Chorao Island

Chorao is an island along the river Mandovi near Panaji, Goa, India. The island was historically called Chudamani, meaning stunning precious stone in Sanskrit. Local legends tell of the islands emerging from diamonds that were thrown away by Yashoda the mother of Lord Krishna. The Islanders call it Chodan or Chodna. It was the Portuguese who called it Chorao. The Portuguese noblemen found the island a pleasurable place to live and hence the name Ilha dos Fidalgos(Island of Noblemen).

It is believed that 10 families of Goud Saraswat Brahmins were amongst the earliest settlers of this island. The island was said to be a place of learning and said to have a University of Sanskrit. According to the Hindu deities and Temples by Rui Pereira Gomes, the island had ancient temples of Ganesh, Ravalnath, Bhaukadevi, Mallinath, Bhagwati, Devki, Santa-purush, Narayan, Kanteshwar, Chandeshwar and Dadd-sancol and also Vanadevata and Roulu on Caroi Vaddo. When the Portuguese began to forcibly Christianize the Goan islands, many Hindus fled Chudamani and shifted Hindu idols via Mayem to Naroa and Marcela.The main deity Devaki-Krishna and its associated deities of Bhumika Devi, Laxmi Ravalnath, Mallinath, Katyayani, Chodaneshwar and Dhada Shankar were taken to Mayemwadem in Bicholim and then moved to their present location at Marcel. The island was Christianised by the Jesuits as they did the adjoining Islands of Divar and Salcete(Saxti).