Goa, state of India, comprising a mainland district on the country’s southwestern coast and an offshore island. It is located about 250 miles (400 km) south of Mumbai (Bombay). One of India’s smallest states, it is bounded by the states of Maharashtra on the north and Karnataka on the east and south and by the Arabian Sea on the west. The capital is Panaji (Panjim), on the north-central coast of the mainland district. Formerly a Portuguese possession, it became a part of India in 1962 and attained statehood in 1987. Area 1,429 square miles (3,702 square km). Pop. (2011) 1,457,723.

Climate

Goa’s climate is equable, with high temperatures generally in the 80s F (30s C) and low temperatures in the 70s F (20s C) throughout the year. A southwest monsoon blows between June and September. The state receives about 115 inches (3,000 mm) of rainfall annually, most occurring during the monsoon season.

History of Goa

The ancient Hindu city of Goa, hardly a fragment of which survives, was built at the southernmost point of the island of Goa. The city was famous in early Hindu legend and history; in the Puranas and various inscriptions, its name appears as Gove, Govapuri, and Gomant. The medieval Arabian geographers knew it as Sindabur, or Sandābūr, and the Portuguese called it Velha Goa. It was ruled by the Kadamba dynasty from the 2nd century CE to 1312 and by Muslim invaders of the Deccan from 1312 to 1367. The city was then annexed by the Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar and was later conquered by the Bahmanī sultanate, which founded Old Goa on the island in 1440.