The huge temple complex of Shantadurga, dedicated to one of the incarnations of Parvati, the wife and constant companion of the god Shiva. Parvati, the wife and constant companion of the god Shiva, is located in the small village of Kavali in the Ponda region of India's famous resort state of Goa.
The temple, in its present form, was constructed over a period of 8 years and was finally completed in 1738 during the reign of Raja Chhatrapati Shahu of the Maratha dynasty. Before that it was a small hut built of mud and clay, where a statue of the goddess had been moved from a shrine on the island of Salset destroyed by the Portuguese in 1564. from a shrine on the island of Salsette. The statue depicts the goddess Shantadurga holding a snake in each hand. snake in each hand, one representing Shiva and the other Vishnu.
The Shantadurga complex is situated at the foot of a mountain range and is surrounded on all sides by lush vegetation. by lush vegetation on all sides. It consists of a main building and three other smaller temples built around it. All the buildings are painted in a bright terracotta colour.
The main temple is an interesting architectural structure with a tiered pyramidal roof topped with an elegant dome. The building is also decorated with massive columns carved from Kashmiri stone, balconies with balustrades, and many windows. balustrades and has many windows.
Not far from the temples is a huge water body, a guest house, which is called "agrashalas", as well as the traditional Deepa Stambha tower, which is is considered to be a kind of link between Heaven (swarga) and Earth (prithvi).
The complex has been rebuilt and reconstructed several times - the most most serious and extensive reconstruction was in 1966.
