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| Keerthi Narayana Temple in Talakad, Karnataka. GoRoadTrip |
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| Talakadu temple. Native Planet |
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| Talakadu Somnathpur Temple,KA tripadviser.in |
The temples at Talakadu silently witnessed the reign of famous rulers of various dynasties - Gangas, Hoysalas, Rashtra Kootas and Vijayanagara. Consequently, the temple design is not homogeneous and you could see the influence of the style and design of various dynasties on them. The inscriptions in the temple throw light on the benefactors of the temple. Talakadu has the dubious distinction of being referred to as the 'Curse of Talakad' by Queen Alamelamma on the Wodeyar Dynasty of Mysore and this mystery has attracted lots of tourists to this place where the sand dunes played havoc in the past.
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| Talakadu temple, KA deccanherald.com |
Above image: Talakad is renowned for the Pancha Lingas, five temples that symbolize five faces of Shiva line the banks of the Cauvery.This glorious ancient capital was once vast and according to the Historians in the 12th century AD, this site believed to have comprised seven towns and five mathas now covered by an extensive stretch of sand dunes, stretching over a mile. Stratigraphic research by the earth scientists suggests that sand accumulation began during the late Vijayanagar period, in the 17th century and later facilitated the formation of sand dunes...........
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| Vaidyanatheshwara Temple Talakad. www.mysoreonline.in |
Sri Vaidyanatheshwara Swamy Temple is of particular interest. Here the stone carvings on the wall seem to be of Hoysala origin and are fairly good despite the full force of abrasive wind
action. At the entrance to the temple, six foot tall stone images of Dwarapalaka -God's sentinels are quite impressive. The origin of this place -Tarakadu has an element of myth that focuses on a pair of elephants worshipping Shiva in the form of a tree. According to sthala purana, a sage, Somadatta and his disciples were killed by wild elephants when they were doing their penance. It is believed that they were reborn as elephants in the same forest and carried on the daily ritual of offering prayers to a cotton tree. One day when they were praying to the tree, two hunters - Kitakata twin brothers by the name of Tala and Kada saw this strange incident and out of arrogance, cut down the tree that the elephants were praying daily. To their surprise, they saw the chopped tree bleeding as if they were humans, an unexpected thing no one could ever dream of. Suddenly, a voice from above (Asiriri) advised them to heal the wound by using the tree leaves. They did it as instructed and, surprisingly, the blood had turned milk. In the wake of this incident, both the hunters and the elephants attained immortality. In view of the presence of divinity in this place, later a temple was built around the tree, and the place became known as Talakadu. One can see the two stone images of the twin brothers brothers in front of Lord Veerabhadra Swamy temple here.
action. At the entrance to the temple, six foot tall stone images of Dwarapalaka -God's sentinels are quite impressive. The origin of this place -Tarakadu has an element of myth that focuses on a pair of elephants worshipping Shiva in the form of a tree. According to sthala purana, a sage, Somadatta and his disciples were killed by wild elephants when they were doing their penance. It is believed that they were reborn as elephants in the same forest and carried on the daily ritual of offering prayers to a cotton tree. One day when they were praying to the tree, two hunters - Kitakata twin brothers by the name of Tala and Kada saw this strange incident and out of arrogance, cut down the tree that the elephants were praying daily. To their surprise, they saw the chopped tree bleeding as if they were humans, an unexpected thing no one could ever dream of. Suddenly, a voice from above (Asiriri) advised them to heal the wound by using the tree leaves. They did it as instructed and, surprisingly, the blood had turned milk. In the wake of this incident, both the hunters and the elephants attained immortality. In view of the presence of divinity in this place, later a temple was built around the tree, and the place became known as Talakadu. One can see the two stone images of the twin brothers brothers in front of Lord Veerabhadra Swamy temple here.
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| Dwarapalakas in relief in Vaidyanatheshwara temple en.wikipedia.org |
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| Talakadu location map.aya.co.in |
At Talakad the five Lingams of the temples are believed to represent the five faces of Shiva and form the Pancha pathi. This place is famous for the festival called Pancha Linga Darshana
that is celebrated once in 12 years. It is held on a new moon day amavasya - in the month of Karthika when two stars-Khuha Yoga and Vishaka come to gether according to the Lunar or the Hindu calendar. This five-day festival commences at the exact same time in all five temples with the ritual dip in the holy lake adjoining the temple of Vaidyanatheshwara. Theertham -water from the same lake is brought to the temple to bathe the Gods. This festival attracts people from many parts of Karnataka and is marked by various events and chariot processions. . Tradition has been that on this day, the pilgrims are required to take first bathe in the Gokarna theertham, worship Gokarneswara and Chowdeshwari, and then worship Vaidheeswara, and then bathe in the northern eastern southern and western stretches of the Cauvery and then worship Arkeshwara, Pataleshwar, Maruleshwara and Mallikarjuna, returning to Vaidheeswara after each worship, finally worship Keerthi Narayana and conclude the pilgrimage in one day.The last temple was excavated in the recent past from the sand dunes.
The presence of a large amount of sands that buried lots of temple in the past is a subject of discussion. Where is the source of sand? What force brought the sands and dumped them here? An important relevant fact is there is no desert area nearby where the action of wind can make the sand dunes move to a farther distance over a period of time. The thickness of sand in and around Talakadu is more than 12 meters and it shows the sustained aeolian activities. In the absence of a desert environment which natural force was responsible for dumping a huge layer of sand over a vast area here?
The presence of a large amount of sands that buried lots of temple in the past is a subject of discussion. Where is the source of sand? What force brought the sands and dumped them here? An important relevant fact is there is no desert area nearby where the action of wind can make the sand dunes move to a farther distance over a period of time. The thickness of sand in and around Talakadu is more than 12 meters and it shows the sustained aeolian activities. In the absence of a desert environment which natural force was responsible for dumping a huge layer of sand over a vast area here?
The logical answer lies in the political history of this place and the then ruler. Madhav Mantri, a minister of the Vijayanagar Empire in 1336 wanted to have a dam built across the river. The constructed dam served the community well. The speculation is that because of continuous neglect of desilting in the water storage area vast amount of sand accumulated over a long period of time and it became exposed to strong wind action that moved the sandes toward Talakadu area, causing the burials of temples and the town. Later the town became a neglected area - a sort of ghost town.
Yet another plausible explanation is Geomorphologically speaking, the East flowing Cauvery, because of its meandering course, shifted the course to one side exposing a vast amount of sand bed near Talakadu. The sustained wind action on the sand was so severe, it literally dumped a huge layer of Sand silt accumulated over a period of time would have buried the temples and the town. The origin of sand dunes needs further research in the absence of valid evidence. Till a valid scientific reason is offered, the source of sand dunes will remain a mystery.
The five Vishnu temples of Lord Narayana known as Pancha Narayana Kshetram are believed to have been established by Ramanujacharya during his visit to Karnataka (Melnadu). At Talakad, the Keerthi Narayana temple was established and the presiding Deity in this temple is Keerthi Narayana.
Set aside all the myths and legends associated with Talakadu, the variety of architecture and sculptures may leave a lasting impression on your mind. Paradoxically, this place brings out the transient nature of ruling dynasties and their artistic creations
- a continuum between nature and man's creation.
Ref:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_of_temples_at_Talakad,_Karnataka
Set aside all the myths and legends associated with Talakadu, the variety of architecture and sculptures may leave a lasting impression on your mind. Paradoxically, this place brings out the transient nature of ruling dynasties and their artistic creations
- a continuum between nature and man's creation.
Ref:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_of_temples_at_Talakad,_Karnataka
K. N. Jayaraman (Author: navrangindia.blogspot.com)
