Taleshwar Temple

Taleshwar Temple

Taleshwar Devbhoomi temples of Almora contain the secrets of history, not only are the centers of deep faith of the people, but this temple also contains within itself the history of many centuries. Many temples of the state are unique examples of excellent architectural craft and fine craftsmanship.

The temples of Devbhoomi are not only the centers of deep faith of the people, but these temples also contain within themselves the history of many centuries. Many temples of the state are also known as unique examples of excellent architectural craft and fine craftsmanship. One of these temples is the Taleshwar Shiva temple located near Deghat in Sylde tehsil. Which contains in itself all the mysteries of history. Taleshwar village is situated on the border of Kumaon and Garhwal in the district.

In the year 1915, some people of the village found two copper plates during excavation, which the villagers kept in the temple built in the village. In the year 1963, a villager of the same village, understanding the importance of these copper plates, got them kept in the museum located in Lucknow. When these copper plates were studied, it was found that these copper plates were made in the fifth century. One of these copper plates was made by King Dhrutivarman of Brahmapur state and the other copper plate was made by King Vishnuvarman. The script written on these copper plates was similar to the script of the inscriptions found in Orissa. Along with these copper plates, the people here also found idols and temples of Khudai Bhairav, Nandadevi and Vamanaswami. These also include the idol of Ganesha made in the fourth century. When famous historian Dr. Shivprasad visited this village in the year 1992, he found the idol of Vahanaswami mentioned in the copper plate. In the year 2008, a Z-shaped wall made of red bricks was again excavated here. After study, the bricks in this wall were also found to be about 1800 years old from the Kushan period. With time, the villagers of this village kept finding many historical things during excavations. Local people told that after the mythological secrets were revealed during the excavation, many times the Archeology Department was demanded to save the mythological heritage, but the Archeology Department never took care of this village. Due to this, the villagers have remained disappointed till date.

Pandavas established Shiva temple in Almora. Taleshwar village adjacent to Deghat in the district is hiding many mythological secrets in itself. The Shiva temple established in this village is the center of deep faith of the devotees. Taleshwar resident Dharmanand Sharma said that it is believed that the Pandavas stayed here for a long time at the time of ascension to heaven and at the behest of elder brother Yudhishthir, his brothers built many temples here. Sharma said that it is believed that the temples and statues emerging from the womb of the earth must have been made from the same period. Even today people consider the Shiva temple situated in Taleshwar as the last symbol of the Pandavas and come here to worship Lord Shiva.

Many sculptures have been found in Taleshwar village from time to time, which have been inspected, but due to construction work in this village, the fundamental appearance of these sites has changed. Therefore there is a need for in-depth study of this village. Efforts for this are ongoing. Chandra Singh Chauhan, Incharge Archeology Department, Almora