TALAKAD, November 22, 2006: Millions of Hindus have descended on Talakad, a temple town situated on the banks of the river Cauvery, to pray to Lord Shiva on the millennium’s first Panchalinga Darshan. The 10-day festival, held once in every seven or 12 years in the five temples of Shiva at Talakad, 130 km from Bangalore, is considered auspicious during the current season (Krishnapaksha Amavasya) to help the devout attain moksha. Prayers, rituals and invocation of Shiva at the five temples – Vaidyanateshwara, Pathaleshwara, Maruleshwara, Arkeshwara and Mallikarjuna – began early Monday.
The riverbanks, dusty streets and bazaars in the pilgrim town are teeming with people. Makeshift shops and kiosks have risen to sell everything they can, ranging from clothes, utensils, footwear, provisions, toys, vegetables and food items. The first family of the state, led by former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and Deputy Chief Minister Y.S. Yediyurappa visited the 10th century Vaidyanateshwara temple before other people were let into the sanctum sanctorum. The pilgrimage site came into prominence during the early 17th century when the widow of a Talakad chieftain, Alamelamma, was believed to have ‘cursed’ the river and king Raja Wadiyar when claiming for herself the jewelry that adorned the Shiva idol in the main temple.