The Unnerving Struggle to Remain A Hindu - II

Ranga Hari Ji unfolds a very disturbing account of history. It starts from of mid-16th century. The viceroy received an official communication which noted that idolatry was practised, the King ( Joao 3, ruled from 1521 to 1557 ) wished only Christianity should prosper. Pagan ( who do not belong to or believe in the Christian faith) rituals were not supposed to have any space. The order was to destroy all the idols and grind them to pieces. ' Drawing, sculpting, casting them was to result in a severe punishment. Even religious dances in private or public were subjected to rigorous punishment. The order even mentioned kindling agarbattis and camphor as banned. Helping Brahmins in any way was not allowed as they were treated to be enemies of the Christian faith. Giving the harshest punishment, showing no mercy and not forgiving any was supposed to give pleasure.


The newly discovered lands were divided and entrusted to the King of Spain and Portugal to establish the kingdom of Lord Jesus along with their rule. The priests were on the payroll of Portugal kings. They were responsible for developing the master plan.

It has been recorded by Mr T R D'Souza ( a Goan Christian and a historian) that all the idols were destroyed, temples demolished, and all the assets seized and used to build Churches or Chapels. Hindu priests were driven out of the Portuguese-ruled territories, and Hindu rituals were prohibited. Orphans were adopted by the government, made to convert, and given government jobs as a consideration. Hindus were made to attend church services and sermons, where Hinduism was subjected to mockery.

M Voltaire a world-renowned thinker, put on record in his book ' Fragments of Indian History ', that " Goa is sadly infamous for its inquisition, which is contrary to humanity in as much as to commerce. Portuguese monks were deluded into thinking that the ( Indian) populace was worshipping the Devil, while it was they who had served him."

Schopenhauer, a German philosopher, had a deep knowledge of Indian philosophy and described it as ' a cradle of the human race ', and destruction or disfigurement of the ancient temples and idols as a barbaric act. This according to him was the worst side of religion where the believers of one religion allowed themselves to sin in every manner against another ( religion).

Hindu Gods have separate spaces in the home and in the temples. Our festivals and religious public celebrations are held in the temples. They represent the moral character of society. Goa had innumerable temples, they were mostly mud-walled and thatched-roofs, simple structures. ( Ranga Hari Ji observed many similarities between the temples of Kerala and Goa. ) The temples had agricultural lands, ornaments even utensils donated by devotees. The temples belonged to the village's castes or clans. These were managed by people,( known as Mahajans ). The majority of temples were located in the western coastal belt. Trade, agriculture and industries were located in this part.
The eastern region had no temples then, it was a wild expanse, that hardly had any development. This territory was not under Portuguese rule.

When the administration attacked, Hindus took their valuable possessions ( idols ) and fled to this area to hide them or installed them in the make-shift temples. Monolithic idols could not be shifted easily, so the divine spirit was transferred to the objects like a Kalash, a Sword, a coconut or an anklet using tantric rituals. Thus they could be shifted to safe locations.

Though the catholic rulers had the satisfaction of destroying the Devil's religion, the holy spirits were preserved. Later when this region came under Portuguese rule in 1791, these flourishing temples could not be touched due to the changed situation, British and Dutch had entered in the scene. They were not Catholics, but Goa took another 170 years to be independent and be a part of Bharat.

This is a very special feature of the history of Goa. No foreign rulers could comprehend the significance of the tantric rituals.

The Provincial Council of Goa was held in 1567. The second resolution passed by the council stated that temples, trees and other places of worship that were highly respected by Hindus were to be eradicated. The then ruler King Sebastian of Portugal supported it. Those who dared to criticise it were threatened to be expelled. Church implemented it with great strength. The archbishop had a great influence on the king.

The provincial council held in 1585 had a resolution that stated many things. Idolatry was stamped to be a sin and insult to the Lord Jesus because humans, animals, man-made objects and even the devil were worshipped and held sacred by Hindus. So it was to be stopped and abolished from the land ruled by the King. These actions were for the glory and fame of the king. The viceroy had unshakeable faith in the Lord Jesus. This was to be done in the name of religion. (!)

The migration of Hindus to save their religion was a fact, but the Portuguese tried everything to root it out. The author observed that the temples were rebuilt in the area outside the Portuguese administration. The temples had the same names, idols were consecrated and the funds for the upkeep and expenditure for the day-to-day activities were made available from the territory under Portuguese rule. This caused agony and surprise too. It was labelled as blasphemy and it was thought to be a cause of confusion in the new converts, and money too was flowing out. The king appealed to make it a severely punishable offence, persons were to be exiled and a heavy penalty was to be imposed.

It also requested to spend a part of the penalty to help new converts or may be used to construct a church in the locality. The King Philip accepted the appeal. As it did not yield a satisfactory result again the councils held in 1592 and in 1606 ( fourth and fifth councils) similar resolutions were passed.

The available Portuguese records disclose the number of 1107 temples that were annihilated from the Portuguese-administered area. This was treated to be the sacred duty to please the Lord Jesus. The author observed that even Mughal emperors (including many ) could not destroy temples in such huge numbers, in such a short span and from such small land. ( That is Goa) The church of St John Baptist today stands where Gaja Laxmi temple stood in Carambolim, same is the case of the Church of Our Lady stands where Narsimha temple existed in Dangim. Mahamaya temple gave way to the Mother of God church in Majorda, in place of Mangeshi temple stands a grand Church and a seminary in Cortallim. The story of The Trinity Church is not different, there was a Mahadev temple on the land. The author visited all the places.

The story of The Church built in Madgao illustrates how archbishop D-Gasper chose the spot of the temple despite the land available in the town and he had the cooperation of the villagers too. Damodar temple which was destroyed to build the Madgao church was built again in the village after the liberation of Goa.

Mutts were labelled as dangerous entities. Gowdapaadachaarya mutt was abolished after 1560, the mattaadhipati were forced to flee. The ashram was set up in the Chinar outside the Portuguese territory. These are some cases quoted in the book. In 1567 the report submitted to the King boasted destruction of all the Hindu temples. The agenda was practised in the name of the Rigor of Mercy.