If you think that Goa is all about sun, sand and beaches, you are grossly mistaken. Goa has a very rich history of historic temples and Sanatan culture. At last, Goa is moving to reassert its glorious past.
The temples in Goa were destroyed by the Portuguese rulers during their over 450 years of rule. The Portuguese, who ruled Goa until 1961, were like Muslim rulers who destroyed Hindu temples.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant claimed the Portuguese began destroying temples, and the practice ceased after they signed a peace pact with the Marathas. He said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government is planning the State’s new journey. “At least after 60 years, we should wipe away the signs of the Portuguese. What is Goa going to be when India is celebrating 100 years [of independence]… we are thinking of that now,” he said at a function commemorating the 350th anniversary of the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who founded the Maratha Empire in the 17th century.
The Maratha ruler first mooted the idea of swaraj or self-government in the country. The Maratha ruler came to Goa and rebuilt the Saptakoteshwar Temple, warning the Portuguese against destroying temples. “This is why we say the major credit for saving the Hindu culture goes to Shivaji and [his son] Sambhaji,” he said.
Meanwhile, Goa’s tourism department is all set to develop community-based tourism centres around 11 temples across the State as part of the department’s Ekadasha Teertha.The 11 temples, which have been identified, will be from seven eco-sensitive zones in the State where development and construction cannot be taken up.
The Ekadasha Teertha campaign is based on the four pillars of spirituality, indigeneity, civilisational and cultural nationalism, and conscious tourism. The initiative is part of the shift away from Goa’s beaches and towards spiritual tourism. The campaign is partly in response to the “competition from countries like Thailand, Indonesia and large Indian States.
The Ekadasha Teertha project will see the department involved and engaging with communities, particularly women-led groups around places of worship. Tourists will be encouraged to visit the temples, stay and learn from the local communities and understand the local lifestyle. At the same time, the local communities can pass on their heritage and also earn money from the venture.
Meanwhile, the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) has moved to give temples in Quepem, Sattari, Canacona, and Savordem a facelift. The Tourism department is determined to showcase Goa’s religious side, particularly temples, as part of an effort to brand Goa as Dakshin Kashi. GTDC has initiated the process of revamping the facilities at important temples, particularly in Sattari.
The corporation has moved to appoint a consultant to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the beautification and illumination of temples in Sattari. Along with the temples in Sattari, the Shantadurga Temple, Shree Betal Nagnath Temple, and Agondeshwar Temple in Canacona will be taken up for beautification.
The Goa Tourism Board’s empowered committee will finalise the spiritual tourism circuit soon. The Shree Betal Nagnath Temple at Dhade in Sanvordem will get washrooms, an entrance arch, lighting, and other facilities at a cost of Rs 4 crore.
According to sources, the architectural firm Fourth Dimension Architects Pvt Ltd is the consultant for the work. The same firm will also oversee the development of amenities and beautification of the Shantadurga Temple at Fatorpa, with a similar amount of Rs 4 crore being estimated for the project.
Canacona’s Agondeshwar Temple at Agonda will be beautified and illuminated at a cost of Rs 3.7 crore. Darashaw and Company Pvt Ltd is the consultant for the work. The temples of Goa are, in essence, like most Hindu temples in India, based around a deity which is worshipped. The architecture of Goan temples is a little different mostly because of historical reasons. The fundamental design of any Hindu temple is organised around the central shrine or the “Garbagriha” or the “sanctum sanctorum” that houses the main deity. A tower or “Shikara” arises from the main shrine and is traditionally pyramidal-shaped. There are usually two or more smaller shrines housing other deities known as “Parivar Devatas” around the entrance to the Garbagriha.
Surely, religious heritage sites and temples have the potential to bring in quality and high-spending tourists. As part of the vision, the tourism department is working on a strategy to create spiritual circuits in Goa. The department hopes to launch an advertising campaign and documentary series to draw tourists towards temples.
Chief Minister of Goa, Pramod Sawant, had already said that he would make Goa the capital of spiritual tourism, following which the Ram Mandir was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22. The Ram temple has shown what religious tourism can do to the economic development of a region. There are countries and geographical regions whose economies have flourished as these places have been religious destinations. Examples can be Tirupati, Shirdi, Ajmer, and Amritsar nationally, Vatican City, Mecca in Saudi Arabia, and Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and members of his Cabinet visited the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on February 15 to offer prayers.
Describing the temple as a “symbol of the profound love, trust, and faith of millions of Indians”, Pramod Sawant expressed his sentiments in a post on social media.He wrote on X, “Feeling blessed to visit and offer prayers to Shri Ram Lalla at #Ayodhya Shri Ram Janmabhoomi. The Ayodhya Shri Ram Mandir is the manifestation of the love, trust, and belief of crores of Indians in Prabhu Shri Ram.”
“The temple has been built after a Jan Aandolan of centuries and Balidan of many Karsevaks. I once again congratulate Hon’ble PM Shri @narendramodi Ji for the Pran Pratishtha of Shri Ram Lalla.
Prayed for the peace, prosperity, and happiness of the people of Goa. May Shri Ram Lalla bless us all. #JaiShreeRam.” Sawant and his Cabinet colleagues also shared a group photograph on X. While in Goa, it is very much possible that Pramod Sawant and his colleagues would have been impressed with the number of people visiting there. Can Goa become the religious and spiritual capital of India? Of course, it can. The way it is moving forward to achieve its goal, it would become the spiritual capital of India.
Religious and spiritual tourism will lead to an inclusive economic development of the State with ample job creation opportunities for Goans. It will also help to negate the negative publicity that Goa attracts. The most important point is enhanced revenue for the State and the lowering of pressure on leisure tourism destinations like beaches. It will help bring about balanced economic growth as religious and spiritual tourism will move to the hinterland.
