• Vishnu

Damodar Temple

Overview


The Shri Damodar Temple is located at Zambaulim, on the banks of River Kushavati. Shri Damodar is the presiding deity of the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins.

About The Temple


The temple is situated on the banks of River Kushawati, which lends beauty to the place. The deities of the temple are Shri Ramnath, Shri Chamundeshwari, Shri Mahakali and Shri Mahesh, which together form the Panchista Parivar. The temple also houses Shri Laxminarayan, Shri Mulvir, Shri Gomeshwar and Shri Nirakar among other deities. For the religious and the devout, the temple holds great significance. Zambaulim is a part of the Rishi Vana or the ancient settlement of Rivona.

About The Deity


Other than the main deity of lord Damodar, the images of Shri Lakshminarayan, Mahakali, Chmundeshwari and Mahesh (Lord Shiva) were also shifted to Zambaulim. The deity was originally placed where the Church of the Holy Spirit stands today; it was relocated from its grounds when the Portuguese Inquisition began in Goa, destroying all that the Hindu religion believed in.

Legends and Stories


Sri Damodar Temple was originally located at Madgaon (Margaon), probably belonging to the Kadamba Dynasty. During the Portuguese Inquisition, the temple was demolished by Captain Diogo Rodrigues under the instructions of Dom Casper Leao Pereira, the first Archbishop of Goa. The Damodar Temple is somewhat North Indian in outline; the temple was renovated between 1892 and1908 with a copper shikhara (rising tower above Hindu temples), in place of the usual dome. Almost every part of the temple is new, having been renovated once again between 1951 and 1972. In 1915 the ‘pindika’ of the temple was replaced and the event took place on the Chaitra Shuddha Shashti which is commemorated every year as Pindika Jirmoddhar Day.

Festivals


The festival of Shigmo is the Goan version of Holi, the festival of colors. It is celebrated on a grand scale here at the temple of Damodar and in Zambaulim in general. It holds a special significance for the Hindu Saraswat Brahmins and goes on to be celebrated for almost a week. The whole area rises to the tempo of the drum beats and chants, as the men happily apply gulal (vermilion) on one another. Surprisingly, the women don’t participate; it is only the men who indulge in it and then go for a holy dip in River Kushavati.

Significance


The region wakes up to cultural and devotional programs during these days and many newly married couples come here to pay their regards to Lord Damodar for a happy married life.

Temple Address


Damodar Temple ,
Zambaulim, P O Quepem, GOA, Pin Code - 403705.

Significance

Devotees visit this temple to seek fulfillment of the following:-

  • Fame
  • Freedom from diseases
  • Wealth
  • Courage
  • Relief from adverse effects from bad planetary aspects
  • Relief from bondage
Shlokas

Adharam Madhuram Vadanam Madhuram Nayanam Madhuram Hasitam Madhuram Hridayam Madhuram Gamanam Madhuram Mathuraa Dhipate Rakhilam Madhuram

Meaning -Meaning - Sweet are Your lips, sweet is Your face, sweet are Your eyes, sweet is Your smile, sweet is Your heart, sweet is Your gait, O Lord of Mathura, everything about You is sweet.

Alokya Mathur Mukha Madarena Sthanyam Pibantham Saraseeruhaksham Sachinmayam Devam Anantha Roopam Balam Mukundam Manasa Smarami

Meaning -I think of this Balamukundan as the one who looks lovingly at his mother's face while taking milk from her, who has eyes similar to the red lotus, who is the embodiment of truth and intelligence and other forms.

Achutham Keyshavam Rama Narayanam Krishna Damodaram Vasudevam Harim Shridharam Madhavam Gopika Vallabham Janaki Nayakam Ramachandram Bhajey

Meaning -Oh Lord who cannot be perished, who also has names like Keshava, Rama, Damodara, Narayana, Sridhara, Madhava, Krishna, Ramachandra the beloved of Janaki, let me say your name regularly.

Vasudeva Sutham Devam Kamsa Chanoora Mardhanam Devaki Paramanandham Krishnam Vande Jagathgurum

Meaning -I bow to you O Krishna, the ultimate guru, Devaki and Vasudeva's son, and the destroyer of Kamsa and Chanur.

Timings

The Temple Is Open From (Mon To Sun ) 05:30 AM To 10:30 PM .

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