Devaki-Krishna of Mashel

The village of Mashel (also spelled Marcela) in Goa holds a unique distinction: it is the only site in India where Krishna is worshipped alongside his biological mother, Devaki. The origin of this singular practice has its own story in Goa.^* An ancient temple of Devaki-Krishna was the pride of the nearby island of Chodan (Chorão). After it was sacked by the Portuguese following their arrival in the early 16th century, the idol was squirreled away by the distraught villagers to the hamlet of Mayem. Eventually it found a safe haven in Mashel where it was reconsecrated around the year 1560.

Devaki-Krishna is the family deity of the Parrikar clan.

*When Sri Krishna and Balarama found themselves in Chodan, they met Devaki there. Upon seeing what was now a grown Krishna, she was taken aback, scarcely recognizing her little Balakrishna. Sensing his mother’s predicament, Sri Krishna immediately assumed the form of a child, jumped on her lap, and granted her the special privilege of reliving all the pastimes of his childhood. The idol in Mashel depicts this moment of Sri Krishna ensconced in Devaki‘s lap and the deity is referred to as Devaki-Krishna.

Devaki-Krishna of Mashel, Goa
5D Mark III, Zeiss ZE 100 f/2 MP

The utsav moorthy below is made from the wood of the Tulsi tree.

Baby Krishna
5D Mark III, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 MP