Tourism
of Goa
History
/ Heritage of Goa
The
origin of Goa or Gomantak as it is also known, is lost in the mists of time.
In the later Vedic period (c.1000-500 BC), when the Hindu epic Mahabharat
was written, Goa has been referred to with the Sanskrit name Gomantak, a
word with many meanings, but signifying generally a fertile land.
The
most famous legend associated with Goa, is that of the mythical sage
Parashuram (the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu), who several thousand
years ago created the entire stretch of Konkan coast by ordering the seas to
recede. The Sea God gave up the lands on the the banks of the two main
rivers of Goa viz. Mandovi and Zuari (then called Gomati and Asghanasini)
for the settlement of the Aryans accompanying Parashurama.
Another
legend, less well known, states that the coastal area of Konkan enchanted
Lord Krishna, who was charmed by the beautiful ladies bathing in the area.
The ladies in turn, were so taken up by the melodious music coming from his
flute, that they kept dancing forgetting their daily chores. Lord Krishna,
then named the land Govapuri after the cows (gov) belonging to the locals.
The
history of the sacred land of Gomantak, 'land of the Gods' is well described
in Sahyadri Khand of Skandha Purana, the ancient text of Hindu religion.
According to this story narrated in the Chapter Shantiparva of Mahabharat, a
Brahmin from the Saraswat family, Parashuram, annihilated the entire
community of the warrior tribe Kshatriyas and gifted the conquered land to a
sage named Kashyapmuni.
Unfortunately, the Kshatriya annihilation
meant that the land was left unadministered and fell into anarchy and chaos.
The worried sage Kashyapmuni, requested Parashuram to leave the area and
settle elsewhere. Parashuram came south and reclaimed new land by ordering
the sea to recede and give up the coastal land. This land known as "Aparant"
or "Shurparak" is spread between the Sahyadri mountains and
Sindhusagar.
The first wave of Brahmins to settle in Goa, were
called Saraswats because of their origins from the banks of the River
Saraswati, an ancient river that existed in Vedic times. The subsequent
drying up of the river caused large scale migration of Brahmins to all
corners of India.
A group of ninety-six families, known today as
Gaud Saraswats, settled along the Konkan coast around 1000 BC. Of these,
sixty-six families took up residence in the southern half in today's Salcete
taluka which derives its name from the Sanskrit word "Sassast"
meaning the number 66.
The other thirty families settled in the
northern area in today's Tiswadi taluka which derives its name from the
Sanskrit word for the number 30. The Saraswat Brahmins worked in partnership
with the local indigenous people, the Kunbi tribals who still exist today.
Around the year 740 AD, the Brahmins established their first Matha
(religious centre of learning) at Kushasthali (present day Cortalim).
An
interesting sidelight in this legendary origin of Goa is that Lord
Parashuram is supposed to have shot an arrow from the top of the western
ghats into the sea to command the Sea God to withdraw till the place where
the arrow fell and claimed that land to be his kingdom. The place where the
arrow landed was called Bannali (in Sanskrit for 'where the arrow landed';
Bann: arrow, ali: village), or today's Benaulim.
Parashuram
arrived in the new abode with other Saraswat Brahmins and sages in order to
perform the Yadnya and other rituals. These Brahmin families of Dashgotras
from Panchgoudas of Trihotrapura in northern India came along with their
family deities and settled themselves in this land of Gomantak or the land
of the Gods as it came to be known thereafter.
They initially
settled at Mathagram (Margao), Kushasthal (Cortalim) and Kardalinagar
(Keloshi). The main deities which also came along with them were Mangirish,
Mahadeo, Mahalaxmi, Mahalsa, Shantadurga, Nagesh, Saptakoteshwar besides
many others. According to local legend, the ash found at Harmal beach in
Pernem Taluka is cited as the ash of the Yadnya or holy ritual performed in
Goa.
Today a temple of Parashuram exists in Painguinim village of
Canacona Taluka in South Goa. There is no concrete proof to determine the
exact date of the arrival of Saraswats or Parashurama in the area, nor is it
conclusively proved that Saraswats or other Aryans were the first to arrive
in Konkan.
Even if the legends are considered as only myths, the
residence of Saraswat Brahmins in Goa since ancient times along with their
family deities is an undeniable fact. And most probably they arrived in Goa
under the leadership of a towering personality named Parashuram.
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