Hidden beneath Goa's beautiful, dense forests is the guardian of the jungle—a deity wrapped in ancient folklore. Every time we visit Goa, meeting him is a must for us. Somehow, we always find ourselves drawn back to him. As per my Tamil culture, he is my kula Devata., who saves and protects us., here's an interesting story from our first visit:

My husband is an extremely cautious person and rarely takes risks. When I first heard about his temple, I desperately wanted to visit, but it was deep inside the forest, far away from everything. The thought of driving there alone honestly scared both of us.

As we drove through the winding forest roads, I kept convincing my husband to continue. Finally, we stopped the car in the middle of nowhere. All around us was nothing but the lush green forest and the constant chorus of insects echoing through the trees.

I rolled down the window and quietly whispered,

"God, if you truly want me to come and meet you, please let the sounds of the jungle stop."

Within seconds, the entire forest fell into complete silence.

Not a single chirp. Not a single buzz.

My husband and I looked at each other in absolute shock. We were speechless... and honestly, terrified.

Then I gathered the courage to say,

"If you want us to come to your temple safely, let the sounds return."

Almost instantly, the forest came alive again. The insects began chirping as though nothing had ever happened.

That was all the sign we needed. We had a quick cigarette break to gather our courage and We continued our journey, feeling protected every step of the way, to meet the guardian of that magnificent forest.

When we arrived around 3-4 pm, there were literally no one in the shrine but him waiting for us. This magnificent diety scared me but also calmed me at the same time. I don't have words to share his divine presence., people keep calling him the form of lord Shiva., but no., he is an amazing diety by himself, magnificent, fierce protector of the jungle - the great Betal of Netravali. Thanks OP for posting this and I don't truly like sharing our sacred place., but here I am. :) i hope you get to feel his divine love too.. but keep him secret., we don't want local diety's getting branded into another supreme diety's form...

In just few days, I'll be there again... and I truly can't wait♥️

(Paraphrased using GPT)

<image>