Once upon a time, about 1500 years ago , there was a thriving pilgrim town called Talakad.
Over 1500 families resided here.
It lies on the bank of river Cauvery (this river flows 765 km in length and is as important in the south as Ganga is in the north ) and is approximately 45 kms from Mysore. There were beautiful temples galore with intricate carving culled out of the locally procured granite (which otherwise is a hard stone to work on) in comparison to soft stone used in Halebidu. There were 30 temples, as per my guide about a 100 of them...but alas they all got buried under the sand deposited by the river Cauvery.
Though the scientific explanation is that the river makes a sharp bend and deposits sand wherby the temples were buried and nearby Mallangi village is also impacted. Another theory suggests that at the beginning of the 17th century there was a severe famine. Cauvery's flow came to a trickle and eventually dried up. Nearby dam hampered whatever flow was made to the river. The river dried up completely and the sand from the river bed dispersed all over and settled over the town of Talkad , which eventually got buried under it. But there is another side to the story. This makes the story even more interesting as it involves a curse!!!!!
Alemelamma uttered the curse.....
Let Talekadu become a land of sand...
Let river at Maalangi turn into a whirlpool....
Let there be no sires to the king of Mysore.....
The curse did come true..and Temple town got buried under the sand. Only 5 temples have been unearthed.
We visited this mystical town on our drive back from BR hills to Bangalore.
As you reach Talakad you see the Vaideshwara temple. Built in Granite, Dravadian style this temple withstood the fury of sand avalanche .
So lets get on...and do some unearthing of the buried temples.....
Among the temples of Talakad, the Pathaleshwara, Maruleshwara, Arkeshwara, Vaidyanatheshwara and Mallikarjuna temples, the five Lingams believed to represent the five faces of Shiva.
In honour of 5 Shiva temples a fair is held where about 10 lakh people assemble. Last was held in 2013 preceeded by 2006.
As per Wiki...
The Talakadu curse has established itself in the folklore as a miracle since the early part of 16th century because of two strange events visible even to date: (i) Talakad, an historically vibrant city, is now being submerged under sand dunes several meters deep, and (ii) the Mysore royal family have faced problem in having a rightful heir to the throne since the 17th century. Both these events linked to an apparent curse by a pious lady (Alamelamma) have defied logic. Based on the data from diverse sources and field studies, K. N. Ganeshaiah has reconstructed the possible chronology of events of this acclaimed miracle. Ganeshaiah argues that the Talakad phenomenon represents an ecological disaster unintentionally wrought on to a vibrant civilization at this place and in this sense the curse per se is an intelligently inserted story as an overlay. Using this example he discusses the possible process through which the miracles or myths of this kind survive in a society.[3]
I am all for ghost stories, curses, Karma, folklore-- so I believe in this story. Do you??? Please leave your comments .
Over 1500 families resided here.
It lies on the bank of river Cauvery (this river flows 765 km in length and is as important in the south as Ganga is in the north ) and is approximately 45 kms from Mysore. There were beautiful temples galore with intricate carving culled out of the locally procured granite (which otherwise is a hard stone to work on) in comparison to soft stone used in Halebidu. There were 30 temples, as per my guide about a 100 of them...but alas they all got buried under the sand deposited by the river Cauvery.
Though the scientific explanation is that the river makes a sharp bend and deposits sand wherby the temples were buried and nearby Mallangi village is also impacted. Another theory suggests that at the beginning of the 17th century there was a severe famine. Cauvery's flow came to a trickle and eventually dried up. Nearby dam hampered whatever flow was made to the river. The river dried up completely and the sand from the river bed dispersed all over and settled over the town of Talkad , which eventually got buried under it. But there is another side to the story. This makes the story even more interesting as it involves a curse!!!!!
Alemelamma uttered the curse.....
Let Talekadu become a land of sand...
Let river at Maalangi turn into a whirlpool....
Let there be no sires to the king of Mysore.....
The curse did come true..and Temple town got buried under the sand. Only 5 temples have been unearthed.
We visited this mystical town on our drive back from BR hills to Bangalore.
As you reach Talakad you see the Vaideshwara temple. Built in Granite, Dravadian style this temple withstood the fury of sand avalanche .
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| Ornate carving at Vaideshwara temple - granite rock |
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| Chola ring carved out of single rock- left only on this corner |
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| Carving extraordinaire |
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| shrine and mantappa at Vaideshvara Temple |
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| This is temple number 2 |
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| Uo we go along with the guide to do some more digging!! |
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| Its a tedious walk around the campus-also is very hot- thank God for the sheltered pathway |
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| Enroute to Pataleshwara and Maraleshwara (Temple 3 and 4) |
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| Temple number 5 |
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| This is soap stone-relatively soft stone to carve in (like Halebidu) |
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| The temple was dismantled and assembled by ASI- hence the numbering |
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| Sand,,sand all around |
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| Site map of the pilgim site |
Among the temples of Talakad, the Pathaleshwara, Maruleshwara, Arkeshwara, Vaidyanatheshwara and Mallikarjuna temples, the five Lingams believed to represent the five faces of Shiva.
In honour of 5 Shiva temples a fair is held where about 10 lakh people assemble. Last was held in 2013 preceeded by 2006.
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| Drive back home!!! |
As per Wiki...
The Talakadu curse has established itself in the folklore as a miracle since the early part of 16th century because of two strange events visible even to date: (i) Talakad, an historically vibrant city, is now being submerged under sand dunes several meters deep, and (ii) the Mysore royal family have faced problem in having a rightful heir to the throne since the 17th century. Both these events linked to an apparent curse by a pious lady (Alamelamma) have defied logic. Based on the data from diverse sources and field studies, K. N. Ganeshaiah has reconstructed the possible chronology of events of this acclaimed miracle. Ganeshaiah argues that the Talakad phenomenon represents an ecological disaster unintentionally wrought on to a vibrant civilization at this place and in this sense the curse per se is an intelligently inserted story as an overlay. Using this example he discusses the possible process through which the miracles or myths of this kind survive in a society.[3]
I am all for ghost stories, curses, Karma, folklore-- so I believe in this story. Do you??? Please leave your comments .
