Devkikrishna Ravalnath Devasthan
Devkikrishna has its roots deep in mythology and the symbolic idol is a rare one. The meeting place is also unique, the island of Chudamani, Chorao or Chodan now which was a dense forest once, where Krishna had gone hiding.
Till date traces of the old Chodan temple are seen. Over a period of time the temple was shifted to Mayem against the advances of the Portuguese who were bent upon destroying each and every temple in the taluka of Tiswadi.
Over a period of time when the Portuguese captured Bicholim taluka of which Mayem was a part looking at the safety of the idols, they were shifted to Marcela or Mashel via the kumbharjua canal in canoes.
The story of Devkikrishna
The story of Devkikrishna has its roots deep in mythology and the symbolic idol is a rare one. The meeting place is also unique, the island of Chudamani, Chorao or Chodan now which was a dense forest once, where Krishna had gone hiding. Till date traces of the old Chodan temple are seen. Over a period of time the temple was shifted to Mayem against the advances of the Portuguese who were bent upon destroying each and every temple in the taluka of Tiswadi.
Over a period of time when the Portuguese captured Bicholim taluka of which Mayem was a part looking at the safety of the idols, they were shifted to Marcela or Mashel via the kumbharjua canal in canoes. The Devkikrishna was not the only temple to be destroyed by the Portuguese. It caused large scale migrations and compelled Hindus to travel to safer lands in Goa and also outside Goa towards the south and eastern parts of the mainland. While migrating they carried with them whatever symbols of their family deity they could lay their hands on, which was most precious for them.
The story of Devki and Krishna can be traced to the Mahabharata, a special reference to Gomanchal Parvat where it is reported that a battle was fought between Krishna and Balaram on one side and Jarasandha and his supporters on the other. In fact, Jarasand is reported to be so powerful that Krishna decided to take refuge in Gomanchal Parvat, Jarasand is reported to have chased him all the way from the north.
Shree Ravalnath & Bhumika
This phase of destructionproved to be a nightmare to the community, lasted for almost 5 centuries, but despite losing almost everything, the temple gold, land, belongings the community rose like a phoenix somewhere in the 17th century and opened a new chapter in history forgetting the damage they devoted their time and energy and repaired their identity and many of these temples were reconstructed, and deities reinstalled and they prospered into safer institutions.
The Saraswats meanwhile assimilated with the locals and a cordial relationship followed. Similarly, the followers of Devkikrishna accommodated Ravalnath and Bhumika in their folds and paved a cordial and brotherly relationship.
This is the reason we see devotees of other communities at many temples.
This is the only temple dedicated to Devkikrishna in the entire world. There are of course a handful of temples dedicated to Devkikrishna with similar idols but they are essentially branches of the temple at Mashel, established by Mahajans and Kulavis who could not visit the main temple regularly to perform puja and obtain Prasad.
They still consider the deity at Mashel, their main source of inspiration and visit once in a year or so. Over a period with the passage of time and with the advancement of transport, the gap is narrowing down and it is only a matter of time when the temple regains its full past glory.
History of the Devasthan
Krishna is worshipped alongside his biological mother, Devki.
Devki Krishna a unique temple in Goa
After slaying Kamsa,Lord Krishna rescues his parents and meets his birth mother, Devki, for the first time. When Devki laments over how she was not able to watch Krishna’s childhood days, Krishna suggests she hear all about it from his foster mother Yashoda, who looked after Krishna in Devki’s absence.