Talakad
is situated on the banks of the river Cauvery, near Mysore and is known
for its sand dunes. There are a number of temples on the banks of the
Cauvery in Talakad that are buried under the sand dunes and are
excavated once in 12 years for special worship. Talakad was the capital
of the Gangas when they ruled over Karnataka. Then it was ruled by the
Cholas of Tamil Nadu from the 11th to the 12th century. Then Talakad
came under the Hoysalas in the 12th century after this the Vijayanagar
Kings and the Maharajas of Mysore patronized this place. Talakad town has the magnificent temple of Shiva known as Vaidyeshwara. The temple is built of granite in the Dravidian style. It is claimed that most the temple structure was built under the Vijayanagar Kings. Though the Hoysalas added several features to it. The eastern door of the Navaranga is intricately carved and enormous dwarapalakas decorate the entrance. Panchalinga darshana is a rare pilgrimage that is celebrated every few years. The Vaidyeshwara temple, Arkeshwara temple, Vasukishwara or Pataleshwara temple Saikateshwara or Maraleshwara temple and Mallikarjuna temple constitute the Panchalingam. The Pataleshwara Shivalinga is said to change colors according to the time of the day-red in the morning, black in afternoon and white in the evening.