The Ramnathi temple is located in Ramnathim, Bandivade in

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

. Goud Saraswat Brahmins (G.S.B) community (belonging to Gokarn Math, & Kashi Mutt), Daivadnya Brahmin and vaishyas are primary worshippers. Similar to other Goan Brahmin temples, Ramnathi too incorporates the system of Panchayatan, therefore, this temple houses 5 main deities namely - Shri Ramanath (chief deity), Shanteri, Kamakshi, Laxmi Narayan, Ganapati, Betal and Kalbhairav, along with other family purushas.

Legend

Local Hindus believe the Ramanath idol to have originally been installed by

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

at Rameshwar. When Rama came back from

Lanka Lanka (, ) is the name given in Hindu epics to the island fortress capital of the legendary asura king Ravana in the epics of the ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata''. The fortress was situated on a plateau between three mountain peaks known ...

along with

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

, after killing

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. He a ...

, he decided to pray to

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

in order to absolve him of killing a Brahmin. Hence, a

lingam A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional im ...

was installed, and Rama prayed to it. Shiva is regarded to have emerged from the idol and sent Rama to Guru Gorakshnath. There are 12 Panths, and one of the Panth started from Rama. This came to be known as Ramnath. Entrance of Shri Ramnathi Temple

History

The original temple of Ramnathi in Goa, was located in

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 ...

salcette Salcete ( Konkani: ''Saxtti''/''Xaxtti''; pt, Salcette) is a sub-division of the district of South Goa, in the state of Goa, situated by the west coast of India. The Sal river and its backwaters dominate the landscape of Salcete. Hi ...

(सष्टी), Goa. The Idol of Ramnathi was shifted to the present site in the 16th century to prevent its destruction by the then

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 ...

authorities. In May 2011, the Ramnathi temple completed 450 years at its present location. Main entrance and Deepa Stambha

Deities

The chief deity of the temple is Ramnath. Since Ramnath is the chief deity, the temple came to be known as Ramnathi. The name Ram-Nath equals Lord of Rama i.e. Shiva. In addition the temple has the idols of the Goddess Shanteri (

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 wors ...

) from Rivona and the Goddess

Kamakshi Tripura Sundari (Sanskrit: त्रिपुरा सुन्दरी, IAST: Tripura Sundarī), also known as Rajarajeshwari, Shodashi, Kamakshi, and Lalita is a Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of supreme goddess Mahadevi m ...

from

. There is an idol of ''Shree'' Lakshmi Narayan ''Shree'' Siddhinath (

Ganesh Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva_(Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is ...

), ''Shree''

Betal Betal or Vetal ( Konkani: वेताळ), a Bhairava form of Shiva is a popular god in Goa, Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra and Karwar of Karnataka in India. Betal is also known as Vetoba in the Konkan area of Maharashtra and Goa, and in ...

and Shree Kaalbhairav. This completes the Ramnathi ''Panchayatna''.

Kulavis

The kulavis or associated families had migrated out of

Salsette Salsette Island is an island in Konkan division of the state of Maharashtra on India's west coast. Administratively known as Greater Mumbai, the city district of Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban District, Mira Bhayander and a portion of Thane lie withi ...

due to religious persecution and now dwell all along the western coast of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. A large number of the kulavis live in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

coastal Karnataka Kanara, also known as Karavali is the historically significant stretch of land situated by the southwestern coast of India, alongside the Arabian Sea in the present-day Indian state of Karnataka. The region comprises three civil districts, ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

and abroad. The tradition of coming to the temple after a major family event continues. The ''kulavis'' mainly come from

Vatsa Vatsa or Vamsa (Pali and Ardhamagadhi: , literally "calf") was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas (great kingdoms) of Uttarapatha of ancient India mentioned in the Aṅguttara Nikāya. Location The territory of Vatsa was located to the south o ...

Kaundinya Kaundinya (Sanskrit कौण्डिन्य), also known as ''Ājñātakauṇḍinya'', Pali: ''Añña Koṇḍañña''),who was one of the first five Buddhist monks ( Pancavaggiya), follower of Gautama Buddha and the first to become an arha ...

Gotra of Madhwa follower Gaud Saraswat Brahmins and of Daivadnya Brahmins samaj.

External links

* http://arunshanbhag.com/2005/03/29/ramnathi-devasthan/ The Ramanthi Temple is also visited by Gowd Saraswat Brahmins of other Gotras also.

References

Shiva temples in Goa Hindu temples in South Goa district {{india-hindu-temple-stub