Brahma Temple – Carambolim (Goa)

Brahma temple is situated in the village of Brahma Carambolim in the Satari taluk-Goa. It is the only temple in Goa that is dedicated to Lord Brahma and is also one of the few important temples found in India that is dedicated to Lord Brahma.

The temple dates back to the 5th century. The presiding deity is Lord Brahma stands tall and elegant seen standing on a beautifully carved typically Kadamba pedestal.It is also interesting to note the origins of this Brahma temple. Brahma Karmali is so named after the lovely Karmali or Carambolim.

The Brahma sculpture belonging to 12th century is a later addition to the temple. The stone sculpture of Brahma here is truly magnificent. Carved out of a single black basalt stone, it is one of the finest specimen of Kadamba art and is an ancient image still in worship. The sculpture has a beard on the central face. In his four hands he carries a ladle in his upper right hand, the book of Vedas in his upper left hand, Kamandalu in his lower left hand and chanting beads in his lower right hand which is in Varamudra posture.

According to historians in Goa, it was in the 16th century when the island of Tiswadi was conquered by the Portuguese and there was a fear of destruction of the temple.Hence in 1541, the devotees of Brahma smuggled the deity out of Karmali village in Old Goa and in a clandestine manner, carried it to the Sattari taluka which then had not come under Portuguese rule.

Sattari taluka came under the Portuguese rule as late as 1781. The devotees then took the idol to Valpoi village and from there to dense forest area of Nagargaon and installed the image in a small shrine on the banks of a stream. This small hamlet later came to be known after the deity Brahma and the village of its origin Karmali (in the Tiswadi taluka) and hence the name Brahma Karmali.