Narve Sri Saptakoteshwar Temple, Goa

Address

Narve Sri Saptakoteshwar Temple Temple Road, Narve, Maem, Goa 403403

Diety

Saptakoteshwar Amman: Parvati

Introduction

About 35 km from Panaji, in the village of Narve, lies the Shri Saptakoteshwar Temple. It is considered as one of the six temples of Lord Shiva in the Konkan region. An ancient structure, the temple is thronged by devotees of Saptakoteshwar, the deity of the Kadamba dynasty

Puranic Significance

As per local folklore, it is believed that Lord Shiva of this Temple battled with demons with his powerful army of seven crores.. The Saptakoteshwar Linga of Lord Shiva is believed to be made of seven metals and hence, he came to be called as Saptakoteshwar. It is said that the Lord appeared before the Sapta Rishis on the day which in later years became the day of the birth of the Vishnu Incarnation, Lord Krishna and hence since times immemorial the festival of this incarnation of Shiva is celebrated on the day which later became the day of the birth of Krishna – Gokul Ashtami. On this day thousands of devotees gather at the site to bathe in the river alongside the temple. The belief is that the river becomes Pancha Ganga (Panch – 5, Ganga – holy river) on the Gokul Ashtami day and it is considered that a bath on this day guarantees salvation. This is also an ancient temple, Saptakoteshwar having been the deity of the Kings of the Kadamba dynasty around the twelfth century. Coins found from this era mention the name of the deity along with that of the King Jayakeshi. After the Portuguese conquest, in the year 1540 during the years of the Inquisition, once again the linga at the temple was removed. Soon afterwards, it was smuggled away by one of the locals named Narayan Shenvi Suryarao and taken to a place called Latambarsem where it remained for 3 years. In 1543, it was installed in a temple near the island of Divar. The Maratha King Shivaji conquered the area in 1664. On one of his many expeditions to Goa against the Portuguese in 1668, he gave the order for the Saptakoteshwar temple at Narve to be rebuilt and the linga installed in its proper place. The stone plaque mentioning this order can still be seen near the temple entrance today. There are several caves found in the surroundings. Also, ruins of a Jain math and temple can be found near the Temple. It was probably an important Jain temple patronized by the Kadamba rulers before they accepted Saptakoteshwar as their chief deityarthed here mention the deity’s name along with that of king Jayeshi of Kadamba dynasty.

Beliefs

As per legend, Sapta Rishis (Seven Sages) performed penance on Lord Shiva near the place where five holy rivers met the sea. They prayed for seven crore years at the end of which, Lord Shiva appeared to grant their wishes and agreed to stay at the place in one of his incarnations. This incarnation is known as Saptakoteshwar (Sapta means seven and Koteshwar means lord of crores).

Special Features

Goa is considered as Kashi of the Konkan region or Konkan Kashi. There is a man-made tunnel like structure close to the temple. There is a sacred tank known as Panchaganga Tirtha can be found near the temple. The Linga itself is distinctive of a Dharalinga or Mukhalinga type and made of polished stone. There is a shrine for Kalabhairava in front of the temple towards the right side of the Deepa Sthamba and the padukas of Dattatreya carved on the stone. Two huge laterite pillar-like structures (similar to Stonehenge) buried deep can be seen a little ahead of Deepa Sthamba.