Renovation of 350-year-old Shree Saptakoteshwar Temple in Goa to boost tourism
Recently, the Prime Minister has expressed happiness over the renovation of Shri Saptakoteshwar Devasthan located in Narve, Bicholim, Goa.
Shri Saptakoteshwar Devasthan
- Saptakoteshwar has been the deity of the kings of the Kadamba dynasty around the twelfth century. Coins from this era mention the name of the deity along with King Jayakeshi.
- It was desecrated by the Bahmani rulers, and was rebuilt during the Vijayanagara rule.
- After the Portuguese conquest, the linga installation of the temple was removed once again in 1540. Soon after, it was smuggled out by a local man named Narayan Shenvi Suryarao and taken to a place called Latambarasem where it remained for 3 years.
- In 1543 it was installed in a temple near Divar Island. The Maratha king Shivaji conquered the region in 1664.
- During one of his many campaigns in Goa against the Portuguese in 1668, he ordered the restoration of the Saptakoteshwar temple at Narve and the installation of the linga in its proper place.
- The stone plaque mentioning this order can be seen even today near the entrance of the temple.
- This temple is an important historical landmark which was started for restoration in the year 2018, which marks the completion of 350 years of the temple being renovated by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Source – PIB
