Shri Anant Devasthan
In the small village
Savoi Verem in Ponda Taluka(45 kms away from the panajim city) there is unique
temple situated with a nice smooth green setting and the only temple in the
state which is dedicated to Lord Vishnu appearing here in his incarnation as
Ananta, the serpent. The deity carved in black stone
is Lord Vishnu (the God of Preservation) who is in his Anantashayya (a sleeping
position where the Lord rests on the multi-headed snake king Seshnaga, whose
heads shelter the head of the Lord like an umbrella).
Perennial stream of water
connected to this water tank is seen flowing along the periphery of the other
two sides of the temple. In addition to these water bodies there are two wells
inside the temple. The level of water in these wells almost touches the floor
of the temple as one has to just kneel down on the floor to draw water from the
well.
There is a presence of seven
colors of rainbow on the wooden carving of the pillar.There are currently 4
pillars in the temples,Of this 4 wooden pillars one is silver sheeted. The
intricacies of these carvings tell us about the type of the carving tools
existing in the ancient times. It should be also noted that such carvings were
done without usage of electric tools.
There are many festivals
celebrated out of which the most is “Kalo” which is celebrated on
anantchaturdashi and other festivals like shibiratosav.
Well, The temple which we are going to talk about now is so famous that it is really tough to stop talking about the features that puts us numb at its sight. Its none other than the Tambdi Surla temple which is speculated to be 600 years old. Being an art-lover I could not resist myself from clicking photos of each and every architectural piece out there. The pictures are showcased below for your reference along with its descriptions.
The mukhamandap is externally decorated
with rosettes.The exterior wall of the Garbagriha is simple and raised from the
moulded Adhisthana ridged by simple Ardhastambas (pillar projecting from wall).
The two tiered Shikhara (roof) rises from Grabagriha is in Dravidian style.
Shukanasi (Projected superstructures on the Antarala) is on the east face of
the shikhara which is badly damaged. The carvings of Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu
and Lord Brahma with their respective consorts are seen on the panel at the
sides of the temple.
The Mahadev Temple of
Tambdi Surla
Well, The temple which we are going to talk about now is so famous that it is really tough to stop talking about the features that puts us numb at its sight. Its none other than the Tambdi Surla temple which is speculated to be 600 years old. Being an art-lover I could not resist myself from clicking photos of each and every architectural piece out there. The pictures are showcased below for your reference along with its descriptions.
Mahadev temple is located in the village Surla in Sanguem
taluka and the village is locally known as Tambdi Surla because of the red
earth found in the vicinity. The temple itself is built in Jain style in the
twelfth century. The size of the temple is quite small as compared to the size
of the average Goan temple. The small, beautifully carved and perfectly
proportioned temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva
and has survived Muslim invasions and Portuguese persecution, in its
almost perfect condition mainly due to its remote location in a clearing deep
in the forest at the foot of the Western Ghats which surround the site in a
sheer wall of impenetrable vegetation.
The temple was built with the grey black
talc chlorite schist soap stone (which is a soft stone on which intricate
carvings are possible) by Hemadri, the minister of the
Yadava King Ramachandra. . The temple faces east so that the rays of
the rising sun fall on the deity at the crack of dawn. It has a pillared porch
and three stepped entrances and the shrine is surmounted by a tower. The temple
consists of Garbagriha (sanctum), Antarala (vestibule), and a pillared
Mukhamandapa (main pillared hall) where a stone sculpture of Nandi is seated.
The main hall is accessible from three
sides with balustrade entrances towards the east, north and south. The quality
of construction or quality of stone is such that the temple interiors are
always cool. In summer when the temperature outside is unbearable, the inside
of temple is cool and refreshing. Another fact is that the stones are cut in a
particular shape and kept on each other without any binding between the stones.
As you approach the temple, on the left
hand side one will find 4 stones representing the 4 pandavas. One stone is at the entrance of the
temple. These stones go unnoticed by many people.
The Mukhamandapa is embellished with
four carved lathe pillars and kakshasana (seating arrangement) on three sides
and is externally decorated with rosettes (flower motifs). The symbol of the
Kadamba kingdom, an elephant trampling a horse is carved on the base of one of
the columns. There is a headless Nandi (bull, Shiva’s vehicle) in the Centre of
the Mandap, surrounded by four matching columns. Legend says that there were
attacks made on the temple at some point of time and the head was destroyed in
those attacks.
The capitals of the pillars are carved
with the Nagabandhas (serpent bands) and stone ceiling decorated with
intricately carved lotus flowers of Ashtakon (eight-fold) variety. The stone
slabs are arranged in trabeats (use of pillar and beams) and the ceiling of
Mandapa looks like a star with an ornate lotus decoration in the center. This
can be seen just above the seated Nandi in the main hall.
The three sides of the Nandimandapa(Mukhamandapa)
has gable roof (slanting slabs) and is supported by Kakshasana pillars.
Devakostas (niches) are seen on the rear wall of the Antrala
The four Devakostas facing the east,
north and south having miniature decorated pillars on either side, resemble the
pillars of Mukhamandapa.
The pinnacle (top) is decorated with miniature Kadamba
Shikhara. The Devakostas depict images of lord Vishnu, Nagas, Uma and lord
Ganesh.
At the right side of the entrance door
has a snake image whereas on the left side is a Dwarpala(guard)
On the western side of Devakostas, is a
standing sculpture of Vishnu with hands broken holding Chakra (Discus) and
shankh (conch) in the upper hand. Kiritmukuta (crown), Hara (necklaces),
Bajubanda (armlets), Kankana (Bangles), Mekhala / Udarbandha(girdle/waist band)
and a long Vaijanti mala (necklace) are the ornaments of Vishnu. Garuda is
shown as his vahana (vehicle), two attendants are also depicted.
On the extreme east is an image of Lord
Ganesh in Paralambapadmasana (sitting posture) along with his attributes Parshu
(axe) and Modaka (sweet). A Mekhala (waist band) is shown on his belly in the
form of a serpent. On the left side of the main hall is the image of Uma.
The perforated stone latticed screen
decorates the entrance of Garbhagriha.The shiv linga is of a fairly large
proportion and sits on a spacious bar.There are 2 other lingas placed against
the wall in the background.Local legend has it that a huge King Cobra is in
permanent residence in the dimly lit interior.
Mallika Arjun Temple
The
temple is located on a hill. the starting of the hill marks the entrance to the
way to the temple. there is an arch on the entrance of the hill.also there is a
small templeof an elephant and horse on
the way to the mallikarjun temple.
There is a statue of a horse trampling a
man at the entrance of the temple.
There a various incarnations of various gods
carved on the shiv linga.
In the temple compound, two vahanas are
kept. these vahanas are beautifully carved.. the intricate carvings on the
vahanas also include god images.
Other than the vahanas n the huge shiv
linga, there are many other lingas placed all over the temple compound.
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