Recently news that created quite a stir was the Goa government’s decision to

undertake restoration of temples destroyed during the Portuguese rule. The chief
minister while speaking to the press said that a survey of temples and temple ruins
has been started by the State Archives and Archaeology department, which is a
part of the temple restoration project...A most welcoming declaration by the
government, as temples in Goa is a long forgotten and rarely discussed topic. The
very name Goa conjures up scenes of sea, sand, and beaches; lush monsoon
greenery; seasonal waterfalls; and the various churches built by the Portuguese.
Archaeological findings from this small state, which include inscription plates,
pottery fragments, sculptures, and remnants of ancient structures, provide valuable
insights into the life of a common man and speak of a thriving foreign trade and a
vibrant trade based economy in ancient and medieval Goa. These artifacts also
speak of a Goa that was once filled with Hindu temples, now almost all gone with
churches built in their places by the Portuguese.  

Portuguese era mansions in Chandor (ancient Chandrapura of the Bhoja dynasty).

A Hindu history of Goa

Goa’s history goes long back into the prehistoric era as evident from the various
archaeological yields showing Acheulean occupation (lower Paleolithic era) in the
Shimoga-Goa Greenstone Belt (Western Ghats). Rock art engravings (petroglyphs)
on laterite platforms and granite boulders have been found in Usgalimal near the
Kushavati River, and in Kajur. Stone-axes, choppers, and petroglyphs, dating back
to 10,000 years have been found in many places in Goa. Archaeological evidences
of Paleolithic life have been found at Maulinguinim, Dabolim, Arli, Adkon, Diwar,
Shigao, Fatorpa, etc.

Usgalimal rock engravings (photo from wikipedia)

Historically documented records of Goa go back to 3rd BCE when Chandragupta

Maurya reigned supreme. Some excavated pottery found in Chandrapur belonging
to the Satavahanas show the presence of this ruling dynasty and place the probable
origin of this once important trade centre to 200 BCE.  After the Satavahanas,
came the Bhojas who made Chandrapur (now Chandor) their capital, as
evident from the various inscriptions found, dated between 3rd- 4th CE. Next in
line to rule Goa were the Chalukyas of Badami, followed by the Shilaharas, and
lastly the Kadambas. As maritime supremacy reached its zenith under the
Kadambas, the area known to the Arab cartographers as Zindabar, thrived as a
central hub for various commercial activities. Both Hinduism and Jainism
flourished under the Kadambas.

The Mahadev Temple, attributed to the Kadambas of Goa (photo from Wikipedia).

During the rule of the Chalukyas (600–700 CE) and Shilaharas (800–1000 CE),
Gopakapattana (modern Velha Goa) was made the new capital of Goa, replacing the
ancient Bhoja capital city of Chandrapura (modern Chandor, in Salcette). From the
archaeological remains and various Sanskrit inscriptions it is evident that that
Gopakapattana had a Shiva temple that also housed a local god named Govanātha or
Goveśvara. The Kadamba rule (1000–1400 CE) saw a strong revival of the local Hindu
culture, and during this time period many temples were built in the heartland of Goa. There
are many evidences that the Kadamba rulers had adopted the local
deity Saptakotīśvara as their kuldevta, and built a large temple in basalt stone for him on
the island of Diwar (Tiswadi).
Epigraphic and textual sources documenting the early Hindu culture of Goa are found in
copper and stone plate inscriptions written in in Sanskrit, Kannada, and Marathi; along with
various Māhātmyas and the Purānas, which are variously dated from 5th to 13th century
CE. The most famous among the Puranas that has documented the Hindu history of Goa is
the Sahyādrikhanda of the Skandapurāna. The most important story in the
Sahyādrikhanda is that of the migration of the Saraswat branch of the Pancha Gauda
Brahmins from North East India to Goa.  It gives a detailed account of the 66 Gauda
Saraswat Brahmin families whom Parasurāma brought from Trihotra (modern Tirhut in
West Bengal), and settled them in eight Goan villages Varenya (Verem), Kelosi
(Quelossim), Kuśasthala (Cortalim), Kudasthali (Curtorim), Mathagrāma (Madgaon),
Lotali (Loutulim), and two islands in the Mandovi River: Dipāvati (Diwar) and Cūdamani
(Chorao). Various passages in the Sahyādrikhanda and also in the Mangeśamāhātmya
(Skandapurāna) refer to deities that the Gauda Saraswat Brahmins had brought with them
to Goa. These are Śantadurgā, Mahālaksmī, Mangeśa, Saptakotīśvara, and Nageśa, all of
whom are still widely worshipped in various temples in Goa even today. There are however
other versions of the same story that talk of the Gauda Saraswat Brahmins in Goa not
coming from Bengal but from the region around the ancient river Sarasvatī in north India;
while few modern scholars also claim of local priests who later named themselves as Gauda
Saraswat Brahmins. There are also debates on the same topic between the Konkani-
speaking Gauda Saraswat Brahmins and the Marathi-speaking Deshastha and
Kharhade Brahmans living in Goa.
A stone bearing inscription from the 7the CE Chalukyan era in early Kannada in Chandor

Among the aforementioned ancient deities, the most widely worshipped devi in Goa even
today is Śāntādurgā, also known as Bhumika or Saterī, worshipped not only by the
Gauda Saraswat Brahmans, but also by the Marathas and tribal communities, namely
Kunbi and Gavda. Another popular deity is devi Mahālaksmī, whose worship has been
documented from the reign period of the Shilaharas and Kadambas in the
Sahyādrikhanda. Kelbai, also known as GajaLakshmi or Bhaukadevī, is another figure
of veneration, as is Mhālsā Devī. Devi Kāmāksī, another devi worshipped widely, is most
likely an imported figure from Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu. Mhālsā Devī and Devi
Kāmāksī both are popular kuladevīs in villages, a characteristic of Goan goddesses
who all are intricately associated with their localities. Among the male deities
Nagesa, Saptakotisvara, and Mangesa (all forms of Shiva) are old Goan gods, and all
three find mentions in the various Puranas, and also in the copper and stone plate
inscriptions from the Kadamba period. The major Vaishnava deities worshipped by the
Gauda Saraswat Brahmins and Marathas are Vitthal, Laksmī-Nārāyana, Damodāra,
Ramachandra, Parasurama, Krishna, Narasimha, and Maruti.

Shanta Durga Temple, Goa. Photo from Wikipedia.

 The Brutal Invasions

The calm and prosperity under the Kadamba dynasty was shattered with the
appearance of Malik Kafur and his invading Islamic army in the horizon like black
locusts in 1312 CE. Soon the entire Konkan region along with Goa faced massive
destruction at the hands of this general of the Delhi Sultanate. In order to escape
Malik Kafur, the Kadamba king moved to the erstwhile capital of Chandor, and
built a fort there. When Kafur came in 1312, the Kadambas were already a spent
force, and their kingdom was limited to just Goa. Additionally the dynasty had
started facing trouble with internal fights over the control of power. The thriving
trade by this time had also dwindled considerably due to various factors, both
external and internal. Whatever was left of the Kadambas, was
completely destroyed by Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s Islamic army in 1327 CE.
After this, Goa briefly went under the Vijaynagara empire, followed by the
Bahmani Sultans (1469 CE), and lastly the Adil Shahis of Bijapur (1488 CE). The
power race of the Islamic invading armies finally ended here, and in came a new
player from across the western seas, the Portuguese!
The Portuguese came to power in Goa in 1510, after defeating the Bijapur Sultan,
Yousuf Adil Shah. They set up their first capital in Velha Goa and thus began their
four century long rule in the State. At this time they imposed their infamous
‘Inquisition’ on the people of Goa, with the objective of forcibly converting local
Hindus to Roman Catholics. This Inquisition was primarily a method of social
control against the Hindus and the converted Catholics, who they feared, practiced
their old faith behind closed doors. Later, it was also imposed on the Jews from
Portugal, along with some of the old Christians and new converts too.  Soon this
turned into an easy way of taking away desirable properties by the Inquisitors.
Image: The only remaining evidence in this archaeological site is the large 7th c. CE Nandi.
Vandalised and decapitated, it stands as a sole evidence and witness of the once glorious
Chalukya empire. The temple site in Chandor Cotta was first discovered by Rev. Fr. Heras in
1929. The ASI has made two excavations at this site, one in 1974, and the other in 1999-2000.
The site now has a lone Nandi and a step-well, which is now covered with a wire mesh grill to
avoid accidents 

The infamous brutal Goa Inquisition was started when the Jesuit
missionary Francis Xavier in a letter dated 16 May 1546 requested for it to King
John III of Portugal. Between the Inquisition’s start in 1561 and a temporary stop
in 1774, it is believed that more than 16000 non Catholics (mainly Hindus) were
brought to trial. As the French historian and philosopher Voltaire tells us, “Goa is
sadly famous for its Inquisition, which is contrary to humanity as much as to
commerce. The Portuguese monks deluded us into believing that the Indian
populace was worshipping the Devil, while it is they who served him” (ref: Lettres
sur l’origine des sciences et sur celle des peuples de l’Asie (first published Paris,
1777, letter of 15 December 1775). In the first few years of the inquisition more
than 4000 people were arrested, and 121 were burnt alive at the stake.
Many anti-Hindu laws and prohibitions were passed by the Portuguese colonial
government, as for example, Christians were not allowed to keep Hindus as their
employees and Hindus were not allowed to perform any form of public worship.
Many restraining religious laws were also passed, which included a ban on Hindu
musical instruments and clothing. Majority of the Hindu temples were destroyed or
converted into churches, and often materials from the destroyed temples were used
to build these churches. During the entire inquisition period many important Hindu
texts were burned, and Christian religious texts were forcibly imposed on the
Hindus. Under orders by the viceroy of Goa- Antao de Noronha and the Governor-
Antonio Moniz Barrette, orphan Hindu children were ordered to be “taken
immediately and handed over to the College of St. Paul of the society of Jesus of
the said city of Goa, for being baptized, educated and indoctrinated by the Fathers
of the said College and being directed by them and placed in positions according
to their respective aptitudes and abilities”. Besides orphans, often Hindu children
with parents were kidnapped and forcibly converted, and such was the level of
torture that many Hindu families smuggled their children out of Goa, while others
paid extortion money to Christian priests to prevent conversions.
Many families facing the brutalities of these Inquisitors converted to Christianity to
save their lives, and some of these early converts were richly rewarded. The first
family to embrace Christianity in the ancient capital of the Bhojas, Chandrapur
(Chandor), was the Braganza family. They were granted trade rights to various
parts of the world, as a result of which the family became immensely wealthy
within a short span and built a huge mansion that is one of the largest and the
oldest surviving Portuguese villa in Goa. The opulent interiors still reflect the long
gone grandeur of these palatial homes, and while moving from one room to
another one can only imagine the immense wealth and power that these families
had once enjoyed after conversion.
The quiet glamour of an elegant ball room; now echoing with the footsteps of
infrequent visitors (Menezes Braganza House), Chandor.

A splendid colonial style living room (Fernandes Heritage House), Chandor.

Owing to the brutal nature of the Goan Inquisition there was a large scale
migration of Hindus to the neighbouring areas, and this situation continued in Goa
until the 19th century. While the Goa Inquisition details (of arrests, trials, deaths,
etc) were carefully recorded by the Portuguese government, most of these records
are now lost, as they were burned by the Portuguese when they abolished the
Inquisition in 1820.