There are two great incidents that took place in this quaint little village of Paliem in the past. Paliem is considered to be the birth place of Saint Sohirobanath Ambiye, who was a great contributor in the spiritual field. The village also shares a close link with the history of Goa’s fight for liberation from the Portuguese. According to sources, a freedom fighter by the name of Panhalal Yadav was shot dead in this village by the Portuguese soldiers.
Shri Sohirobanath Ambiye
Around 350 years ago, a saint was born in Paliem by the name of Shri Sohirobanath Ambiye. He was a student of Shri Gahininaath who imparted darshan and diksha to him at a place called Insuli Tal in Sawantwadi. Shri Giridhnaath Ambiye is the 8th generation of Shri Sohirobanath Ambiye and is a complete Siddha Yogi.
Shri Sohirobanath Ambiye was a secular saint with a broad Indian appeal. His most famous verses are ‘Antaricha Dnyandiva Malvu Nako re’ (do not ever extinguish the lamp of knowledge in your heart) and ‘Haribhajanavin Kal Ghalavu Nako re’ (Do not waste thy time without prayers to the divine). Born as Atchyut Anant Ambiye, he resigned from his post as revenue minister at the tender age of 35 and went to the forest of Insuli. He spent the next 25 years as a yogi before permanently leaving his family at the age of 60 for a pilgrimage to North India.
According to a legend, a Maratha warrior by the name of Mahadaji Shinde accepted Shri Ambiye as his spiritual Guru and built him a monastery in Ujjain.
Panhalal Yadav
Another man who left his mark in the quaint village of Paliem is none other than Panhalal Yadav. Sources say that on 15th August 1955 Yadav, a native of Uttar Pradesh, climbed the arch of the famous temple of Shree Bhumika Vetal to hoist the Indian tricolor. While he was in the process of doing this, some Portuguese soldiers arrived in a jeep and refrained him from hoisting the flag and asked him to drop it down. The courageous Yadav went ahead to hoist the flag and the soldiers shot him in his right hand. He then shifted the flag to his left hand and the soldiers fired another bullet on Yadav. The brave freedom fighter clutched the tricolor to his chest and breathed his last. This brave man was honored by having a street named after him.
