Talakad town is famous for Panchalinga Darshan (Darshan of five Shiv Lingas). The main temple is Vaidyanatheswara temple. This article talks about the temple of Lord Shiva named Pataleswar. This temple is completely buried under sand dunes. The temple comes to life when it is excavated for the Panchalinga Darshan festival held once in every twelve years. From the famous Vaidyanatheswar temple, if you walk on sand for about 3 kms, you will reach the temple of Pataleswar. As the temple is located underground from the path, as it is completely buried under the sand, the lord got the name “Pataleswar”. The word “Patal” means “under-ground”.

The Pataleswar temple is very small. It has just one idol of Lord Shiv linga. The highlight of the temple is that it is believed that the idols keeps changing the color naturally. It seems the color of Shiv linga is different during sunrise, afternoon, and during sunset.

Happy travelling.