Maha Ganapathi Mahammaya Temple

History

The idol of Mahaganapati (Ganesha, Vinayaka) and Mahamaya (also referred as Durgadevi and Shantadurga) were located in Ella, Tiswadi, Goa along with Gomanteshwar and its affiliates. During the Muslim invasion in Goa (13th century), the temple in Ella was destroyed and the idols were transferred to Goltim-Navelim (Golthi-Naveli) on Divar Island. Gomanteshwar and his affiliated deities still remain in Ella in Brahmapur. On account of the hostile religious policies pursued by the Portuguese rulers around 1560, the devotees left Goltim-Navelim after the destruction of the temple there. Unable to take the idols with them, they invoked the ‘saanidhya’ or the presence of the deities in the silver trunk of the elephant-headed Ganesha and the mask of Mahamaya. When they reached Bhatkal, they were unable to construct a temple immediately and kept the two symbols in a shop belonging to a devotee. Later on they constructed a temple in Shirali, a few miles north of Bhatkal, where it stands to this day. The deities are also called Pete Vinayaka and Shantadurga as they are located in a "pete", which means a town in Kannada. The temple has a unique darshan seva called, "mali".

Some other devotees also transferred the idols of Mahaganapati and Mahamaya from Goltim-Navelim to Khandepar and from there to Khandola.