Thousands visit Talakkad town

Mysore: A sea of humanity descended on the historic town of Talakkad on the eve of Panchalinga Darshan, which is scheduled to be held between 9.30 am and 12 midnight on Monday.

The rituals commenced on November 28 and will continue till December 7. Lakhs of devotees queue up to get a glimpse of the five shivalingas, namely Vaidyanatheshwara, Maruleshwara, Pathaleshwara, Arakeshwara and Mal­likarjuneshwara, during a specific alignment of the stars according to the Hindu almanac, that occurs once in a few years. This is called ‘Panchalinga Darshan’, the devotees have to visit the five major Shiva temples on a single day, which according to Hindu mythology, will provide moksha.

For this reason, thousands of devotees are already pouring into Talakkad and nearby places. The last Panchalinga Darshana was held in 2009. Pilgrims after visiting each temple return to Vaidynatheshwara Temple and take a dip in the Gokarna Pond before going to the next temple, as per tradition.

While, three temples Vaidyanatheswara, Pathaleshwara and Maruleshwara, are in Talakkad, the other two Arakeshwara and ‘Mallikarjuneshwara’ are a few kilometres away from the town. Known for its sand dunes, Talakkad is located about 45 km from Mysore and has several temples some of which have ceased to exist with the passage of time.

This time, a temporary bridge has been built across the Cauvery connecting Malangi and Talakkad by soldiers of Madras Engineering Group (MEG) for the benefit of pilgrims.