FAMOUS TEMPLES

The Shri Bodgeshwar temple is situated near Mapusa at about 12 km from Panajim. The temple is situated in a lush green environment and has a small shrine which is dedicated to Kanakeshwar Baba or Bodgeshwar, locally know as Bongini. Bodgeshwar is regarded as "Angavani" which reffers to one to whom vows are made and who fulfills desires of the devotees. Hence there is a belief among people that all their prayers will be fulfilled and thousands of devotees flock to this temple. The people also present to the God as promise by them on fulfillment of their desires. The festival of the Goa Kanakeshwar Baba is usually celebrated during the months of December/ January at the Shree Dev Bodgeshwar temple. An annual fair or "Zatra" is held during the festival which thronged by both local and the tourist alike. In fact according to some Mapusa developed as a flourishing market center because of  Bodgeshwar temple.

Mahadev temple, Tambdi Surla is a 12th century Shaivite temple of the Lord Mahadeva and an active place of Hindu worship. It is notable as the oldest temple in Goa, India. The temple was built by Hemadri, the minister of the Yadava King Ramchandra. The Jain style construction has let to debates about the origins of the temple, since the Kadamba Dynasty ruled Goa between the tenth and fourteenth centures. The temple is built in the Hemadpanthi style from the basalt. The temple survived invasions and the Goa Inquisition due to its remote location in a clearing deep in the forest at the foot of the Western Ghats which surround the site. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is reminiscent of the temples at Aihole in a neighbouring Karnataka. There is a Linga ( symbol of Lord Shiva) mounted on a pedestal inside the inner sanctum, and local legend has it that a huge King Cobra in a permanent   residinence in the dimly lit interior.