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

After spending 2 relaxed soul soothing days in Lord Damodar's abode (link) and exploring some offbeat places around South Goa (link), we next set off to visit our Kuldevata temple - Shri Mahalaxmi Saunsthan which is located in Ponda. 

Ponda is also known as Fonda in Konkani. This temple town of Goa offers the most visually appealing temples with their stunning architecture, rectangular Kalyani (pond) and a cylindrical multistoried tower lamp (Deepa Stambha). 

We had booked our next 2 days stay at our Kuldevata temple - Shri Mahalaxmi Saunsthan, Bandivade, Ponda. While we spent most of our time offering our seva to Goddess Mahalaxmi in the mornings and late evenings, but rest of the day we spent here exploring the other prominent temples around this place. Luckily private bus transport is good so you can visit most of these temples by hopping onto these buses since autos charge exorbitant amount even for a short distance.

 

Shri Mahalaxmi Temple, Bandora


This Hindu temple was established in the 19th century and is dedicated to the deity of Shri Mahalaxmi. This deity is regarded as an incarnation of power and energy. According to folk mythology, Shri Mahalaxmi was released when the Hindu demons and gods churned the ocean in the hope of extracting the nectar of immortality or ‘amrit’ out of it.








We started our temple trail from Shri Naguesh temple which is at walking distance from Shri Mahalaxmi temple. 

 

Shri Naguesh Temple (Nagueshi, Ponda)


This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, worshipped as "Naguesh". In front of the temple there is a tank and a stone inscription of King Devrai I of Vijayanagar dynasty dating to 1413 AD. This inscription is in Devnagiri script and Marathi language. It records the grant made to Shree Mahalaxmi and Shri Naguesh. 







 Shri Kamakshi Temple (Shiroda, Ponda)


In order to visit this temple, you will need to take a bus to Shiroda from Ponda central. 

This beautiful temple was reconstructed in the 17th century. It has been shifted from Raia in Salcete Taluka to Shiroda in Ponda at its present location during the Portuguese rule. In the garbhagriha is an idol of Goddess Kamakshi on a silver pedestal. In the Sabhamandap (inner hall) there are exquisitely carved wooden pillars. In front of the temple there is a deepastambha. 






There was some event going on inside the temple. Hence couldn't click pictures inside the temple premises. 

We then boarded bus back to Bandivade from Shiroda. Enroute we saw Sai Baba temple and got down to offer our prayers to Baba. 

Sai Baba Temple (Borim, Ponda)

This temple cannot be missed if you are enroute Bandivade fro Ponda since it is located right on the main road opposite to the bus stop. It is built on a small hill, surrounded by lush greenery and a serene atmosphere. 





We then hopped onto another bus in this route and got down at Shantadurga temple stop. 

Shri Shantadurga Temple (Kavale, Goa)

This temple hosts an idol of Goddess Durga who mediated between Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva to stop the fierceful war between the two. This avatar of Goddess Durga which had come to make peace between both the Lords came to be known as Shree Shantadurga Devi. Hence inside the garbagriha of this temple,  she is flanked by Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu on both the sides. The original place of Shree Shantadurga Devi was at Keloshi. From there Devi was shifted to Kavlem during the rule of Portuguese government. This current temple structure of Shree Shantadurga Devi was built during the period from 1713 A.D to 1738 A.D. 








Shri Ramnath Saunsthan (Ramnathim, Bandivade, Ponda)


Shri Ramnath is considered as a divine symbol of the unity of Hari (Vishnu) and Hara (Shiva). During the churning of ocean, Lord Shiva drank Halahal (poison) that came out of churning and he held this poison in his throat. His throat became blue and he started getting burning sensation. That sensation was soothed by the recital of Rama Nama. So, Shree Ramnath is a symbol of unity of Hari and Hara. 





This was the last temple visited as part of our temple trail. We walked till Mahalaxmi temple from here and it was such a peaceful and refreshing walk. We were just in time for evening Aarti. After savoring yummy anna prasadam for dinner, we headed back to our rooms and hit the bed with the satisfaction of successfully completing our spiritual sojourn as planned by seeking blessings from all the deities. 

Friday’s are very special at Mahalaxmi temple since the utsav murthy of Goddess Mahalaxmi will be taken over a Palanquin around the temple in the evening. Most of the Konkani GSB’s will attend this without fail. So today we set off to explore Old Goa during the day so that we can get back by evening for the Palanquin utsav. So join me in exploring old Goa in my next blog. 


Other pages from my Goa travel diary

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