Taxakeshwar
Encyclopedia
Mandsaur
Mandsaur or Mandsour is a city in the Malwa region and district of Madhya Pradesh state of central India. It is the administrative headquarters of Mandsaur District.-Origin of name:...
district in Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
. It is situated at a distance of 22 km from Bhanpura
Bhanpura
Bhanpura is a town and a nagar panchayat in Mandsaur district in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India.Bhanpura is 127 km from Mandsaur in north-east direction. The Bhanpura town is south of other historically important places Hinglajgarh and Navali in Mandsaur district. It has a museum...
town on Hinglajgarh
Hinglajgarh
Hinglajgarh or Hinglaj Fort is an ancient fort situated near village Navali in Bhanpura tehsil of Mandsaur district in Madhya Pradesh. Its coordinates are Latitude 25°30' N and Longitude 65°31' E. It is situated at a distance of 165 km from Mandsaur town and 26 km from Bhanpura town in...
road. This is the site of serpent king taxak , where he is worshiped as Taxakeshawar but the local people call him Takhaji. Curiously enough he shares the worship of the country folk with Dhanvantri, the Indian Aesculapius. The shrine in question stands on a most romantic spot from village Navali
Navali Mandsaur
Navali is a village in Bhanpura tahsil in Mandsaur district, Madhya Pradesh. Navali derives name from Latin word Navalis meaning "pertaining to ship".-History :...
situated on the table land at the foot of which Bhanpura lies.
This place is very important from natural and scenic beauty. James Tod
James Tod
Lieutenant-Colonel James Tod was an English officer of the British East India Company and an Oriental scholar.Tod was born in London and educated in Scotland, later joining the East India Company as a military officer. He travelled to India in 1799 as a cadet in the Bengal Army where he rose...
had visited this place in 1821 and was amazed to see its scenic beauty. There is a grand natural water pool full of many varieties of fish. The source of water in it is a hot water spring which falls from a height of about 200 feet. The river Takhali at a distance of about 10 km from Chambal River that flows to Jhalawar
Jhalawar
Jhalawar is a city in southeastern Rajasthan. It was the capital of the former princely state of Jhalawar, and is the administrative headquarters of Jhalawar District. Jhalawar was once known as Brijnagar .-Jhalawar town:...
in Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
falls into this water pool and forms the water fall.
This place is probably the only site having a temple and a statue of nagaraja Taxak. Statue of Taxaka is shown with seven serpent hoods protecting from above. In one hand of Taxaka is shown a human head. On one side is shown his wife and his son on other side. The period of installing this statue is estimated to be 12th century.
A fair is organized on every purnima of baisakh month of Hindu Calendar.
In front of the statue of Taxaka is installed the statue of Dhanvantari
Dhanvantari
Dhanvantari is an Avatar of Vishnu from the Hindu tradition. He appears in the Vedas and Puranas as the physician of the gods , and the god of Ayurvedic medicine...
. The main temple has also the statue of Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
, considered as swami of Taxaka.
Mythological legend
There is puranic mythological legend heard about nagaraja Taxaka and Dhanavantari in this part of Malwa region in Madhya PradeshMadhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
. Emperor Janamejaya
Janamejaya
Janamejaya was a Kuru king. He was the son of Parikshit and Madravati. He was the grandson of Abhimanyu and the great-grandson of Arjuna, the valiant warrior hero of the Mahābhārata. He was ascended to the Kuru throne following the death of his father. His significance comes as the listener of the...
ascended to the throne of Hastinapura upon the death of his father Parikshit. According to legend, Parikshit, the lone descendant of the House of Pandu, had died of snakebite. He had been cursed by a sage to die so, the curse having been consummated by the serpent-chieftain Takshak
Takshak
Thakshak or Taxak, classically called the Taxilleans , is a gotra or clan of Jats and Rajputs found in India, Pakistan. This clan has descended from Nagavansh king named Takshaka.- The Shavi dynasty :...
. Janamejaya bore a deep grudge against the serpents for this act, and thus decided to wipe them out altogether. He attempted this by performing a great Sarpa satra - a sacrifice at Nagda
Nagda
JANMAI JAI NAGARI i.e.Nagda is a city in Ujjain district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is an industrial town in the Malwa region of western Madhya Pradesh and is situated on the bank of Chambal River....
that would destroy all living serpents. All the nagas had been destroyed in this nagayagya except Taxaka, who is believed to have obtained boon from Lord Vishnu. Local tradition goes that Taxaka resides here in this place.
On the other hand Dhanavantari along with his followers and medicines was going to save Parikshit. The Taxaka naga with the help of illusive powers took the form of wood-stick of chandan tree. When Dhanavantari took this wood-stick on his shoulder, the Taxaka bite him on back and Dhanvantari died. The local people believe that Dhanvantari stays here since that time as god of herbs and medicines. The local vaidyas first worship Dhanavantari here and then collect medicinal herbs for treatment.