Shree Mahalasa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. You can assist by editing it now. A how-to guide is available, as is general documentation. This article has been tagged since January 2007. |
[edit] Please see this article Khandoba
It is said that Goddess Mahalasa (Narayani-part of Vishnu) evolved out of the churning of the Ocean between the Devas and the Asuras. Fourteen types of articles came out of the Ocean including Goddess Lakshmi and finally Amrit(life nectar) which had the power to make the drinker immortal.
To claim the Amrit, a fight broke between the Devas and Asuras to procure this pitcher of nectar. In order to help the Gods, Lord Vishnu had to take the avatar (incarnation) of Mohini (also means enchantress). She was so beautiful that the eyes of all Asuras got riveted on her face. In the meanwhile, she distributed the nectar amongst the Devas and nothing was left for the demons. One demon managed to drink part of the nectar. His head was severed from the body, but the Amrit made him immortal. Hence the head is called Rahu while the body is referred to as Ketu. These parts can also be seen in the photo link.
Mahalasa is another name of the Mohini avatar. In Goa and elsewhere, Mahalasa is entirely considered as the Mohini form of Lord Vishnu and hence she is referred to as "Mahalasa Narayani". The deity, it may particularly be noted, also wears the holy thread, which is its unique feature. This holy thread is only worn by Brahmins and the male Gods. No other female God in the Hindu Pantheon wears this kind of thread except Goddess Mahalasa.
The Goddess was originally located in Nepal during the Kaliyuga. She moved to Aurangabad in Maharashtra. During the Mughal domination, Aurangabad fell under the Muslim rule and the idol was moved to a secret location in Goa. Later, a small temple was built at Verna. Roughly, a few hundred years later, the Portuguese conquered Goa, and as a consequence the Goddess was moved to Mardol.
Today the main temple is located in Mardol and along with the main Goddess, Shree Santeri and Laxminarayan are worshipped. The five main ganas of the Goddess namely Grampurush, Bhagwati, Dadh, Simha Purush and Mhal Purush are also located within the same temple premises and daily worship of all these deities is carried out before worshipping the main Goddess.
Additionally, the popularity of the Goddess has increased so much in recent years that new temples have been established in Kumta, Kundapura, Udupi, Mangalore and other areas mostly along coastal Karnataka.
