Keerthi Narayana Temple, Talakadu – History

Keerthi Narayana Temple, Talakadu – History

Talakadu was known as Dalavanapura and Gajaranya in Sanskrit. Talakadu was the capital of the Gangas, who ruled present day Mysore, Mandya, Hassan, Bangalore and Kolar districts from the fourth to tenth century CE., under Gangavadi 96,000. As per an ancient record, Harivarma, an ancestor of Gangas, had been ruling from Skandapura near where the Moyar river flows into the Bhavani river (in the present-day Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu).

He moved from Skandapura to Dalavanapura (Talakadu) and made it their imperial capital. Towards the end of the 10^th century, the Chola Dynasty who were seeing a resurgence of power under Rajaraja Chola I conquered Gangavadi around the year 1000, bringing the Western Ganga dynasty to an end. After capturing Talakadu, Cholas named it as Rajarajapura after the Chola Emperor Rajaraja Chola I.

The Cholas were expelled from Talakadu nearly after 100 years by Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana. Talakadu flourished under Hoysalas and it remained under their control till 14^th century CE. Then, it passed into the hands of Vijayanagara Kingdom and Wadiyar Dynasty of Mysore. Talakadu was mysteriously submerged under sand dunes several meters deep after the rule of Wadiyar Dynasty of Mysore.

Archaeological excavations of the sand dunes at Talakadu have shown the existence of several ruined temples built during the rule of the Gangas, Cholas, Hoysalas, Vijayanagara Kingdoms and Wadiyar Dynasty of Mysore. The Sand dunes of Talakad are protected by the Karnataka state division of the ASI. This temple was built by Cholas and extensively renovated by Hoysalas, Vijayanagara Kingdom and Wadiyar Dynasty of Mysore.

The temple was built and consecrated on 7^th December 1117 A.D. by the famous Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana to celebrate his victory over the Cholas in the battle of Talakad as per the inscription in the temple. Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana assumed the title of Talakadugonda after this victory. It is said that Vaishnavite Acharya Ramanuja helped Vishnuvardhana in this victory.

It is also said that Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana built this temple at the behest of Vaishnava Acharya Ramanuja. The temple is considered as one of the five Vishnu temples (called as Pancha Narayana Sthalams) established by the great Vaishnavite saint Ramanuja in the 11^th century AD. As per Kannada inscriptions, Vishnuvardhana overwhelmed Adigaiman, Chola governor of Talakadu region.

Veeraganga, a general of Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana, assumed the title of Veera Ganga who conquered Thikula (Cholas were called as Thikula in Kannada). The temple is protected as monument of national importance by the central Archaeological Survey of India. It is the only Hoysala architecture found in Talakadu today.