Vijayadurga

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A family deity of Hindu Goud Saraswat Brahmins in Goa, India.

She is a form of the Goddess Durga.

Shri Vijayadurga is located in kerim, Ponda Taluka - Goa. She is a family deity as well as mostly considered as a Pallavi of many Gowda Saraswat Brahmins. Shri Vijayadurga was once settled with Shri Shankleshwari Shantadurga and Shri Lakshminarsimha in Sankhwal, but due to Portuguese invasions the temple had to be shifted to Kerim from Sankhwal. The Mahajans and kulavis belong to the same as Shri Shankleshwari Shantadurga Devi of Gothana and Shri Lakshminarsimha. Shri Vijayadurga is mostly a pallavi of those who have Kuladevta as Shri Shankleshwari Shantadurga, Anant Vitthal Purrush or Shri Lakshminarsimha.

It was once said that when the war going between Vishnu and Shiva was stopped by Shri Shantadurga when she took Vishnu and Shiva by her left and right hand, and according to the Skandapurana it is said that how Lord Shiva, when defeated by his spouse Parvati in a game of dice, had left mount Kailash and gone to Gomanchala near Kushasthali for tapasya (penance). It is here that he heard the cries of the Saraswat Brahmin, Loma Sharma, caught by a crocodile in the river Aghanashini. When Shiva saved Loma Sharma, he prayed to the Lord to remain in Kushasthali. Similarly, when Parvati arrived looking for Shiva, she was also requested to stay at the nearby village of Keloshi (Kadalivana Quelossim). This shrine of Shri Shantadurga Devi is Situated to the present day location, Kavlem and is often known as Kavlem Shantadurga. The Shantadurga of Kavlem was then said to have gone to Shankwali to kill the demons harassing the Brahmins there. This arrival of Shri Shanatdurga in her aggressive form is worshipped in the present day Gothana - Ponda, Goa. When she destroyed all the demons in Sankhwali, she earned the name of Vijaya and hence from Shantadurga she was given the name as Vijayadurga.

[edit] See also

• Saraswat Brahmins
• Shenoy