Precious heritage.
Ganesh Chathurthi 2017 falls on Friday, Aug 25. Festival greetings to all!
A 30 mins trek through a forest in the remote village of Caranzol-Sattari in Goa leads to the remarkable sight of a grove sheltering an ancient sculpture of Ganesha along with a Shivalinga and Nandi cheek by jowl. These are most likely from the Chalukyan era of over 1000 years ago.
I would like to thank the Goan environmentalist, researcher, author, and Sattari expert, Rajendra Kerkar, for bringing these treasures to my attention. We were guided to the spot by Sachin Gawde, a local, and the village dog (whose name I forgot to record).
Ancient Ganesha in Caranzol, Goa
5DS, 100-400L IS II
Linga, Ganesha, Nandi
5DS, 24-70L f/2.8 II
Lingachi Moli – Grove of the Shivalinga
5DS, 24-70L f/2.8 II
Our guides: Caranzol local Sachin Gawde and the village dog
5DS, 24-70L f/2.8 II
Pretty impressive carvings – considering their age. I understand that the religious will be unable to remove the carvings from this spot. The question I have is, what prevents others from taking these statues away?
Yes, they are vulnerable to theft. Their location is relatively remote and few know of their existence.
Gaṇapati Bappa Morya!!!!
महागणपती हे आमचे कुलदैवत. चांदोरच्या भोज राजवटीन गणेशमूर्ती गोयांत पावल्यो. तांत्रिक संप्रदायनी गणेशपूजा लोकप्रिय केली. सत्तरीतलो कुंटोळ. करंझोळ ही गांवा एके काळार थइंच्या व्यापारी मार्गाक लागून खूप घणघणताली. मागिर अरीष्टा येवन ती निर्मनुष्य झाली. हांगा रानात शेकड्यांनी शिल्पा आसात. काय शिल्पा बाटाबाटीच्या काळांत लोकांनी ह्या रानात हाडून दवारील्ल्यो आसू येता.डोतोर राजनान काडील्या फोटोवेल्यान ही शिल्पा बदामी चालुक्यकालीन म्हळयार इसवी सन 527 ते 700 मेरेनच्यो दिसता. तांचेर उत्तर भारतीय गुप्त मूर्तीशिल्पाचो प्रभाव आसा. In short the Ganesh sculpture in this image is dated to Vedic cult and Saivaite pantheon promoter Chalukyas of Badami who ruled this area from AD 5-700. The very fact that these idols lie and many similar are found scattered in deep forests of Kumtol and Caranzol indicates that the ancient trade route passing through the village and connecting the Mahadayai river basin to Deccan markets via Bhimgadh was once a major route of communication because Lord Ganesha is favourite deity of Hindu and Jain traders and merchant guilds. They used this route. Sattari including Khanapur area was once a tribal republic called MALAVA exterminated by the Kadambas of Goa. They took the title “slayers of Malavas-the hilly tribals” in their minted coinage.
Happy Ganesh to Dr. Rajan and family.
Thank you, Professor Kamat, for adding historical details. Festival greetings to you, too.