Mahadev Temple - Tambdi Surla, Goa
Mahadeva Temple, Tambdi Surla is a 12th-century Shaivite temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and an active place of Hindu worship. It is the only structural temple of the Kadamba period to survive the destructive violence of religious intolerance

during Muslim and Portuguese occupations of Goan territory. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is reminiscent of the temples at Aihole in neighbouring Karnataka. There is a linga mounted on a pedestal inside the inner sanctum and local legend has it that a huge king cobra

is in permanent residence in the dimly lit interior.The temple consists of garbhagriha, antarala and a pillared Nandi mandapa built of basalt.The four pillars, embellished with intricate carvings of elephants and chains support a stone ceiling decorated with finely carved

Ashtoken lotus flowers.
The intricate carvings created by skilled craftsmen adorn the interior and the sides of the building. Bas-relief figures of Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma, with their respective consorts appear on panels at the sides of the temple. Unusually,

the mandap (pillared hall) is covered with a roof of plain grey sloping slabs. The temple faces east so that the first rays of the rising sun shine on the deity. There is a small mandap and the inner sanctum is surmounted by a three-tired tower whose top is incomplete or has

been dismantled sometime in the distant past.
There is a headless Nandi (bull, Shiva's vehicle) in the centre of the mandap, surrounded by four matching columns. The symbol of the Kadamba kingdom, an elephant trampling a horse is carved on the base of one of the columns.

The river Ragado, (via village Keri, Sattari) flows nearby and is reachable for ritual bathing by a flight of stone steps.

Har Har Mahadev