Goa’s taluka of Ponda is home to some of the most popular temples in the state, including the Shantadurga temple located at Kavlem village in the same sub district.
The temple is one of the most visited Hindu places of worship in the state and is an essential part of the religious tourism circuit as far as Goa is concerned. Everyday busloads of tourists and well as locals throng to this temple for a darshan of the deity Shantadurga.
Lore has it that the deity was brought to Goa by the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins all the way from Eastern India, centuries ago.
The story of the origins of the temple is interesting. The original temple was located in Quellossim in the Salcete region of Goa, before it was destroyed by the colonists in the 1500s, after which the deity was re-located to Kavalem.
What is known to have been built as a smallish laterite structure at the time of its origin has now evolved into a stunning temple, thanks to the generosity of Maratha ruler Chattrapati Shahu of Satara, who in the 1700s helped in the construction of the temple as we see it now.
Goddess Shantadurga to whom the stunning temple is dedicated to, is known as a mediator between Vishnu and Shiva and is referred to as ‘Sateri’ in local parlance.
Shantadurga temple
Kavlem, Ponda
