The most famous of all temples in Goa, the Manguesh Temple or Manguesh Devasthanam is situated at Priol in the taluka of Ponda, which is around 20 km from the capital city of Panaji.

Legend has it that Lord Shiva lost all he had in the game of dice he was playing with his wife, Goddess Parvati, so he decided to go for a self-imposed exile and arrived here. As Parvati could not stay without him for long, she came looking for him in the jungles of Goa. Lord Shiva played a prank on her by disguising himself into a tiger and attacking her. Terrified, Parvati shouted, "trahi maam girisha" (O lord of mountains, save me). At this point, Lord Shiva changed to his original form but the words stayed with him. In due course of time, these were abbreviated to Manguirisha or Manguesh. It is the only place where Lord Shiva is called by this name. After a local shepherd discovered a linga here, a temple was dedicated to Lord Manguesh. The best time to visit the temple is when it is lit up beautifully during the annual Jatra, a festival held in the month of January that is attended by thousands of devotees.