A Temple And Her Beloved Pujari

THE story of Mangueshi temple begins at Cortalim, known in the earlier days as Kushasthal.

- Pantaleao Fernandes

It was a forested area and cows from the locality often grazed there. One of the cows, however, used to visit a particular spot covered by trees and shower milk on it every noon. Out of sheer curiosity, the caretaker followed the cow and discovered the spot which was subsequently identified by his master Shiva Sharma as the Shiva Linga, the linga of Lord Manguesh. This linga was worshipped in the Sanctum Sanctorum of the Temple at Kushasthal for hundreds of years.

Then anticipating desecration by the Portuguese it was shifted to a hamlet of Priol in 1560. To house this linga, a simple thatched shed that was erected here by devotees and the hamlet got renamed to Mangueshi. The temple took solid shape in 1744 and was subsequently renovated in 1890 and finally was transformed into its present avatar in 1973.

As one enters the premises of the temple, the seven-storied octagonal ‘deepastambha’ grabs the eye. On festive nights, this ‘tower of light’ comes alive (lit) and is a sight to behold! The temple itself consists of the mandap, the sabha griha and the