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India is a rich land of vivid cultures and traditions. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, one gets to witness a wide array of colours. This diversity is especially seen during festivals that sometimes take place annually and some other times happen once in several years. In Karnataka, Goddess Hasanamaba of Hassan gives audience to her devottees only once an year; whereas Gomateshwara in Shravanabelagola celebrates "maha mastakabhisheka" once in 12 years.
Following the same tradition of making beloved devottees wait on their toes to get a sight of divinity, Lord Shiva at Talakadu takes several years before he opens himself up for his devottees. And when He decides to give an audience, He does so with a twist only He could possibly manage. He appears at Talakadu in five distinguished forms, the Panchalingeshwara! Previously the Darshan took place in 2006, and in 2013 it is promised to be held from November 28th to December 2nd. Thousands gather for this event as it is only 130 km to the South-west of Bangalore and only 45 km from Mysore.
The time and ways of performing pooja to the Lord is fixed with the help of the Hindu calendar. According to which, the exact moment they look for usually appears once in seven years. Situated on the banks of river Kaveri, the Panchalingeshwara temples include Sri Vaidyeshwara, Sri Pataleshwara, Sri Maruleshwara, Sri Arakeshwara, and Sri Mudukutore Mallikarjuna. It is interesting that the pooja begins at the exact same minute in all the five temples. The temple pond of Sri Vaidyeshwara is brought to bathe all the five idols. Followed by which the temple chariot is pulled by the devottees. On the third day, a huge festivity called the teppotsava is held. And the final celebration here is the "nandi vahanotsava".
The Kadambas, Chalukyas, Cholas and Rashtrakutas ruled over this land called Talakadu on the banks of River Kaveri. The age-old architecture of the temples here is a fine example of minute sculpturing! There is a unique feature to the carvings on the walls of Vaidyeshwara Temple. There are two rings interlinked with no partition or ends that adorn a five-headed snake. There's also a stone vessel that looks as though it were made with the aids of the best technology in place today but was actually hand-made by the sheer talent and labour of the sculptors. People are often dumbfounded witnessing the beauty of it all...
It is said that Talakadu looks like a desert due to an old curse. In the 16th century, the representative of the Vijaynagara Empire, Sri Ranga Raya used to reside here. His wife used to offer her jewellery to beautify Goddess Ranganayaki of Srirangapatna. Ranaga Raya passed away due to unavoidable circumstances and the authority in Mysore asked his wife to return her jewellery. It is possible that the King himself rode to fetch the jewellery upon which the lady threw herself into water opposite Malangi. Just before she did so, she uttered a three-fold curse that effected Talakadu immediately. "Let Talakadu become sand; let Malangi become a whirlpool; let the Mysore Kings fail to beget heirs."
Photos by ashwin kumar
