The Unnerving Struggle to Remain A Hindu - X

When Goa had to face atrocities of Jesuit missionaries and their temples were destroyed, the temples were rebuilt in the safe areas known to people. Despite converting to Christianity, families still consider the old caste when they get their children married. Of course, Christian rulers wanted the people who belonged to the different faiths, to follow their Christianity.

There is another social phenomenon which evolved gradually in Kunkolli. They were under the tyrannical rule of the Portuguese from the 16th century, were helpless and were violently compelled to get uprooted, almost all customs were banned. In spite of this they courageously and secretly shifted Shantadurga to a safe place. They brought the deity back in the lunar month of Phalguna using a secret track, performed the rituals and took it back to the place without the rulers' knowledge in Fatorpa.

Gradually the picture changed, the deity was brought in an open procession, palanquin ( palakhi ) and umbrellas were used,( there is a tradition of using umbrellas for the deities ), some families had the right to hold the umbrellas by tradition. The deity was received with enthusiasm and rituals. The converted Wangadis too were given their traditional right to escort the procession.

Now the deity is brought with ornamental and ritual umbrellas. Prasadam and Pooja are performed, and even Christians come to seek the Knowledge of God. All consider themselves to be the offspring of Shantadurga. Of course, it took centuries to reach the present state, but the society acquired it.

By the end of the 20th century, many came together ( Hindus as well as Christians ) to form a trust and an appropriate monument was raised to commemorate our honest and genuine ancestors. This was an attempt to bring the true picture of our history to light. Those who lost their life, are martyrs. Lay people obviously supported it. This on 27'th July 1999 it was open to all. People and leaders across the party line attended the ceremony.

The head of the committee Dr Coutinho said that their real ancestors were true Hindus. They made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of Swardharma and Mother Country.

The author toured Goa some 30-40 times in 22 years as a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharak. He sadly mentions that such places are not mentioned in the guides of Goa. Shri Avdhoot Kamat, a young lecturer then, stated that the memorial of Kunkolli was erected because it was a social issue. They ' refused to bow down to atrocious and unjust high-handedness '.

After the independence of Goa, the temple of Mahalasa Narayani was restored at Vernaas like the temple at Somnath was renovated. It is 20 km southward from Panaji. Shankaracharya of Shringeri Math conducted the ceremony on 1st May 2005. Its foundation stone was laid over the remains of the old temple by mathadhish, it was destroyed by the Portuguese.

The temple was built in the 11th century by the Kadamb dynasty. It stood there till 7'th March 1567 when the Portuguese commander demolished it. Its grandeur could be imagined even when one looks at the rubble. The old temple had all the features of traditional architecture. The temple pond was the constant source of water for all. Some interesting stories or fables were attached to many features of the temple, they all were part of the existence of the temple. Even Portuguese writers described the Beauty and Grandeur in their books, which are still available. The temples were at the centre of the village cultural activities along with the spiritual value, and a place to get together. The culture was all-inclusive, as people from all the strata of society were part of the system. It probably was a seat of justice also, where both the parties would appear and present facts. Goans wanted to break out of the clutches of Adil Shah from Bijapur and hoped that white men would give them a helping hand, but unfortunately, they fell prey to the fanatic Portuguese. They pulled down every temple, and administration along with the Church attacked fiercely on every aspect of life. People of Goa had rituals to remove the divine spirit from the idols, transfer it to some object and build a temple in the region outside the Portuguese territory. The new idol was infused with the divine spirit again, this ritual was beyond the imagination of the fanatic foreign rulers. Many temples were built following the same rituals.

The Churches were built using the materials from the temples by destroying it. The same is the story of the Mahalasa Narayani temple. When a church was to be built, the wooden section of the temple was to be used for the church as suggested by the Jesuit missionaries. The Lord was to be pleased, so the huge monolithic statue of Devi was defaced and damaged, ornaments confiscated, silver articles were gifted to the commander (!) and the Church was erected and the Cross with Jesus crucified was also built to prevent Hindus to rebuild the temple. It took several days to destroy the temple completely.

The cross came to ruin, but in 1959, it was built again and it carried a misleading inscription that it was built in 1519 and the first mass was conducted. The Portuguese gained control over Saasashti in 1543, thus the fact inscribed cannot be the case, this is an example of distortion of history.

As the Kalachakra moved, the scenario changed, The Inquisition could no longer survive, and people once again started following their original rituals and traditions gradually. Even Christians started visiting religious places, as a part of a vow ( नवस )and knowledge ( कौल ). Mahalasa temple had Wangadis belonging to all castes as trustees. People started visiting the temple, even though hardly any Hindu family was left in Verna. Most of them fled it and went to Kerala.

On 19th December 1961 Goa was liberated by the Indian Republic, and the first chief minister Shri Dayanand Bandodkar expressed the will to resurrect Verna. Surprisingly the Sardesai family had the land where the temple stands now. It changed many hands. ( 400 years ago the land of the temple had to be given to the Church. ) After 408 years 9 months and 13 days, the foundation stone was laid by the Shankaracharya of the Shringeri math, and the Sardesais surrendered the land free of cost. It was the full moon day of Margasheersha.

Later Smt Shashikala Kakodkar became the CM, and the project was facing many difficulties. Shri Sarvottam Sardesai ( he was the sanghchalak of southern Goa then )shouldered the responsibility and shifted his residence near the temple site, performing all the rites as suggested. The priests accepted only a meagre remuneration ( दक्षिणा ) for the ceremony ( यज्ञ ) and the work started.

Shri Manohar Parrikar, the then CM reallocated the 68,000 sq plot which was owned by the temple four and a half centuries ago, to the temple. Shri Sardesai prepared the list of trustees who represented all the sections of society. When Shri Prabhudesai ( the Sardesai ) unfortunately died during the construction, Shri Ramdas Saraf accepted the responsibility. Shringeri math Shankaracharya performed the installation ceremony.

On 1st of May 2005, Devi Mahalasa Narayani re-entered the temple. The temple is the first one to be rebuilt on the original spot.

Rarely such moments arrive in the history.