Goa - Part 2 - Zambaulim, Lord Damodar's Holy Abode

Zambaulim is a village in South Goa, Quepem Taluk, 22 KM from Margao. This place is famous for Shri Damodar Temple which is located on the bank of Kushawati river. The temple houses an incarnation of Lord Shiva, the deity of as Lord Damodar. Goans fondly call him "Dambappa". It belongs to the GSB community ( Gowda Saraswath Brahmins) and there are accommodation facilities made available in the temple premises for community members only.

 

We had booked our stay for two nights here. As mentioned in my earlier blog(link), we reached Margao via KTC bus from Vasco at around 11:30 AM. . At Margao  bus stand, we inquired if there is a bus to Zambaulim and there wasn’t any for another hour. So asked for a taxi outside Margao bus terminal and one taxi driver agreed to drop us to Zambaulim for Rs. 1000. So we agreed since we didn’t want to miss the 12:30 PM aarti at Shri Damodar temple.

 

Journey from Margao to Zambaulim is very scenic with lush green fields and calm breeze welcoming you to South Goa especially if you are travelling during Monsoons. We reached Zambaulim in 40 minutes. 








We quickly went to temple office, took our room keys, dumped our luggage in our room and were just in time for the afternoon aarti. After a good darshan of the deity, aarti and prasadam we headed to the Anna danam center for lunch.





After this yummy lunch and a long journey it was time for power nap. The temple premises was so silent that you just cant miss to have a power nap here. This was a much required relaxing break for me away from the hustle, bustle of city life.

 

We woke up at around 4 PM after a refreshing power nap. First we decided to take a walk towards the bank of Kushawati river.

 

Kushawati River


Kushawati river is a lifeline of many villages in and around Quepem. Originating from Nunde, Sanquem, the river flows through the Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary before joining the Zuari river.  


From Damodar temple, there is a clear path leading towards the river bank. 











We reached the river bank and noticed that there was not a single soul. We could just hear the river flowing which was so soothing to ears. We then sat on the river bank, soaked our legs in the holy water enjoying nature's own therapy. 

 

After this relaxing foot massage, we came back to the temple premises and headed for tea. And now it was time for me to savor my favorite Goa’s specialty – Pav Bhaji.





Now I had ample time to click pictures of the temple premises. Please note clicking pictures of the deity is not allowed. 



 

Lord Damodar


 

Monday’s are special in Zambaulim since Lord Damodar’s Utsav Murti (idol) will be taken in a Palanquin (Pallaki) around the temple premises and this will be celebrated on a grand scale every Monday. All Konkani GSB’s in South Goa will drive all the way to Zambaulim just for this. We had time till the evening Pallaki so we decided to visit the Someshwar temple in Sirvoi. We checked google map which said 7 minutes by vehicle and 40 minutes by walk. So we stood near the Zambaulim bus stop hoping to get a bus. But transport is a big problem in this area. Finally a good Samaritan who was carrying some goods in his vehicle stopped and offered us a lift. We thanked him and hopped onto his vehicle.

 

Sri Someshwara Temple, Sirvoi

 

This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva incarnated as Lord Someshwara. We didn’t find a priest or a security guard here. We had a peaceful darshan.









We then came outside the temple, crossed the road and waited for bus back to Zambaulim. We waited for 15 minutes and there was no sign of a bus. Then we decided to walk till the temple since it would be a good peaceful walk and good opportunity for us to fill our lungs with pure countryside air. It was a good decision and this walk was really good. 40 minutes passed by just witnessing the lush green fields, houses, temples of South Goa. 



As we reached closer to Zambaulim, we came across this gaushala.

 

Dhyan Foundation Gaushala

 

This Gaushala is run by Shri Damodar Saunsthan Trust. So people who give donations towards Go-dana at the temple will be sent to this foundation. This foundation takes care of nearly 350+ abandoned, sick, orphaned cows. We stopped by for a min and the volunteers were more than happy to explain us what they do on a daily basis. 

 




After bidding adieu to these innocent creatures by God, we then started walking towards temple now which hardly took us 10 minutes.

 

By now the temple was fully lit and was gearing up for the evening Pallaki utsav. Priests were getting the Palanquin ready. Temple premises were getting crowded with devotees now. Outskirts of the temple was getting filled with cars.




Finally the procession began and the next one hour was the best time where I soaked myself into divinity fully with loud chanting of Lord Damodar, devotional songs, music and drum beats. The Pallaki was taken around Lord Damodar temple and then later this ended with Mahamangalarti. 



After this we then headed to Anna Dana center for dinner. Had yummy dinner and took some walk around the temple post dinner. I had shortlisted two offbeat places to explore around Zambaulim - Rivona and Salaulim dam next day. So we inquired for a driver at the office and luckily we found one who agreed to take us around next day. After finalizing this, we came back to our room and called the day off.


Other pages from my Goa travel diary


Goa - Part 1 - Exploring Vasco, Port City of Goa

Goa - Part 3 - Exploring Hinterland of Rivona and Salaulim Dam

Goa - Part 4 - Ponda, The Holy Town of Goa

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