Talakadu

In 1610 CE, the Mysore Rāja conquered Talakadu under the following circumstances. Tirumala-Rāja—sometimes called Srī Ranga Rāya—the representative of the Vijayanagar family at Srirangapatna, being afflicted with an incurable disease, came to Talkād for the purpose of offering sacrifices in the temple of Vaidyēsvara. His second wife Rāni Alamelamma was left in charge of the government of Srirangagapattanam, but she—hearing he was on the point of death—soon after left for Talkād with the object of seeing him before he died, handing over Srirangapattanam and its dependencies to Rāja Wodeyar of Mysore, whose dynasty ever since retained them. It appears that Rāja Wodeyar had been desirous of possessing the jewels which was the property of the Rāni, and being unable to obtain them and eager to seize at any pretext, he levied an army and proceeded against the Rani. Rāni Alamelamma went to the banks of the Cauvery, and throwing in the jewel, drowned herself opposite Mālangi, at the same time uttering a three-fold curse: "Let Talakād become sand; let Mālangi become a whirlpool; let the Mysore Rājas fail to beget heirs." The latter part continues to affect the royal family.

Talakadu is also tagged to the curse called "Curse of Talakadu" by Alamelamma on the Wodeyar dynasty (former Maharajas) of Mysore.[2]

The following is what is known as the curse of Talkād, in the original:

Talkādu Maralaāgi,
Mālingi maduvaāgi,
Mysuru dhorege makkalagade hōgali!
(ತಲಕಾಡು ಮರಳಾಗಿ; ಮಾಲಿಂಗಿ ಮಡುವಾಗಿ, ಮೈಸೂರು ದೊರೆಗೆ ಮಕ್ಕಳಾಗದೆ ಹೋಗಲಿ!)

The curse may be translated into English by:

May Talakadu become desert land,

Malangi become a whirlpool,

And Mysore Kings bear no heirs!

The old city Talkād is completely buried beneath the sand stretching for nearly a mile in length, only the tops of two gopuras being visible. The sand hills used to advance upon the town at the rate of 9 or 10 feet a year, principally during the south-west monsoon and as they pressed it close on three sides. The inhabitants of Talkād were constantly forced to abandon their houses and retreat further inland. The town, however, is increasing in population, owing to the rich wet cultivation in the neighbourhood, derived from the Mādhavamantri anicut and channel. More than thirty temples are beneath the sand, but the Kírti Nārāyana temple has been successfully excavated. The most imposing temple left uncovered by the sand is that of Vydyanatheshwara temple.

In the early nineteenth century, two temples—Ānandēsvara and Gaurisankara—were unearthed. Four fragmentary records were found on the outer walls of the Pātālēsvara temple. One of these is an old inscription in Kannada of the Ganga period, the others being in Tamil. The Ānandēsvara temple is said to have been built by one Chidānandasvāmi, a contemporary of Haidar. A story is related to that of the Svāmi that he once crossed the Cauvery in full flood seated on a plantain leaf and that Haidar who witnessed the miracle greatly honoured him and made a grant of land for the temple founded by him. A Kannada inscription at the Gaurisankara temple tells us that this temple was built during the reign of the Mysore king Chikka-Dēva-Rāja-Wodeyar (1672–1704).[1][3] The Hoysala ruler, Vishnuvardhana, conquered the Gangas and Talakadu. He built the impressive Vijayanarayana Chennakesava Temple at Belur.[4]