we now call this place as Goa. Lord Shiva who loved being in a meditative state and preferred not to be disturbed immediately decided to stay there. He meditated for days together.

Meanwhile, Goddess Parvati was heartbroken as he did not return. She decided to look out for him. She finally reached the dense forests of Goa. Shiva saw her approaching from a distance and immediately took the form of a tiger to play a prank. Parvati was frightened at the sight of a tiger and shouted “Trahi Mam Girisha” – which meant “Protect me, Oh Lord of the mountain.” On hearing this Lord Shiva appeared to her in his original form. He consoled the Goddess and both returned to their abode happily. Since that day, Lord Shiva adopted the name Mam Girish, the last two words of Parvati’s cry. With years passing by, slowly the name became as Mangauirisha or Mangesh.

As per the legends, it is believed that Lord Brahma consecrated the Mangesh Linga on the Mangireesh mountains on the banks of river Bhagmathi. Later the Saraswat Brahmins brought the Linga to Munger in Trihotra, now known as Bihar.

According to Skanda purana, Lord Parashurama, the 6^th avatar of Lord Vishnu, invited 66 families of Saraswat Brahmins belonging to 10 gotras to perform Yajna at Goa. Each of the brahmins brought with them their Kuladevata idol or the idol of their family deity. Lord Parashurama then prayed to the sea God to recede to make land for his people. This region came to be called as “Konkan” (Kon meaning corner and kana meaning a part of the earth.  Lord Parashurama donated the villages from the land to the Saraswat’s and each of them installed their kuladevata in their respective village.  

Those who worshipped Lord Mangesh, installed the Linga at Mormugoa, on the banks of Zuari river which soon fell prey to Portugal invasions. To save the temple from being demolished by the Portuguese, the Brahmins secretly kept the Linga in a temple priest’s house. Later it was safely shifted to Priol village in Ponda which was ruled by the Hindu kings. Ramchandra Sukhtankar a notable general of the Maratha Court revived the lingam and convinced Raja Sonda to donate the land for constructing the temple.

The temple had a simple structure which was rebuilt and renovated few times during the Maratha rule.

Mangesh temple is one of the oldest and most visited temples in Goa. It stands atop a hill surrounded by lush greenery. The temple constructed in Goan style of architecture consists of a sacred pond, which is believed to be the oldest part of the temple complex. At the entrance is a 7 storeyed deepastambha (the light tower) which is lighted in the evenings. The main temple is presently painted with shades of light and dark blue combined with white and golden colours. Probably the blue shades which is usually not seen in Hindu temples is used here to denote Lord Shiva’s colour. The main festival here is the annual Magha Purnima celebration in February when the Ratha yatra or the royal chariot procession happens.  If you happen to visit Goa, do visit this beautiful temple. Jai Shankar!

Watch this story on: https://youtu.be/ptER1SefDEk

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Story of Ekadanta : The broken tusk of Lord Ganesha - Indian Mythology

 

Namaskara!

Ganesha is a popular Hindu god and a favourite one, especially among children. He is the lord of wisdom, success and remover of all obstacles. 

He is called by various names – Ganesha, Vinayaka, Ganapati, Lambodar, Ekadanta, Vighnaraja, Mooshikavahana, Gajanana, Pillaiyar and so on. He is the first and the foremost God to be worshipped by all before starting any work… be it studies, work, business, ceremonies, art, music and dance. In fact any puja or homa is performed by first offering prayers to Lord Ganesha.

Have you noticed? Ganesha has an elephant head and a human body?? His belly looks like a big pot. His elephant head, just like any elephant has big ears, a long trunk and tusks… Oh but did you notice the tusk on his left side is broken? Now…….. why is his tusk broken? Let us see the story behind his broken tusk.

There was a sage by name Vyasa. He was the compiler of the 4 Vedas (namely the Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva veda) which is why he was referred to as "Ved Vyasa". He was once instructed by Gods to write the epic Mahabharata. Sage Vyasa wanted it to be written by the most well-read person and sought help of Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma suggested him to seek permission from Lord Shiva to let his beloved son Ganesh help him pen down the epic. Ganesha, the lord of wisdom, readily agreed but on one condition. “You have to dictate the epic to me non-stop. The moment you stop, I’ll also stop and go away. I do not want to merely write it, but also understand every verse of it” said Ganesha.

The sage agreed to the condition and the long dictation began. Sage Vyasa was an old man. Continuous dictation tired him. Sometimes, he desperately needed a break. At such times, he would use a difficult bunch of words. Even Ganesha found them difficult. As Ganesha scratched his head, the old sage would take a deep breath and quickly gulp some water to regain strength. He would be ready with the next line by the time Ganesha figured out the meaning and wrote down the words. Ganesha proceeded to write at a fast speed. Those days bird feather was dipped in ink and used as a pen. Suddenly the feather with which Ganesha was writing, broke. Ganesha did not have the time to look for another feather to write nor he wanted to stop so he quickly broke his left tusk and continued to write with it using the tusk as a pen. Thus the Mahabharata story was completed. After this Ganesha was left with only one tusk. It is his right tusk. So people started calling Ganesha as “Ekadanta” (Meaning: single tusked god). 

So children, now you know why Ganesha is seen with a broken tusk on his left side. Next time you see Lord Ganesha s picture or you visit His temple, do think of this story. Jai Shri Ganesh!

Stay safe and happy😊

Wish to listen to this story? Please  click here: https://youtu.be/BzI_26Z1MCI