Shree Betal temple

Purvas Vetal (Betal)-(बेताळ)
Devanagari बेताळ
Affiliation Lord Shiva
Abode Temple
Mantra OM Namo Purvas vetalaya
Weapon Idol has sword and shield
Shri Betal temple

Shri Betal temple (बेताळ) is a Hindu temple in Amona village in Bicholim taluka in Goa. The presiding deity is Shree Betal worshiped in the form of Worrier Shiva; normally Betal is standing, but during the festival his Idol is made to sit on the Horse back. He is the " Gram devata" of Amona. Several families as Shinari, Gawas, Fadate, etc. worship him.

There is a temple or Betal in a village named as "Gorli" in Pauri Gharwal district of Uttaranchal. Betal is also the village's "Gram Devata" This temple also has "Shiv Pindi" and its foot soldiers.

Deity

The temple is dedicated to Purvas Vetal, the warrior god. The deity is also called 'betal' colloquially.

Betal

Betal as we know him today shares many features with the Vedic god Rudra, and both Shiva and Rudra are viewed as the same personality in a number of Hindu traditions. Betal the god of the roaring storm, is usually portrayed in accordance with the element he represents as a fierce, destructive deity. The oldest surviving text of Hinduism is the Rig Veda, which is dated to between 1700 and 1100 BC based on linguistic and philological evidence. A god named Rudra is mentioned in the Rig Veda. The name Rudra is still used as a name for Shiva. In RV 2.33, he is described as the "Father of the Rudras", a group of storm gods. Furthermore, the Rudram, one of the most sacred hymns of Hinduism found both in the Rig and the Yajur Vedas and addressed to Rudra, invokes him as Shiva in several instances, but the term Shiva is used as an epithet for Indra, Mitra and Agni many times.

Identification with Vedic deities

Shiva's rise to a major position in the pantheon was facilitated by his identification with a host of Vedic deities, including Agni, Indra, Prajāpati, Vāyu, and others.

Shaivism

Shaivism (Sanskrit: शैव पंथ, śaiva paṁtha) is the oldest of the four major sects of Hinduism, the others being Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism. Followers of Shaivism, called "Shaivas", and also "Saivas" or "Saivites", revere Shiva as the Supreme Being. Shaivas believe that Shiva is All and in all, the creator, preserver, destroyer, revealer and concealer of all that is. Shaivism is widespread throughout India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, mostly. Areas notable for the practice of Shaivism include parts of Southeast Asia, especially Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

History

The original temple was located in Amona at the same place, but later reconstructed from time to time.

Devotees

The deity is believed to be patron deity of 96 Kulee Maratha, Kalavants, Goud Saraswat Brahmin and Rajapur Saraswat Brahmins community spread all over India. Familiar surnames of the devotees are Parab, Shenari, Gawas,Fadate etc.

See also

External links

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