The last few weeks in Goa have seen controversies generated by idols and statues. It all began with the claim of one Ayush Naik from Calangute to have purportedly and (purposefully?) found an idol in the river Zuari near the ruins of the old Sancoale church; it ‘s still standing frontispiece is a protected monument. Amidst allegation of a ‘set-piece ‘ job the severely damaged idol was placed in a house nearby. The ‘finder ‘ and his supporters maintain it is an idol of Vijaydurga that dates from the pre- Portuguese days. To find out the real history, I did a bit of research, the result of which I hereby share with you:
“Legend has it that Shri Shantadurga of Keloshi on her way, to meet her sister at Colva witnessed a very gruesome scene, of a demon (asura) named Kaal- antak/Kalantakasura Kaal- harassing the Saraswat Brahmins – impeding their rituals and causing great catastrophe to Sancoale. These Saraswats had their Kuldevi as Shri Shantadurga of Keloshi and Lakshmi Narasimha as their Kuldev. One of the Brahmin peasants who were troubled, saw the Goddess and knelt before her and prayed to save Sankwal and its inhabitants. He promised to build a temple in her honour.
Shantadurga with her divine powers transformed herself into a Mahishasurmardhini mounted an elephant and commanded the demon to stop. A fierce war was fought between the demon and the Goddess. Shantadurga was victorious; the inhabitants of Sancoale graced the Goddess and called her ‘Vijaya ‘. Hence a temple in her honour was built which was called Vijay Shantadurga or Vijayadurga”
The official site of the Vijaydurga Temple Veling maintains:
The Portuguese onslaught on the temples of Goa forced the devotees to flee from Sancoale with their idol, to a secure place that would accommodate their faith and landed at Agapur, Ponda. However due to the predictions divined by the oracle, the location had to be given up and the devotees had to shift to Keri where the temple was eventually built and the idol installed in the year 1560.
The Gowda Saraswat, are mahajans of Shree Shantadurga, Shree Laxminarasimha of Gothan, and Shree Vijayadurga, Veling, all formerly from Sancoale. But the Dravid / Karhade Brahmins, are mahajans of Shree Vijayadurga only, but not of the other two.
On 24 Dec 2021 speaking to HCN programme on the CM wishing to rebuild demolished temples, Sudhin Dhavalikar a Karhade Brahmin and perhaps a mahajan of the Vijaydurga temple and now a minister in the government headed by Pramod Sawant stated, “The temples were rebuilt, but only thing from Cortalim, (Lord) Manguesh was shifted to Mangueshi, in Priol Constituency. (Goddess) Mhalsa who was in Quelshi, Verna, was shifted to Mardol. Our (Goddess) Mahalaxmi was in Colva, which was shifted and rebuilt 400 years back in my place (Bandora), where I stay. (Lord) Nagesh is from Curca, He was shifted to Nagueshi in Bandora.”
Talking to Free Press Journal Mumbai, Tulsidas Naik a panch of Sancoale said “As per history, there used to be a Vijaya Durga Temple here which was destroyed by the Portuguese, prompting residents to establish the Vijaya Durga temple in Keri,”
“However, the villagers always believed that the goddess was present here and some had experienced sightings while some saw the Goddess in their dreams. The Goddess of Vijaya Durga has, however, chosen to appear in front of us today and a person has even found the pure white marble idol of the Goddess in the riverbed at our village………. We must build a Vijay Durga temple in our village.”
Records show that there are more Hindu than Christian places of worship in Sancoale; all built without any objections from any quarters. So, Tulsidas is free to acquire land, obtain construction licence and build the temple. Why then the issue? On the other hand, can the damaged idol as found, be installed in a temple?
According to the shastras and traditions “Offering prayers or worshipping broken/damaged idols is considered inauspicious because broken idols don ‘t carry Prana Shakthi of the particular deity.” But, is there a procedure to deal with broken and damaged idols?
The shastras lay down “Broken/damaged idols can be immersed in any lake or river nearby. But such idols, on which Prana Pratishtha has been performed, must not be consigned to the waters. This should be handed over to a guru or to a pandit of a temple for best use as deemed fit, with proper information regarding the Prana Pratishtha that has been performed on them.”
So where does it leave us? Is it not logical to conclude that the idol purportedly found in the river must have been immersed because it was damaged or broken? Is there not a strong belief that an idol once immersed must not be disturbed lest ill-fortune befalls the one who does so? And it certainly cannot be the idol from the Vijaydurga temple since the original idol lies safely in the temple at Veling in the custody of the Saraswats, to whom it belongs!
Another thing, those who claim the idol found is that of Vijaydurga seem not even to know the basic features about their own claimed deity. The idol is seen riding a lion or a tiger. But the peaceful Vijaydurga never rides a carnivore. Her usual vahan is the elephant; a look at the idol at Veling will clear all doubts, if the finders have access to it. So, why erect a Vijaydurga temple when the idol found itself is not of Vijaydurga?
In whom does the ownership of the idol vest? If it does belong to the Vijaydurga temple then the Saraswats could lay a claim. But if they do, will it not mean that the idol at Veling is not the original and that the mahajans have been living a lie? Moreover, how can a deity riding a tiger/lion be Vijaydurga? The law ‘finder-keeper ‘ is not in force in India so the finder can have no legal claim over it. By default, the ownership vests in the State more so, since it is found in the river owned by the State. Thus what is to be done with it? The government certainly has to take possession, as it is an antiquity within the meaning of Section 2 (iii) of the Goa, Daman and Diu Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1978. And then, respectfully place it in the State Museum. Why has the government not done so? Does it plan to stir the communal cauldron just before the Lok Sabha elections?
(Radharao F Gracias is a senior Trial Court Advocate, a former Independent MLA and a political activist)
