Saptakoteshwar Temple,
Narve – History
Saptakoteshwar, a form of Shiva, was one of the chief
deities of the Kings of the Kadamba dynasty around the twelfth century. The
temple was built by the King for his wife Kamaladevi who was a staunch devotee
of this god. The Kadamba kings proudly used the title (Birudu) Shri
Saptakotisha Ladbha Varaveera. The gold coins discovered at Chandor,
Gopikapatna and other places in Goa belonged to the kings Jayakeshi I,
Jayakeshi II, Jayakeshi III, Shivachitta Paramadideva, Soideva, etc. contains
Saptakotishvaralabdha – Varaprasada (with the grace of Lord Saptakotishwara)
inscribed in the coins. These coins were often referred to as
Saptakotisha-Gadyanakas.
When the Kadamba kingdom
was conquered by the Bahmani Sultan Allauddin Hasan Gangu in
1352 AD, Goa came
under the rule of the Sultan for about 14 years. A number of temples were
destroyed during this period and this temple also suffered destruction at the
hands of Islamic invaders. The Linga from the temple was shifted and buried in
a paddy field to avoid it from being destroyed. The army of Vijayanagar King
Harihararaya defeated the Bahmani Sultan's troops in Goa in 1367 AD and managed
to restore most of the temples including Saptakoteshwar.
According to the records the temple was reconstructed
by Madhava Mantri by the end of the 14th century. The
Linga was later reinstalled back during the reign of the Vijayanagar empire. The
temple was demolished in 1560 by the Portuguese and
a chapel dedicated to Nossa Senhora De Candelaria was erected in its
place. The stones from the temple was used for the church building. The
remnants of the temple ruins are still visible in the chapel attached to the
cemetery of the church of Nossa Senhora da Piedade or the Our Lady of
Compassion Church at Divar.
The Linga was also taken away by a man named Narayan
Shenvi Suryarao and hidden in a place called Latambarsem where it remained for
3 years. It is said that it was smuggled away for safekeeping. It was later
found on the wall of a well on the Divar island and still bears the marks made
by the ropes used for drawing water at the time. The Linga was rescued by some
Hindus and was then smuggled across the river to Bicholim.
The other side of the river bank was annexed by an ally
of the Sultan of Bijapur, this chieftain played an important role in the
rehabilitation of the Linga on the river bank that was visibly hidden amidst a
narrow valley. This village assumed the name of Nae Naroa, and now is popularly
known as Naroa or Bicholim. The other side of the river bank was annexed by an
ally of the Sultan of Bijapur, this chieftain played an important role in the
rehabilitation of the Linga on the river bank that was visibly hidden amidst a
narrow valley. This village assumed the name of Nae Naroa, and now is popularly
known as Naroa or Bicholim.
A new temple was born from an incident during Shivaji's
reign. In 1664 when Shivaji (who had gone to offer prayers to the Linga placed
in a mud & thatch house) found a straw from the thatch roof fallen on his
shoulder he immediately took it as a good omen and ordered the construction of
the temple. It was installed in a new temple in 1668 by the Maratha Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The
construction of the new site was carried out by Shri Shivaram Desai (president
of the Sansthan) on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's support. The stone plaque
mentioning this order can still be seen near the temple entrance today.
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