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Goa - Hindu Legends and
Mythology
The origin of Goa or Gomantak as it is
also known, is lost in the mists of time. In the later Vedic period
(c.1000-500 BC), when the Hindu epic Mahabharat was written, Goa
has been referred to with the Sanskrit name Gomantak, a word with
many meanings, but signifying generally a fertile land.
 The most famous legend
associated with Goa, is that of the mythical sage Parashuram (the sixth
incarnation of Lord Vishnu), who several thousand years ago created the
entire stretch of Konkan coast by ordering the seas to recede. The Sea God
gave up the lands on the the banks of the two main rivers of Goa viz.
Mandovi and Zuari (then called Gomati and Asghanasini) for the settlement
of the Aryans accompanying Parashurama.
Another legend, less well known,
states that the coastal area of Konkan enchanted Lord Krishna, who was
charmed by the beautiful ladies bathing in the area. The ladies in turn,
were so taken up by the melodious music coming from his flute, that they
kept dancing forgetting their daily chores. Lord Krishna, then named the
land Govapuri after the cows (gov) belonging to the locals.
The history of the sacred land of
Gomantak, 'land of the Gods' is well described in Sahyadri Khand of
Skandha Purana, the ancient text of Hindu religion. According to
this story narrated in the Chapter Shantiparva of Mahabharat,
a Brahmin from the Saraswat family, Parashuram, annihilated the entire
community of the warrior tribe Kshatriyas and gifted the conquered land to
a sage named Kashyapmuni. 
Unfortunately, the Kshatriya
annihilation meant that the land was left unadministered and fell into
anarchy and chaos. The worried sage Kashyapmuni, requested Parashuram to
leave the area and settle elsewhere. Parashuram came south and reclaimed
new land by ordering the sea to recede and give up the coastal land. This
land known as "Aparant" or "Shurparak" is spread between the Sahyadri
mountains and Sindhusagar.
The first wave of Brahmins to settle
in Goa, were called Saraswats because of their origins from the banks of
the River Saraswati, an ancient river that existed in Vedic times. The
subsequent drying up of the river caused large scale migration of Brahmins
to all corners of India.
A group of ninety-six families, known
today as Gaud Saraswats, settled along the Konkan coast around 1000 BC. Of
these, sixty-six families took up residence in the southern half in
today's Salcete taluka which derives its name from the Sanskrit word "Sassast"
meaning the number 66.
The other thirty families settled in
the northern area in today's Tiswadi taluka which derives its name from
the Sanskrit word for the number 30. The Saraswat Brahmins worked in
partnership with the local indigenous people, the Kunbi tribals who still
exist today. Around the year 740 AD, the Brahmins established their first
Matha (religious centre of learning) at Kushasthali (present day Cortalim)
.
 An interesting sidelight in
this legendary origin of Goa is that Lord Parashuram is supposed to have
shot an arrow from the top of the western ghats into the sea to command
the Sea God to withdraw till the place where the arrow fell and claimed
that land to be his kingdom. The place where the arrow landed was called
Bannali (in Sanskrit for 'where the arrow landed'; Bann: arrow, ali:
village), or today's Benaulim.
Parashuram arrived in the new abode
with other Saraswat Brahmins and sages in order to perform the Yadnya
and other rituals. These Brahmin families of Dashgotras from Panchgoudas
of Trihotrapura in northern India came along with their family deities and
settled themselves in this land of Gomantak or the land of the Gods as it
came to be known thereafter.
They initially settled at Mathagram (Margao),
Kushasthal (Cortalim) and Kardalinagar (Keloshi). The main deities which
also came along with them were Mangirish, Mahadeo, Mahalaxmi, Mahalsa,
Shantadurga, Nagesh, Saptakoteshwar besides many others. According to
local legend, the ash found at Harmal beach in Pernem Taluka is cited as
the ash of the Yadnya or holy ritual performed in Goa.
Today a temple of Parashuram exists in
Painguinim village of Canacona Taluka in South Goa. There is no concrete
proof to determine the exact date of the arrival of Saraswats or
Parashurama in the area, nor is it conclusively proved that Saraswats or
other Aryans were the first to arrive in Konkan.
Even if the legends are considered as
only myths, the residence of Saraswat Brahmins in Goa since ancient times
along with their family deities is an undeniable fact. And most probably
they arrived in Goa under the leadership of a towering personality named
Parashuram.
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