Quelossim is a village in

Mormugao taluka Mormugao is a seaport city situated in the eponymous Mormugao taluka (municipality) of the South district, in the Goa state, India. It has a deep natural harbour and remains Goa's chief port. Towards the end of the Indo-Portuguese era in 191 ...

South Goa South Goa district is one of two districts that comprises the state of Goa, India, within the region known as the Konkan. It is bounded by North Goa district to the north, the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka state to the east and south, while ...

, India. This village was known as ''Kardalipura'' in ancient times and had a beautiful temple dedicated to the Mother-Goddess Shri

Shantadurga Shantadurga (Devanagari:शांतादुर्गा, ) is the most popular form of the Hindu goddess Durga revered in Goa, India, as well some parts of Karnataka. She is a form of the ancient Mother goddess known as Santeri. She is worsh ...

and Shri

Kavale Math Shri Gaudapadacharya Math ( sa, श्री संस्थान गौडपदाचार्य मठ, '), also known as (), located in Kavale, Ponda, Goa, is the oldest matha of the Smarthan Saraswat Brahman Samaj. It was founded by ...

which was shifted to

Kavale Kavale or Kavalem is a village in Ponda taluk, Ponda, Goa, India. Kavle/Kawale/Kawle are other variations for the same name. Main Attraction Situated at the foothill of Kavalem, the Shanta Durga Temple, Shantadurga Temple boasts of a huge tan ...

450 years ago when the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

demolished the shrine as a part of the

inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

. The original temple was built by a

Goud Saraswat Brahman Goud is a caste consisting predominantly of indigenous people in the Indian states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by a ...

trader Anu Shenvi Mone, but was destroyed during the religious persecution period around 1566 AD. Today the exact location can be accessed from NH66 via Kesarval Spring en route to Rassaim or

Loutolim Loutolim or Loutulim ''Lottli'' pronounced:, Portuguese: ''Loutulim)'' is a large village of South Goa district in the state of Goa, India. It is an important settlement in the Salcete sub-district. Etymology Loutolim derives its name f ...

, where one can see a few architectural ruins, in the form of the original temple lake. A small modern day shrine is seen under a huge banyan tree, at the end of this route property owned and maintained by Shree Shantadurga Saunsthan, Kavale and this area is protected by the Directorate of Archives and Archaeology,

Government of Goa The Government of Goa is a state government created by the Constitution of India and has executive, legislative and judicial authority of the state of Goa. It is headquartered in Panaji, the capital city of Goa. History The governor's role is ...

. The Konkani poet

Krishnadas Shama Krishnadas Shama, a Gaud Saraswat Brahmin and native of Quelossim in Goa, was the author of ''Krishna Charitrakatha.'' According to verses (''ovis'') 245-250 of this work, it was commenced on 25 April 1526, or Vaishakh Shukla of shake 1448 accor ...

hailed from this village. Quelossim was also known by names ''Kelshi'' and ''Keloshi'' with the villagers being called as Keloshikars.

References

Villages in South Goa district {{goa-geo-stub