Legend Of Shantadurga Temple
The Shanta Durga or Shanteri Temple is at Kapilpura or Kavelem, in Atrunja taluka. This deity is believed to have been carried by Loma Sharma of Kaushik Gotra when the Saraswats came to Goa from Trihotrapuri (present-day Trihut division) in the Mithila region of Bihar. The legend goes that sometime later, the Destroyer and the Preserver had a mammoth fight at mount Gomanchala, during which Shiva used the Pashupati weapon, which could have proved detrimental to the entire universe. Lord Brahma, the creator, then prayed to the supreme Goddess Adishakti to intervene. She, in turn, sent Parvati in the form of Shanta Durga or Shanteri, Shantadurga stepped in as the arbitrator and succeeded in reconciling the warring parties, thus saving the universe from eternal doom. Hence she stands in the temple shrine in between Shiva and Vishnu (Preserver of the Universe) as a symbol of peace, who took Vishnu by her right and Shiva by her left hand and pacified the two. A story in the Skandapurana speaks of 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).
The deity Shanta Durga, therefore, is shown holding two serpents, one in each hand, representing Vishnu and Shiva. Shanteri is then said to have gone to Shankawali to kill the demons harassing the Brahmins there. It is for this good deed that she also earned the name of Vijaya. During the Portuguese inquisition, the trustees of the Shanta Durga temple decided to shift the idol to Atrunja taluka. The temple has an impressive idol of Goddess Durga in a tranquil mood, flanked by Vishnu and Shiva
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