Shri Mangesh -- also popularly known as Mangireesh or Manguesh-- is the Presiding Diety at one of Goa's most prominent temples. Shri Mangesh is the Kuladevata (family deity) of millions of Hindu GSBs around the world.

The history of Shri Mangireesh or (Shri Mangueesh or Shri Mangesh) dates back to the Puranas. The Sahyadri Khand of Skand Purana says that Parshuram invited 66 Panch Gaud Brahmins belonging to 10 gotras from Trihotra (believed to be Tirhut in Bihar) to Kushasthal (now known as Kutthal, Goa) for performing the Yadnya after wiping out the Kshatriyas.

Each group had brought with it the idol they used to worship and installed it in the villages donated by Parshuram out of the land reclaimed by him from the sea.

Those belonging to the Vatsa and Kaundinya gotra received Kushasthal as gram dan and installed in the village their family deity, Shri Mangireesh. The Purana explains that the Bramha had established the Shivalinga at Monghir in Trihotra and it came to be known as Mangireesh or Mangeesh..

"The park was used as a resting place by traders and businessmen who visited the Cantonment area from the old Bangalore area as it was located in the middle of both places," says S Ashwath, joint director (parks and gardens), horticulture department.

It is stated that when Parvati was in search of Shiva, she was scared at the site of a tiger that was Shiva himself and shouted for help from him. However, instead of saying "Trahiman Gireesh" she said: "Trahimangeesh!!" out of fear and nervousness. The Gomantak Kshetra Mahatmya reports the second avatar of Shri Mangireesh in Goa in the same fashion

Lord Shiva settled down in Kushasthal and Parvati in a neighboring village. His temple at Kushasthal was a place of pilgrimage till the Portuguese took over this part of the territory in Goa in 1560. On the site of the temple now stands a church.

SHRI MANGESHI

In 1560, anticipating the onslaught of the Portuguese, the devotees had moved Shri Mangesh Shivalinga from Kutthal to a safer place under a Hindu prince. Surrounded by hillocks and covered by forests, the Shivalinga was kept at a place, which now is known as Mangeshi. The Peshwas donated in 1739, the village of Mangeshi to the temple on the suggestion of their Sardar, Shri Ramchandra Malhar Sukhtankar, who was a life-long devotee of Shri Mangesh. Since then this little village on the Panaji-Ponda road has become a place of pilgrimage for the followers of the Lord and an attraction for the tourists from rest of the country and outside. Known for its natural beauty and pleasant surroundings, Mangeshi is still a hamlet with about 1,000 families. But it is a center of culture and the musicians from this place have earned countrywide reputation as master singers for several generations.

This temple was a source of inspiration to many for spiritual pursuits. Towards the end of eighteenth century, Naik Swami, who was resting in the temple on his way to Kashi, dreamt that Mangeshi was nothing else but Kashi itself. He accordingly spent the rest of his life in Mangeshi itself to serve the Lord. Among the numerous books written by him mention may be made of the poetic translation in Marathi of Shri Shiva Gita. His death anniversary is observed on Vaishakh Vadya Dwadashi

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Source: shrimangesh

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