Shantadurga (
Devanagari
Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...
:शांतादुर्गा, ) is the most popular form of the Hindu goddess
Durga
Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars.
Durga's legend centres around co ...
revered 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 ...
, India, as well some parts of
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
. She is a form of the ancient
Mother goddess
A mother goddess is a goddess who represents a personified deification of motherhood, fertility goddess, fertility, creation, destruction, or the earth goddess who embodies the bounty of the earth or nature. When equated with the earth or th ...
known as Santeri.
She is worshipped in almost all villages of Goa as an
ant hill. This is seen in some temples dedicated to Shantadurga.
Origins
The second chapter of the
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
', ', is a part of
Sahyādrikhaṇḍa which is the chapter of ''
Skanda Purana
The ''Skanda Purana'' (IAST: Skanda Purāṇa) is the largest ''Puranas#Mahapuranas, Mukyapurana'', a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is of Kaumaram, Kaumara literature, titled after Kartikeya ...
'' gives detail about this.
[Shastri, P. (1995) ''Introduction to the Puranas'', New Delhi: Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, pp.118-20] Only the title of the chapter mentions the goddess Shantadurga and no where else is this epithet of the goddess mentioned. This section refers to a certain sage , a resident of
Nagavya (modern Nagoa). The goddess appeared before Shantamuni and hence she's known as Shantadurga. Durga is portrayed in her ferocious nature in many of the places,yet the adjective ''Shanta'' (peaceful) is found in almost all Namavalis of Durga.In verses 16,19,34 of Sahyadrikhanda, the goddess is called (Shanta-devi). The verse 18 of this section mentions about the disappearance of the goddess into an ant hill.
These ant hills symbolically represent goddess Shantadurga as well as goddess Santeri.
According to another lore,once there was a terrible war between the gods Shiva and
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
due to which the entire world was distressed. Hence the god
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
prayed and implored
Shakti
In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and rep ...
(the Divine Mother) to intervene and stop the war. The Goddess held Shiva by one hand and Vishnu by the other hand and brought about reconciliation among them. This stopped the war and brought peace to the world. Such an idol of goddess is found in the
inner sanctum of
Shanta Durga Temple
Shri Shantadurga Saunsthan is a private temple complex belonging to the Goud Saraswat Brahman Samaj located from Panaji at the foothill of Kavalem village in Ponda taluk, Ponda Taluka, Goa, India.
Shrimad Swamiji of Shri Kavale Math is spiri ...
of
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 ...
.
The 17th-century
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
' furnishes an exhaustive account of the conflict between the followers of the
Vaisnavism
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
(sect of Vishnu worshippers) and
Shaivism
Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...
(Shiva followers) in Goa. It is quite possible that,this lore of Shantadurga is symbolically represents these sectarian conflicts.
Iconography
Though in few shrines dedicated to Shantadurga, an ant hill is found inside the sanctum in place a stone, metal image of the deity or a
Kalasha
A kalasha, also spelled kalash or kalasa, also called ghat or ghot ( sa, कलश , Telugu: కలశము Kannada: ಕಳಶ literally "pitcher, pot"), is a metal (brass, copper, silver or gold) pot with a large base and small mouth, large eno ...
is consecrated. Especially in Kavale temple metal image of the deity which is four handed, is depicted holding two male figures (Vishnu and Shiva) in her lower hands and snakes in the upper hands.
Most of the Shantadurga temples have stone sculpture of
Mahishasuramardini
Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars.
Durga's legend centres around comb ...
aspect of Shakti. Whereas some have stone or metal idol with four hands, sometimes seen holding any of the following: sword (), bowl of ambrosia (), a shield (),
trident
A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm.
The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other marine ...
(), hand kettle drum (), lotus (), and snakes (). The deity is also portrayed with her hands in
and . In rare cases a Kalasha is worshiped as a symbol of the deity (especially in Shantadurga Kumbharjuvekarin temple at Marcela, Goa). Few temples also worship ant hill alongside an image.
Temples in Goa
*Shri Shantadurga Temple at Kandoli(Candolim) Goa.
*
Shri Shantadurga Temple at
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 ...
*Shantadurga Kunkalikarin at
Fatorpa
*Shantadurga Fatarpekarin at Fatorpa
*Shri Shantadurga Khandparkarin at
Khandepar
Khandepar is a census town in Ponda taluka, North Goa district in the state of Goa, 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 pop ...
*Shantadurga Chamundeshwari Kudtari Mahamaya at Avedem, Quepem
*Shantadurna Kunkaliekarin at Kunkolie Ponda
*Shatadurga Kumbharjuvekarin at
Marcela
Marcela is a feminine given name which may refer to:
Musicians
*Marcela Bovio, Mexican musician
* Marcela Lucatelli (born 1988), Brazilian composer
* Marcela Morelo, Argentine singer-songwriter
* Marcela Rodríguez, Mexican composer
Politicians ...
, Ponda
*Shantadurga Verlekarin at Marcela Ponda
*Shantadurga Talaulikarin at Marcela
*Shantadurga Mhapsekarin at Dhargal
*Shantadurga Sangodkarin at
Sangolda
Sangolda is a village in Bardez sub-district, North Goa, India.
Location
Nearest airport is Dabolim Airport and railway station is at Tivim
Tivim pronounced Thivim, is a village in Nathivim in Bardez, in the North Goa district of Goa, Indi ...
*Shantadurga at Veroda
*Shantadurga Shankhavaleshvari at Veling, Gothan
*Shantadurga Ballikarin at Balli
*
Shantadurga Kalangutkarin Temple, Nanora, near Asnora
*Shantadurga Pilarnkarin Devasthan Narve Bicholim
*Shri Shantadurga Temp
le at Gaonkar Wada, Bicholim
*Shree Sateri Shantadurga Devasthan, Khandola Goa
*Shri Shantadurga Devasthan Vaghurme,Vaghurme-Vere,Ponda-Goa
*Shantadurga Temple at Mhapan, Vengurla
References
{{Hindu temples in Goa
Hinduism in Goa
Hindu goddesses
Konkan