Talakadu, Karnataka – Legends

Talakadu, Karnataka – Legends

Talakadu:

As per legend, a sage named Soma Datta from Kashi performed penance on Lord Shiva for salvation. Lord Shiva directed him to go to Siddharanya Kshetra and continue with the penance. Sage Soma Datta came to Siddharanya Kshetra along with his disciples and started his penance. One day, Sage and his disciples were attacked and killed by a herd of wild elephants while they were performing penance. It is believed that they were reborn as elephants in the same forest and carried out their daily rituals to a  cotton  tree.

Once, two Kirata twin brothers, Tala and Kadu, observed this strange incident of elephants worshipping a cotton tree. Out of curiosity, the brothers cut down the tree and found the tree was bleeding like humans. Suddenly, a divine voice instructed them to heal the wound by applying the tree leaves on the chopped portion of the tree. They did it as instructed and, surprisingly, the blood  had turned milk.

Lord Shiva provided salvation to the hunter brothers and elephants. As Lord Shiva, in the form of a tree, healed himself with the tree leaves, he came to be called as Vaidyanatha / Vaideeshwara. The place was named as Talakadu after the Kirata twin brothers Tala and Kadu. Two stone idols of the twin brothers can be seen in front of Veerabhadraswamy temple.

Curse of Talakadu:

Tirumala Raja, called as Sri Ranga Raya, the representative of the Vijayanagara Kingdom at Srirangapatna was afflicted with an incurable disease. He visited Talakadu and worshipped Lord Vaidyeshvara to get relief from the disease. Before leaving to Talakadu, he made his second wife Alamelamma as in charge of the Government of Srirangapatna. His condition got deteriorated in Talakadu and was in death bed. On hearing the news, she left for Talakadu to see him before his death. Hence, she handed over the rule of Srirangapatna to the Wodeyar King of Mysore.

The treacherous Wodeyar King took the control of Srirangapatna for himself. He also wanted the royal jewels of Queen Alamelamma as he could not find the jewels in the palace. He ordered an army to follow the queen and seize the royal jewels from her. On learning the developments happened in Srirangapatna, Queen Alamelamma went to the banks of the Cauvery, threw the jewels into the river and drowned herself opposite Malangi. Before she drown, she uttered a three-fold curse.

The following is the curse of Talakadu;

Talakadu Maralaagi.
Malingi Maduvaagi
Mysuru Dhorege Makkalagade Hogali

English Translation;

Let Talakadu become sand

Let Malangi become a whirlpool

Let the Mysore Kings fail to beget heirs

As per this curse, Talakadu, an ancient city, is now being submerged under sand dunes several meters deep and the Mysore royal family have faced a problem of having a rightful heir to the throne since 17^th century.

Vishnuvardhana:

Vishnuvardhana (1108 – 1152 CE) was a king of the Hoysala Empire. He ascended the Hoysala throne after the death of his elder brother Veera Ballala I in 1108 CE. He was originally a follower of Jainism and known as Bitti Deva. His daughter was suffering from an unknown illness. The best physicians from his kingdom could not able to cure her illness. During this time, he heard about the divine powers of Vaishnavite Acharya Ramanuja and went to Thondanur, where Ramanuja was staying.

Ramanuja instructed the King to take his daughter to a huge lake known as Pancha Apsara Thadaka. Further, he requested his daughter to take bath in the lake and worship Lord Vishnu of Thondanur sincerely. As instructed, she did and went to the temple for the prayers. The priest of the temple placed the Dhanda of Narasimha on King’s daughter and to the surprise of the king, her illness was cured immediately.

One can notice Yoga Narasimha holding this magical Dhanda in his right hand at the Thondanur Yoga Narasimha temple. After this incident, he came under the influence of the Hindu philosopher Ramanujacharya, converted to Hindu Vaishnavism and took the name Vishnuvardhana. Vishnuvardhana supported Ramanuja in building the Keerthi Narayana Temple in Talakadu. 

Indra got relief from Brahmmahathi Dosha here:

As per legend, Indra was afflicted with Brahmmahathi Dosha due to the war with Asuras. He performed penance on Lord Vishnu for relief from the dosha. Lord Vishnu directed him to install five Narayana idols in Talakadu area for relief. As instructed, Indra installed the idols and got relief from the dosha.

Pancha Narayana Kshetrams:

As per legend, Ramanujacharya moved to Karnataka to escape persecution from the Chola King. During his journey to Karnataka, he established five  Vishnu temples known as Pancha Narayana Kshetrams. Keerthi Narayana Temple of Talakadu is one among them.

Maraleshwara:

As per legend, it is believed that the Shiva Linga in Maraleshwara temple was installed and worshipped by Lord Brahma.

Vedanta Desikar visit to Keerthi Narayana Temple of Talakadu:

It is believed that Vedanta Desikar is said to have visited Keerthi Narayana Temple of Talakadu during his trip to Karnataka.

Lord Rama stay in Talakadu:

As per legend, Lord Rama stayed in Talakadu for a shorter period of time during his expedition to Srilanka.