Origin of name The Indian epic Mahabharata refers to Goa by the appellation Goparashtra � a nation of cowherds. The southern Konkan region was called Govarashtra. In ancient Indian texts in Sanskrit, Goa was also known as Gopakapuri or Gapakapattana. These names were also mentioned in the sacred Hindu texts such as the Harivansa and the Skanda. Goa is also known as Gomanchala in the latter. In the Puranas and certain inscriptions, the name of the place appears as Gove, Govapuri, Gopakpattan, and Gomant. Ptolemy referred to Goa as Gouba around 200 CE. It has also been known as Aprant. The medieval Arabian geographers knew the port city of Chandor (or Chandrapur) as Sindabur, or Sandabur. The place that the Portuguese named Goa is a small ancient port town of what today is known as Goa-Velha. The term Goa was later applied to the whole territory that the Portuguese came to occupy (Velhas Conquistas as well as the Novas Conquistas), sometimes by conquest, at other times due to treaties with local rulers.. Legend has it that Goa along with the Konkan region of India was formed by Lord Parashurama, who had conquered and donated the known world and had to find a new place to meditate and do a yajna. He is said to have stood at the tip of the land at that time and fired 7 arrows (bana in Sanskrit) into the sea, telling the lord of the seas to withdraw till the place where the arrows land. Thus, there are several places in Goa bearing names like Banavali (Benaulim) , and Banastari (Banastarim). There is also a mountain of ash-like material at the north edge of Goa at Harmal (Arambol) beach, which is supposed to be the place of the yajna of Parashurama. However, Goa was probably inhabited prior to this point of time. History Goa has a long history stretching back to the 3rd century BCE, when it formed part of the Mauryan empire. It was later ruled by the Satavahanas of Kolhapur at the beginning of the Common Era and eventually passed to the Chalukyas of Badami, who controlled it from 580 to 750. Over the next few centuries it was ruled successively by the Silharas, the Kadambas and the Chalukyans of Kalyani. Goa fell under the Delhi Sultanate for the first time in 1312, but they were forced to evacuate it in 1370 by Harihara I of Vijayanagar. The Vijayanagar monarchs controlled Goa for nearly 100 years. In 1469, however, Goa was re-appropriated, this time by the Bahmani sultans of Gulbarga. When this dynasty broke up, the area passed to Adil Shahis of Bijapur, who made Goa Velha their second capital. In 1498, Vasco da Gama became the first European to set foot in India via a sea route. His successful mission led to other European powers seeking an alternate route to India as the traditional land routes were closed by the Turks. In 1510, the ruling Bijapur kings were defeated by the Portuguese admiral Afonso de Albuquerque, on request of a Hindu king, Timayya (Timoja). The Portuguese set up a base in Goa in their quest to control the spice trade. By mid-16th century, the area under occupation had expanded to most of present day limits. On December 19, 1961, the Indian Army moved its troops into Goa taking it over by force. Goa and the exclaves of Daman and Diu, were annexed to India via the 12th amendment to India's constitution, making them a Union territory of India. Portugal recognized the annexation after its revolution in 1974. On May 30, 1987, the Union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu was split, with Goa being elevated to India's 25th state, and Daman and Diu remaining a union territory. ---------------------------------------------- [text drawn from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goa#Origin_of_name http://campussocial.ulusofona.pt/ Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Precedence: bulk
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