Anant Narasimha Temple, Veling

The small village of Savoi-Verem in Ponda taluka is the site of the only temple dedicated to Lord Anant in the state of Goa. The temple is about 45 kms away from the capital city of Panaji.

This temple unlike other temples in Goa, has only a tiled pyramid as roof and surprisingly no domes. The walls too, are only plain with plastering. But the insides are in stark contrast to the outside. There is a presence of all the seven colors of the rainbow in all the intricate wooden carvings.

The Ananta temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu, appearing here in his incarnation as Ananta, the serpent. Although no definite date is available for its original construction, the temple appears to be quite ancient. The current building is circa 1923 and has pillars with intricate wooden carvings and plated with silver.

The idol of the deity is carved in black stone and Lord Vishnu is shown here in his Anantashayya (a sleeping position where the Lord rests on the multi-headed snake king Seshnaga, whose heads shelter the head of the Lord like an umbrella). This is the only temple in Goa showing Lord Vishnu in this special posture.

The sprawling temple complex also consists of temples of other deities - Shantadurga, Kamini, Narayan and Grampurush.

A number of festivals are celebrated at the temple including Shibikotsav in which the palakhi (palanquin) of Lord Ananta is carried by devotees on their shoulders around the temple complex.