The beautiful village which is today called Chandor was earlier known as Chandrapur and was the capital of the Kadamba rulers, which ruled Goa until its conquest by Vijaynagars in 1367. It is also known as old capital of Goa. The village surrounded by hills and fields with the River Kushavati passing through has an unfortunate myth associated with it.
Olivinho Gomes, in his book, ‘Village Goa’, refers to the curse of the Queen from the Kadamba dynasty, transmitted through generations by word of mouth: Chandra ganv padd zanv / Vhoiloleank borem zanv / Haddlolim randd zanv! (Let Chandor village perish / Their outgoing women be blessed / Incoming women widows become!)
The myth of this curse still looms large over a part of the village and to circumvent the curse, many eligible youths from Chandor have migrated to urban towns, fearing harm to their matrimonial prospects. That, village chroniclers say, largely explains why many of the palatial houses in this part of Chandor lie abandoned.
A peek into history lends a perspective to the villagers’ belief. History has it that on the midnight of October 16, 1345, Nawab Jamal-ud-din of Honavar mounted a two-pronged attack simultaneously on Govapuri (present day Goa Velha) and Chandrapur (present day Chandor) in which the newly crowned young king Siriyadeva was slain and along with him all the male members of the Kadamba family were killed.
His young queen was away at her father’s palace at Hangal. Upon her arrival a few days later, she was aghast to know of her husband’s death. Prior to her arrival, all the females of the royal court had ground their jewellery, tossed the powder in the river before jumping in, killing themselves.
Suspecting treachery the distraught queen, furious at her people committed suicide but before dying she cursed the villagers by beating her feet on a stone outside the temple and said every woman in this village will become a widow when they will get married here. The stone with her foot prints is still maintained and is kept at the entrance of Sant Tiago chapel in Cotta.
The Queen’s curse still rides over the psyche of the inhabitants of Chandor. “So strong was the belief earlier,” an elderly villager informs, “that people used to hesitate to give their daughters in marriage to Chandor, particularly, in Cota. And to a large extent, people still believe in the curse, though not many speak about it.”
