Visit to Somanathapura Temple - Karnataka

       Somanathapura  is around 140 Kms from Bangalore and 35 Kms from Mysore. The Chenna Kesava temple in Somanathapura was built in the 13^th century during the reign of Narashimha 111 by his army general “ Somnath “ , hence the name of temple. It is situated on the left bank of river Cauvery.

       

         This temple is said to be the last major temple of Hoysala Dynasty . The 750 year old temple is constructed in the Hoysala architecture style. It has old stone statues of Kesava in different forms. This is one of the Hoysala temples nominated for UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

       Somnathpur is often referred as poor cousin of Belur and Halebidu ,and unlike Belur and Halebidu ,it was not severely damaged by invaders. The temple has architecture like the usual Hoysala temples but not as elaborate as that of Belur and Halebidu. It has beautiful architecture and excellent carvings . 

       

       The history of this temple and all related facts are inscribed on a slab , in old Kannada script , at its entrance inside the temple.Dated between 1269 and 1550 AD it contains the details of construction and grants made to it by rulers.

     
     It is a lovely peaceful location set in a small park landscape with beautifully kept lawns.

      
     The temple is housed inside an impressive high walled enclosure and the entrance to the complex is through a porch with tall lathe-turned pillars. The entirety of the temple is covered with sculptures.

       

     
      There is also big Deepasthamba outside the temple .

    
       The temple stands on a raised platform like other Hoysala temples. The platform of the temple is adorned with two seated lions. 

          
        The temple facing east has three garbhagrihas on the west , north and south , all connected to a common pillared hall through a separate sukansi . The western sanctum houses image of Vishnu as Kesava . The south has the image of Venugopala and the north has image of Janarthana. 

       There are supposedly scratches on the statues . Hence this place is called a dead monument , the deities are not worshipped here.

       

         
         The most distinguished feature is its 16 different ceilings , each depicting different stage of blooming plantain ( Banana flower ) . The ceiling of the main hall supported by large pillars and is decorated with ornate lotus petals , banana buds , snake-  like knots . The ceilings and doorway leading to sanctum Santorum are beautifully carved with soap stones. 

       

        The walls above the plinth are also carved with exquisite figures of Gods and Goddesses taken from the Hindu puranas and arranged in vertical panels. The vimana over the sanctums have greatly carved images of Gods.

        

         Unfortunately , this temple is no longer used as a place of worship , but it still charms visitors .It is an absolute delight for professional photographers .This temple is maintained by Archeological Department of India. 

      It is a must visit place for anyone who liked ancient Indian temple architecture.

Visit To Talakadu - Karnataka

                                          

              Talakadu is a desert like town on the left bank of river Cauvery,and is known for its sand dunes. It is a scenic and spiritual pilgrimage center .Here the Cauvery river changes course and seems magnificently vast, as here the sand on its banks spreads over a wide area.

         Located at a distance of about 50 Kms from Mysore and about 130 Kms from Bangalore, Talakadu is a small town, with lot of ancient history and mythology related to it. 

        The town is peculiarly covered with sand dunes several meters deep and has folklore behind its appearance.

        Story goes that it derived its name from two hunters Tala and Kada.

         A sage Somadatta and his disciples were killed by wild elephants when they were doing their penance. They were said to be reborn as elephants in the same forest  and continued worshiping God, with his disciples,at a place where a ‘salmali’ tree stood.

         The two hunters, Tala and Kada watched the ritual of the elephants offering prayers to a tree. And out of curiosity , axed the tree down , only to find out it bleeding . A voice then instructed them to heal the wound with the leaves.The blood miraculously turned into milk drinking which hunters and the elephants became immortal. Lord Shiva who suggested medicine to his own illness came to be known as ‘ vaidyanatheeswara’ ( The Lord of Physicians ) .A temple was later built here around the tree and the place became known as Talakadu.There are two stone images of those hunters in front of Lord Veerabadraswamy temple here.

        There are about 30 temples at Talakadu, some of which have been excavated and some of which are still buried under sand.The most imposing temples here are Vaidheeswara , Pathaleshwara , Maraleshwara , Arkeshwara and Mallikarjuna temples, the five lingams believed to be represent the five faces of Shiva, form the Pacha pathi .

        The famous Panchalinga Darshan, which is held once every 12 years, is held on Monday falling on a new moon day in the month of Karthika ( November/December ) when the two stars Khuha yoga and Vishaka conjoin.

         The Pathaleshwara Shivalingam is said to change colors during the day ( red in the morning, black in the afternoon and white in the evening ) 

         The kingdom which once stood at this place is now only sand and temples.It is unfathomable how a city of a kingdom completely gets submerged under sands for acres.

          One can learn the history of the place by visiting the various temples spread across a radius of 2 Km.They have put up a canopy for walking from one temple to another on the sand dunes so your feet don’t feel the heat.

          Talakadu also houses a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu.The Keerthinarayana temple ( an incarnation of Lord Vishnu ) is known to have been built by the Hoysala King Vishnuvardhan to commemorate his victory over the Cholas in 1117 A.D. The deity is 8ft tall, flanked by Sridevi and Bhudevi.

The curse of Talakadu

               

          Many historians and devotees of Alamelamma believe in the story of greed and desire for power that lead to the infamous curse. In the early 1600s , the ruler of Srirangapatnam was Sri Ranga Raya , an heir of the vijayanagar family. He was in the throes of an incurable disease and undertook a pilgrimage to Talakadu in the hopes of being cured.

           Before the journey, he handed over the reins of his kingdom to his wife Alamelamma.Alamelamma used to send her ornaments every Friday to decorate Sri Ranga Nayagi , the consort of Sri Ranganatha of the Srirangam temple.When she heard that her husband was on his deathbed and would possibly never make the journey back to his capital , she decided to go to visit him before he passed away .

           She handed the kingdom over to the Mysore Maharaja , Raja Wodeyar, whose dynasty ever afterwards retained them.

           After the death of her husband , the wodeyar king and his soldiers started to harass the woman for her jewels. The Mysore king sent his force to seize the  jewels . Out of helplessness and anger Alamelamma jumped into the river Cauvery at a place called Malangi, with the jewels tied up in a cloth. When she was drowning she uttered a curse in Kannada saying

" Talakadu maralagali, Malangi Maduvagali , Mysooru  arasarige makkalu aagadirali"

Which translate to , ' Let Talakadu be covered by sand , let Malangi become a whirlpool and may the kings of Mysore not have any heirs’.

        

        The curse has been effectively operating in miraculous way till today. You can witness that Talakadu is like a desert, with sand everywhere.The whirlpool is dangerous spot. The king of Mysore never had a heir.

          Thus since 17^th century the cursed Talakadu established itself in the folklore, as a miracle. Historically, it is a vibrant city which later submerged under sand dunes several meters deep. Its origin now lost in antiquity.

         

          Even today, it is stated that the current ruler and his family conduct secret prayer before the image of the Queen during Dasara to seek her forgiveness.

      

           Other than the Queen’s curse , one school of thought blames that this is to an ecological disaster stemming from the construction of a dam in 1336 by Madhave Mandri a minister of the Vijayanagar empire. This dam caused the sand on the river bed to be exposed to the strong winds that frequent in Talakadu .Another school of thought blames the plight of Talakadu to a geological fault that runs across the Cauvery river here .The Talakadu story remains unresolved.

 

 Lord Mallikarjuna temple

                  During Mahabharatha period , Arjuna stayed here on the hill. He carved the idol of Lord shiva and did pooja with “ Mallika pushpa “ . That's the reason the Lord Shiva is called as Mallikarjuna.It is one of the five temples that are part of the Panchalingadarshana held at talakadu.

 The uniqueness of this festival is that the poojas at the five temples begin at the same time following the ancient tradition of obtaining blessings for devotees and ruler of the country.

          The genius of the construction of all the temples should definitely appreciated. The conjoined rings that hang from a corner , below a five headed snake has no visible joint. 

 

         The ASI ( Archeological Survey of India )is doing a commendable job by excavating and restoring the lost temples here . 

         The place is full of history and legends, and this makes it a perfect destination for any willing tourist.