Saptakoteshwar Temple, Narve – History

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 14^th 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.