Ramnathi Temple, Bandora

The Ramnathi Temple stands at Ramnathim in Bandivade (Bandora), Goa, and is dedicated to Ramnath, a form of Shiva whose name means Lord of Rama. Tradition links the deity to the linga Rama set up at Rameswaram after killing Ravana. The temple first stood at Loutolim in Salcete, where Saraswat Brahmin families had enshrined their family deity beside other gods. When the Portuguese began destroying temples after their conquest, the villagers carried the deities in 1566 to Bandora, then under the Bijapur Sultanate. The present, larger buildings date from a rebuilding in 1905.

Following the Panchayatan system, the complex houses Ramnath with Shantadurga, Kamakshi, Laxminarayan and Siddhanath, plus shrines to Betal and Kalbhairav in the courtyard, which kept their older form. There are rest houses, an assembly hall and a drum tower of 1934. Mahashivratri is the main festival, with days of palanquin and float processions and chariot processions after Shivratri; Ramnath is also carried in a palanquin every Monday.