The island of Divar (Konkani: दीवाडी Divaddi, pronounced [d̪iːwaːɽiː]) (derived from the word Dipavati or 'small Island' in Konkani) lies in the Mandovi River in the Indian state of Goa.
It is located approximately upriver 10 km from Panaji (Panjim). The Island is connected to Old Goa on the south-east side, Ribandar, on the south-west side and Narve on the north side, all by ferry. A launch also connects Divar to the city of Panaji from further north-west, in the village of Vanxim. The Konkan Railway passes through the village and the nearest stop to the village is the train station at Carambolim.
The drive to the village is scenic, with paddy fields and wooded hills lacing the roadway, very typical of the Goan countryside. Though in a manner equally typical of modern Goa, of late the paddy fields lie fallow and overrun with weeds, along with your odd crocodile that came through when the levees were purposely broken in early 2000.
The Island of Divar was a famous site of Hindu pilgrimage and hosted the ancient temples of Shree Saptakoteshwar, Shree Ganesh and Shree Dwarkeshwar besides others. These were destroyed by Portuguese zealots in the 16th century in their drive for the Christianization of Goa. The Current Cemetery near Church at hilltop once housed Ganesh Temple which was razed by the Portuguese and the Hindus had to take the Ganesh Idol and rehabilitate it in village of Khandola near Marcel.
The ancient site of Hindu pilgrimage is called Porne Tirth (Old pilgrim spot-in Konkani) even today. Rui Gomes Pereira in his book Goan temples and deities writes, " The original temple (Of Shree Saptakoteshwar) was constructed in the 12th century by the kings of Kadamba Dynasty. Shree Saptakoteshwar was the patron Deity of the Kadambas. The temple was destroyed by the sultan of the Deccan in the middle of the 14th century and reconstructed at the same locality by Madhav Mantri of Vijaynagara at the close of the same century. It was again destroyed by the Portuguese in 1540."
Prior to its destruction, the temple used to attract more than thirty thousand Hindu pilgrims from Goa itself during its annual procession. The Saptakoteshwar idol was shifted to Narve in Bicholim after the destruction of the temple by the Portuguese. The present temple in Narve, Bicholim was rebuilt by ShivajiRaje Bhonsale the Great Maratha leader.( Raje Shivaji initiated the reconstruction and re-establishing the deity at present place. The orders were carried out by Temple "vishwastha" shri Shivram Desai)
- Feast of Our Lord Redeemer
The huge bell which today adorns the Se Cathedral in Old Goa was originally donated by the master of a sinking ship who'd made a vow that, were he to survive his fate, he would donate the ship's bell to the first church village, town, or city his vessel touched. It so happened that that island was Divar. In keeping with his promise, he donated the bell to the church of Divar, which is located on a high hillock. Unfortunately though, every time the bell was struck, it shattered the windows of the church and the houses in the vicinity, so a deal was struck and the bell was exchanged with that of the Se Cathedral.
Divar Island has a large number of temples, most prominent is Shri Ganesh Sateri Temple at Sateri Bhat which also houses Khapro Ravalnath along with Sateri Mahamaya. There are two more Temples of Ganesh one at Navelim
and other at Hilltop near the Church.