Mangesh Temple, Mangeshi – History

Mangesh Temple, Mangeshi – History

This temple was originally located in Kushasthali or Cortalim, a village in Mormugoa which fell to the invading Portuguese in 1543. When the Portuguese started Christian conversions in Mormugoa Taluk in the year 1560, the Saraswats of Kaundinya Gotra and Vatsa Gotra moved the Mangesh Linga from the original site at the Kushasthali or Cortalim on the banks of river Aghanashini (Zuari) (Sancoale) to its present location at Mangeshi in Priol village of Atrunja Taluk, which was then ruled by the Hindu kings of Sonde of Antruz Mahal (Ponda), for safety.

The current structure was built under Maratha rule and renovated in 1890 AD. The Peshwas donated the village of Mangeshi to the temple in 1739 on the suggestion of their Sardar, Shri Ramchandra Malhar Sukhtankar, who was a staunch follower of Shri Mangesh. Just a few years after it was built, this area also fell into Portuguese hands in 1763, but by now, the Portuguese had lost their initial religious zeal and had become quite tolerant of other religions, and so, this structure remained untouched.

The final renovation occurred in the year 1973 when a golden kalasha (holy vessel) was fitted atop the tallest dome of the temple. The temple along with others in the area instituted a dress code on visitors of the temple in 2011. Mangueshi Temple has been embroiled in many controversies in recent years. In June 2018 two young women, one a medical student from the U.S. and the other a computer student from Mumbai, came forward in separate incidents with personal accounts of molestation by the same priest inside the temple. Both women lodged FIRs in Ponda, Goa. 

The priest in question, Dhananjay Bhave, was booked on July 20, 2018 under the Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code. In November 2017, a physically-challenged young girl was denied entry into Mangueshi Temple by the management, based on her usage of a wheelchair and claims by the management that “a wheelchair is a vehicle and vehicles aren't allowed inside the temple”. A police report was lodged by the girl's family under the Rights of Persons with Disability Act 2016.