Mahalasa Narayani
महालसा नारायणी
Kuldevi, family goddess
Worshipped by Gaud Saraswat Brahmins and Vaishnavas of Goa and Canara as Mohini, the female form of Vishnu; in the Khandoba tradition of Maharashtra, Mhalsa is his wife and a form of Parvati
At a glance
- Main shrine
- Shri Mahalasa Narayani Temple, Mardol, Ponda taluka, Goa
- Worshipped in
- Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra
- Kept by
- Gaud Saraswat Brahmin, Karhade Brahmin, Daivajna Brahmin, Bhandari, Kushasthali Brahmin, Vani
About
Mahalasa Narayani, also written Mhalsa, is the family goddess of many Konkani-speaking Saraswat Brahmin families and of other communities of Goa, the Konkan and the Karnataka coast. Her chief temple is at Mardol in Ponda taluka, Goa. Saraswats and Vaishnavas of Goa and Canara identify her with Mohini, the female form of Vishnu. In Maharashtra the name Mhalsa belongs to the wife of Khandoba. Whether these are one goddess seen two ways or two traditions that share a name is a question the sources do not settle.
Legend and Origin
The earlier temple stood at Verna, also called Old Mardol or Velhem, in Salcete. Wikipedia, citing Kamla Manekar's Culture and Religious Traditions in Temples of Goa (2003) and Archana Kakodkar, says the Portuguese destroyed it in 1567, that the icon was rescued and taken to Mardol, outside Portuguese control, and that the present temple was built there in the 17th century. Incredible India gives the same outline without dates. Where the goddess came from before Verna is not known; the sources read do not settle it. Goud Saraswat Brahmins and Vaishnavas of Goa and South Canara call her Narayani and Rahu-matthani, the slayer of Rahu, a name Wikipedia, citing V. P. Chavan (1991), traces to the Bhavishya Purana. The Gazetteer of Kanara (1883) already records her shrine at 'Madadol in Goa' as that of several families of the district.
How the Deity Is Shown
She is shown with four hands holding a trident, a sword, a severed head and a drinking bowl, standing on a prostrate figure, sometimes with a tiger licking blood from the head. She wears a sacred thread (yajnopavita), which is unusual for a goddess. The temple dresses her through the year as Lakshmi, Rama, Krishna, Vithoba and Venkateshwara, and during festivals she is worshipped as both Mohini and Vishnu (Wikipedia; Incredible India).
How Families Keep the Worship
Families of Gaud Saraswat Brahmin, Karhade, Daivajna and Bhandari communities name her as kuldevi (Wikipedia). The Gazetteer of Kanara (1883) records that several Kanara families made occasional pilgrimages to her shrine in Goa, and gives her among the family goddesses of the Sasashtkars, who are the Konkani-speaking Saraswat Brahmans of Salcete origin; of Atri and Bharadvaj families of the Kushasthali Brahmans, who are said to be Sasashtkars; of the Bavkule and Naveker Vanis; and of the goldsmiths (Sonars). At the temple, Sunday is special: the image is carried round in a palanquin (Palakhi Seva) and large crowds gather. In joint processions Shantadurga sits to the right and Mahalasa to the left. A large brass bell with no fixed ringer is traditionally rung only by a person giving testimony, and Wikipedia reports a belief that a person who lied there would die within three days. Kula practice differs: families should ask their own elders whether Mahalasa is their kuldevi.
Shrines
Shri Mahalasa Narayani Temple
Mardol, Ponda taluka, Goa
The chief temple. Hemadpanti-style complex with smaller shrines to Shantadurga and Lakshmi Narayan and to five attendants (Grampurush, Bhagwati, Dadh, Simha Purush and Mhal Purush). Opening hours 6:30 am to 8:30 pm (Incredible India).
Mahalasa temple site (earlier temple)
Verna (Old Mardol, Velhem), Salcete, Goa
The earlier temple, reported destroyed under Portuguese rule; Wikipedia gives 1567. Incredible India also places the destroyed temple at Verna.
Festivals
Magha Jatra
Month of Magha (January-February)
The main annual fair at Mardol, with the palanquin procession; Wikipedia and Incredible India give no date within the month.
Navratri
Ashvin, the nine days of the bright fortnight (September-October)
The second major festival at Mardol, with daily dressing of the image.
Palakhi Seva
Every Sunday
The goddess is carried round the temple in a flower-decked palanquin.
Stories and Legends
The temple that moved
The earlier temple at Verna in Salcete is said to have been razed under Portuguese rule, in 1567 according to Wikipedia. Devotees rescued the image and took it to Mardol, then outside Portuguese control, where a new temple was built in the 17th century. It is the account Saraswat families give of how the goddess of Salcete came to be at Mardol.
Mhalsa and Khandoba at Pali
A folk tale in the Khandoba tradition, given in Wikipedia's Mhalsa article, says she was the daughter of a wealthy Lingayat merchant named Timmaseth. Khandoba appeared to her father in a dream, and she married him on Pausha Pournima at Pali, where two Shiva lingas are said to have appeared. The Poona Gazetteer (1885) also calls Mhalsa, his first wife, a Lingayat Vani. These Maharashtra accounts treat her as the god's wife, not as Mohini.
Families who keep Mahalasa Narayani
Kuls, lineages and surnames that sources tie to this deity. Branches within each may keep another.