Mahalasa is the Mohini

Mohini

Mohini , in Hindu mythology, is the name of the only female Avatar of the god Vishnu. She is portrayed as a femme fatale, an enchantress, who maddens lovers, sometimes leading them to their doom. Mohini is introduced into the Hindu mythos in the narrative epic of the Mahabharata...

 avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu

Vishnu

Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....

. She is also known as Mhalshi and Mahalasa. In Goa

Goa

Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...

 and elsewhere, Mahalasa is considered as the Mohini form of Lord Vishnu and hence she is referred to as "Mahalasa Narayani". The deity, it may particularly be noted, also wears the holy thread, which is its unique feature. This holy thread is only worn by Brahmin

Brahmin

Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

 men and also the male gods. No other goddess in the Hindu Pantheon

Hindu deities

Within Hinduism a large number of personal gods are worshipped as murtis. These beings are either aspects of the supreme Brahman, Avatars of the supreme being, or significantly powerful entities known as devas. The exact nature of belief in regards to each deity varies between differing Hindu...

 wears this kind of thread except goddess Mahalasa and goddess Parvati

Parvati

Parvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...

. Mahalasa is the Kuldevi

Kuldevta

Kuladevata or Kuladevi, also known as Kuladev and Kŭladaiwat, stands for "family deity, that is either a god or a goddess" within Hinduism, as distinct from personal ishta-devata and village deities...

 (family goddess) of many Goud Saraswat Brahmins, Karhade Brahmin

Karhade Brahmin

Karhade Brahmins are a predominantly Pancha Dravida Brahmins Marathi and Konkani speaking Hindu community in India.-Etymology and Origin:*The name Karháda or Karáda, is the...

s, Daivajnas and Bhandari

Bhandari

For other uses, see Bhandari .Bhandari caste is among the sea-faring warrior castes of ancient and medieval India. They migrated southward from Rajputana in early 1100 and subsequently spread over different parts of India...

s.

According another tradition, Mahalsa is believed to be a combined avatara of Mohini

Mohini

Mohini , in Hindu mythology, is the name of the only female Avatar of the god Vishnu. She is portrayed as a femme fatale, an enchantress, who maddens lovers, sometimes leading them to their doom. Mohini is introduced into the Hindu mythos in the narrative epic of the Mahabharata...

 and Parvati

Parvati

Parvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...

 and the first wife of Khandoba

Khandoba

Khandoba, also known as Khanderao, Khanderaya, Malhari Martand and Mallu Khan is a regional Hindu deity, worshipped as Mārtanda Bhairava, a form of Shiva, mainly in the Deccan plateau of India, especially in the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is the most popular family deity in Maharashtra...

(A warrior god in Maharashtra and believed to be an Avatar of Shiva

Shiva

Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...

). She is worshipped with Khandoba in all centres of his worship, including Jejuri

Jejuri

Jejuri is a city and a municipal council in Pune district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is famous for the main temple of god Khandoba.-Geography:Jejuri is located at . It has an average elevation of 718 metres ....

.

The temple of Mahalsa lies in Mardol

Mardol

Mardol may refer to:* Mardol , a Mexican engineering of UNAM in Mexico City, Mexico* Mardol , a street in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England* Mardol, Goa, a locality in Goa, India...

, Ponda, Goa

Goa

Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. It was shifted here from the Velha conquistas (Saxty/salcette

Salcette

Salcette , is a taluka of South Goa District in the Indian state of Goa. Its administrative and economic headquarters is Margao. It is largely coterminous with a region called Sashti , which comprised, by local tradition, sixty-six villages, hence the name. However, it also includes the taluka of...

), Goa to avoid destruction during the forcible Christianization of Salcette, Goa, India.

Legend

When the Amrut was obtained by churning of the ocean by the Devas and Danavas, a fight broke between them to claim it. In order to help the gods, Lord Vishnu took the form of Mohini Avatar

Avatar

In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....

 (form of an enchantress). As a beautiful Damsel, Lord Vishnu took hold of the Jar of Amrut and served it to the devas. This Mohini

Mohini

Mohini , in Hindu mythology, is the name of the only female Avatar of the god Vishnu. She is portrayed as a femme fatale, an enchantress, who maddens lovers, sometimes leading them to their doom. Mohini is introduced into the Hindu mythos in the narrative epic of the Mahabharata...

 form of Lord Vishnu is worshipped by the Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

s as the Goddess

Goddess

A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....

 Mahalasa Narayani.

According to another legend linking her to Khandoba, Mahalasa is believed to be a combined avatara of Mohini

Mohini

Mohini , in Hindu mythology, is the name of the only female Avatar of the god Vishnu. She is portrayed as a femme fatale, an enchantress, who maddens lovers, sometimes leading them to their doom. Mohini is introduced into the Hindu mythos in the narrative epic of the Mahabharata...

 and Parvati

Parvati

Parvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...

. Mahalasa was born as the daughter of a rich merchant in Newase called Timshet. On the dinine orders of Khandoba

Khandoba

Khandoba, also known as Khanderao, Khanderaya, Malhari Martand and Mallu Khan is a regional Hindu deity, worshipped as Mārtanda Bhairava, a form of Shiva, mainly in the Deccan plateau of India, especially in the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is the most popular family deity in Maharashtra...

 in a dream to Timshet, she was married to Khandoba on Pausha

Pausha

Pausha is a month of the Hindu calendar In the Indian national calendar, Pausha is the tenth month of the year, beginning with the solstice on 22 December and ending on 20 January....

 Pournima (the full moon day of Hindu calendar month of Paush) in Pali (Pembar). Two shivlingas appeared on this occasion. An annual festival marking this event is celebrated in Pali every Paush Pournima.

Mahalasa Temple at Mardol

Some believe that the main temple of Goddess was originally located in Nepal

Nepal

Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

 during the Kaliyuga. She was moved to Aurangabad in Maharashtra

Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

. During the Mughal

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

 domination, Aurangabad fell under the Muslim rule and the idol was moved to a secret location in Goa. Later, a small temple was built at Verna. Roughly, a few hundred years later, the Portuguese conquered Goa, and the temple was moved to Mardol

Mardol

Mardol may refer to:* Mardol , a Mexican engineering of UNAM in Mexico City, Mexico* Mardol , a street in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England* Mardol, Goa, a locality in Goa, India...

.

The Mardol temple complex also has smaller temples of Santeri and Laxmi-Narayan

Vishnu

Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....

 who are worshipped daily with Mahalasa. The five main ganas of the Goddess namely Grampurush, Bhagwati, Dadh, Simha Purush and Mhal Purush are also located within the same temple premises and daily worship of all these deities is carried out before worshipping the main goddess.

The temple is famous in Goa for its huge brass bell. The bell does not have a ringer. The ringer was attached only when somebody wanted to testify. It was believed that the goddess will punish the person who lied while ringing the bell. The belief was so strong that during the Portuguese rule the testimony in the temple was considered acceptable in the court of law. It is also famous for its Brass Divli/Samai (oil lamp).

The temple has recently banned entry of foreigners into the temple citing objectionable dressing and conduct as the reason.

Rituals and festivals

Sunday holds a special significance for the temple and the goddess. On this day Palakhi Seva is performed in addition to other rituals. The goddess is taken out for a ride around the temple in a palenquin. The palenquin is decked up with flowers and traditional colourful decorations. A large crowd gathers to participate in the event and the devotees sing her praises.

The Magha Jatra (festival) at the temple and Navaratri are the days of importance in the yearly calendar.

Other temples dedicated to Mahalasa

main temple of mahalsa at newasa dist ahamadnagar in maharastra
In recent years, due to the increased popularity of the goddess, new temples have been established in Verna, Kumta

Kumta

- External links :*...

, Mudgeri, Kundapura

Kundapura

-Languages and culture :The town mainly consists of Kannadigas who speak Kundagannada, Konkanis and Tuluvas. The Goud Saraswat Brahmins who fled Goa during the Portuguese arrival in the 16th century arrived by Boat in Basrur and some settled in Kundapura and surrounding villages. These people and...

, Basrur

Basrur

Basrur / Basroor is a village in Kundapur taluk in Udupi district of Karnataka.Historically Basrur was also called as Barcelor, Barcalor, Basnur, Bares, Abu-Sarur and Barsellor.-History:...

u, Shirva

Shirva

Shirva is a village in Udupi taluk of Udupi district. The village is known locally for cultivation of flowers, especially Jasmine, called Mallige in Tulu language spoken by locals...

, Mangalore

Mangalore

Mangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...

, harikhandige, [binaga] and other areas mostly along coastal Karnataka. The temple is also located in Madangeri a small place near to Gokarna.