The Mangueshi Temple stands in Mangeshi Village, Priol, Ponda taluk, Goa. It sits about 1 km from Mardol, near Nagueshi, 21 km from Panaji, the capital of Goa, and 26 km from Margao. Shree Mangueshi is the family deity (Kuldeva) for Saraswat Brahmins and various other gotras. Moreover, the spiritual leader of Shri Manguesh Saunsthan, Mangueshi, is Shrimad Swamiji. And he is of Shri Kavale Math. As a result, this temple has become one of the largest and most visited in Goa.
In 2011, in response to growing visitor numbers, the temple, along with others in the region, implemented a dress code for visitors.
History
Relocation of the Mangesh Temple:
The origins of this temple trace back to Kushasthali Cortalim, a village in Mormugão that was seized by the Portuguese in 1543. In 1560, as the Portuguese began Christian conversions in Mormugão taluka, the Saraswats of Kaundinya Gotra and Vatsa Gotra relocated the Mangesh Linga from its original site on the banks of the Aghanashini River (Zuari) in Cortalim. They moved it to its current location in Mangeshi, Priol village. Mangeshi was then under the Hindu kings of Sonde of Antruz Mahal (Ponda). This relocation was made for greater security.
Since the relocation, the temple has undergone two major rebuilds during the Maratha rule and again in 1890. Finally the most recent renovation took place in 1973 when they place a golden kalasha (holy vessel) atop the temple’s tallest dome.
Construction and Preservation of the Mangesh Temple:
Builders constructed the current building about 150 years after the relocation, during the Maratha period. In 1739, the Peshwas donated the village of Mangeshi to the temple, following the recommendation of their Sardar, Shri Ramchandra Malhar Sukhtankar. He was a devoted follower of Shri Mangesh. A few years after builders constructed the temple, the Portuguese took control of this area in 1763. However, by then, the Portuguese had become more tolerant of other religions due to their previous defeats by the Marathas, and the temple structure remained untouched.
