Talakadu Vaidynatheswara Temple
The Vaidyeswara or Vaidyanatheswara
temple is located in Talakad, an ancient town with an interesting history. It
is located In the Chamarajanagar district. It is one of the Panchalinga Sthalas, the other four
being in Talakadu too. It is believed that one who obtains a darshana of the
five Lingas will be absolved of all sins. Pilgrims from all over South India
gather here to worship Lord Shiva.
Mythology
An ascetic named Somadatta was on
his way to this temple with his disciples when they were killed by a herd of
elephants. They were in turn reborn as elephants and continued to worship Lord
Shiva in the form of a tree. Once two hunters, Tala and Kadu tried to cut down
this tree and blood rushed out from it. They heard a divine voice declaring
that the tree was a form of the Lord and asked them to stop trying to cut it
down.
They stopped and covered the wound
with leaves and fruits. The wound was healed. From then on, the place was known
as Talakad. As Shiva, in the form of a tree, healed himself – he was known as
Vaidyanatha or Vaideeshwara – as Vaidya in Sanskrit means Doctor.
Architecture
The Vaidyanatha temple was constructed by the Chola kings who ruled this part of Karnataka in the 14th century. This temple was built in the Dravidian style. There is a beautiful figure of Ganesha riding on his vehicle, the mouse. There is also a statue of Nandi installed at the entrance. The walls are covered by depictions of various forms of Shiva and Vishnu.