Location : Mangueshi, Ponda Taluka, 23-km from Panaji, Goa Presiding
Deity : Lord Shiva
Houses : A Lamp Tower, A Welcome Gate, A Noubatkhana & Agarshalas.

Sri Manguesh temple at Mangueshi in Ponda Taluka, the most prominent among temples, is situated along the National Highway-4A about 23-km from Panaji. This temple is famous for its pristine glory, which attracts thousands of visitors every year and is gifted by the Welcome Gate, an elegant lamp tower, a "Noubatkhana" overlooking the temple tank and the "Agrashalas" on three sides. Although the Sri Manguesh Temple originally stood in a secret location in Cortalim, and was moved to its present site between Mardol and Priol during the 16th century, the structure visitors see today dates from the 1700s.

Within The Temple Enclosure A gateway at the roadside leads to a paved path and courtyard that leads to a water tank, overlooked by the white temple building, raised on a plinth. Also in the courtyard is a seven-storey 'Deepmal', a tower for oil lamps. Inside, the floor is paved with marble, and bands of decorative tiles emblazon the white walls. Flanked by large 'Dvarpala' guardians, embossed silver doorways with florite designs lead to the sanctum, which houses a Shiva Lingam. A golden "Shesha" besides the Linga and an image of Shiva constitute the main altar. Lore has it that Parvati, the heavenly consort of Lord Shiva came to Goa in search of her spouse who had disappeared from Kailasa following an altercation between them. The Lord tried to frighten her by appearing in the form of a tiger. Parvati beseeched Shiva to protect her in these terms. Trahi Mam  Girisha (protect me the Lord of mountains). "Mam Girisha" subsequently became "Mangirisha" or "Manguesh".

The temple is small yet grand with all the component of a Hindu temple, like the Prakara, mini shrines, Garbha Griha, grand towers and spacious courtyards. The entire complex, due to outlandish impact looks like a Gurdwara or palatial mansion, but when entering the complex, one finds our Hindu traditional gods and  their accommodation according to Shastric injunctions. Devout worship is offered to this deity by its citizens and tourists as well. Festivals and periodical devotional activities are conducted with great zeal commendable. History This temple actually had its origins in Kushasthali, now know as Cortalim, a village in Salcete. Salcete fell into Portuguese rule in 1543. This temple was dutifully preserved until the arrival of  the Inquisition from Europe in 1567, when it was vandalised and demolished . In the year 1560, the Portuguese started Christian conversions in Salsette taluka, the Saraswats of Vatsa Gotra felt  insecure and shifted the Mangesh Linga from the original site at the  Kushasthali or Cortalim on the banks of river Aghanashini to present place in May 1st, 1560 A.D. (according to Hindu calendar - 1482 sakha) to the locality now known as Mangeshim in Priol village of Atrunja Taluka, which at that time was ruled by the Hindu kings of Sonde. After remaining in the house of a temple priest for sometime,

Sri Mangesh deity was finally installed in its present site at Priol. The original site was a very simple structure, and the current structure was only built under Maratha rule, some 150 years after it had been moved. The Peshwas donated the village of Mangeshi to the temple in 1739 on the suggestion of their Sardar, Shri Ramchandra Malhar Sukhtankar, who was a staunt follower of Shri Mangesh. Ironically, just a few years after it was built, this area too fell into Portuguese hand in 1764, but by now, the Portuguese had lost their initial religious zeal and had become quite tolerant of other religions, and so, this structure remained  untouched. Founders The original founders of this Devathan were 24 families of Gaud Saraswat Bhramin community. All the development and the maintenance cost are borne by their successors who are called the "Mahajans" of the Temple. The income of the Temple is derived from some properties purchased by the Temple, from the Mahajans who support the temple monetarily and the offerings made by the Devotees contribute up to feasible extent. These funding are used for the Temple celebrations of daily pujas and other religious performances. Unarguably it is known as one of the wealthiest temple.

The Agrashalas around the main Temple of Shri Mangesh were built by the mahajans to accommodate mainly the mahajans who visit the temple to perform religious rites and rituals. The affairs of the temple are managed by a committee elected every three  years from amongst the mahajans under special bye laws of the temple and under general law applicable to the Hindu Devasthans Of Goa. The visitors are allowed to enter the temple up to the image of the "Nandi" and cannot go beyond that unless they take bath and put on holy clothes. Following the adoption of the constitution in 1885 for the management of temple and its properties, the plan for constructing the present temple by raising funds from the devotees was conceived. The work commenced in October 1888 and the temple was ready in 1890. The original building of the Temple underwent changes during the course of time and the present building was completed and inaugurated on February 17th, 1973. Gotras This temple has only two kulavis i.e Vatsa and Kaundinya.