Goa to host 3-day international Shiva festival next year
- Category
Art and culture
- Published
6th Jul, 2022
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Context
The Goa Tourism Development Board (GTDC) has planned to host a three-day ‘International Shiv Festival’ during Mahashivratri next year at the famous Tambdi Surla temple in Mollem.

About:
- Every year, spirited celebration takes place at the 12th Century Shiva temple on Mahashivratri.
- Mahashivratri is celebrated with great devotion and religious fervor all over India by Hindus, in honor of Lord Shiva.
- It is celebrated on the 14th day of the Maagha or Phalguna month of the Hindu calendar.
- The proposed festival will be a cultural event to showcase the Shiv mudra dance, and performers excelling in the art would be expected to participate.
Tambdi Surla temple:
- The Mahadev Temple at Tambdi Surla in Mollem is the most ancient temple in Goa.
- Built in: 12th century.
- Temple style: Jain style
- Deity: The perfectly proportioned black basalt temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
- Lord Shiva, Sri Vishnu and Lord Brahma, with their consorts appear on panels at the sides of the temple.

- There is a Shiva Linga mounted on a pedestal inside the inner sanctum and a headless Nandi (bull, Shiva's vehicle) in the centre of the mandap, surrounded by four matching columns.
- It is the only monument of Kadamba-Yadava architecture.
- Kadamba dynasty was ruling during the time when this temple was constructed.
Kadamba architecture
- Kadamba architecture was a style of temple architecture founded by Mayurasharma in the 4th century AD in Karnataka.
- Kadambas created new style of architecture which was the basis of the Hoysalas style of architecture, developed original school of sculpture, was the forerunner of series of South Indian sculptors.
- Many temples at Aihole, Badami and Hampi are built in Kadamba architectural style.
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- The temple faces east so that the rays of the rising sun fall on the deity at the crack of dawn.
- The river Surla flows nearby and can be reached via a flight of stone steps.
Jain temple Style
- Initial years: At the beginning, Jain architecture was merely an offshoot of Hindu and Buddhist styles.
- Later years: In later years, Jains started building temple cities hills based on the concept of “mountains of immortality.”
Elements of Jain Architecture
- Squares: In terms of elements in architecture, most Jain temples have numerous pillars. They have a well-designed structure, forming squares.
- Chambers: The squares thus formed create chambers, used as small chapels and contains the image of a deity.
- Brackets: From these pillars, there are richly carved brackets that emerge at about two thirds of their height.

- Pointy domes: The roofs of these temples have pointy domes and wherever there is a dome, the pillars are omitted as if to create an octagonal space within the temple.
- Charmukh design: The only variation in architecture specific to Jain temples is the frequently seen four-faced or chaumukh design.
- In these four faced temples, the image of a Tirthankar faces all four sides or images of four Tirthankar are placed back to back to face four cardinal directions.
- Entry into these temples is also from four doors that face the cardinal directions.
- Sthambas: Another element of Jain architecture are towers of Sthambas which were meant to commemorate victories in war.
Important Examples
- The great Jain temples and sculptured monuments of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan are world-renowned.
- The most spectacular of all Jain temples are found at Ranakpur and Mount Abu in Rajasthan.
- Deogarh (Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh), Ellora, Badami and Aihole also have some of the important specimens of Jain Art.
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