Lepakshi is a small city in the border of the andhra pradesh and karnataka which is famous for the Lepakshi temple where a pillar of the temple is hanging from the roof . This temple has two encircling walls and inside the wall there are Mukha mandap , assembly hall and Natya mandap . Principal deity of this temple is God Veerbhadra which is the fierce form of God Shiva . Rather than this there are Ganesha , durga , sharpent hooded shiva linga , Laxmi , vishnu , Hanuman and Papaneshwara . There is another temple dedicated to the Navagraha . Lepakshi temple has been build by the two ministers of Vijayanagar Empire Virupanna and Viranna .
How the name Lepakshi come ?
This place has been inscribed in the Mythology of Ramayana . In Ramayana the big bird Jatayu was wounded and then fallen in the ground after fighting with Ravana . When Ram see the big bird fall in the ground , he said “Le pakshi” which means in telugu “Arise Bird ” . For that reason the place is named Lepakshi .
Another story tells that Virupanna build this temple without the permission of the King . When king knows that stories he tell to punish Virupanna . In the anger Virupanna blinded him by a knife and throw the eyeballs in the walls . Another meaning of the LePakshi is “Blinded Man “. For that reason this place is called Lepakshi .
How to reach Lepakshi temple ?
The biggest city near to the Lepakshi temple is Bangalore . It is just 120 km from the Bangalore city and there is direct Government buses from the bangalore city to this place but this buses are less frequent . But the buses toward Hindupur are more frequent and from there are buses toward Lepakshi temple .
Nearest rail station to the Lepakshi is Hindupur which is 14 km from the Temple .
Hanging Pillar
This temple has a Grabhagriha , Kalyanmandap , Antaralaya , assembly hall and natyamandap . The temple is made in the time of Vijayanagar Empire and the most astonishing fact of the temple is that a huge stone pillar is hanging from the celing of the Temple . Lots of people passes a thin paper or a cloth to test , is it really hanging or not . You can identify that pillar among the 70 even pillars of the temple by seeing the crowds around the pillar .
All the pillars are intricately curved and there are two beautiful horse curving in the gate of this temple . Specially the serpent curving in the pillars are unique in this temple . The big belly ganesha is another attraction in this temple .
Kalyanmandap which used to be build for the marriage ceremony is unfinished , is the most beautiful edifice in the whole temple complex . You can see beautiful carving in the pillars of this building .
The main deity of this temple is God Veerbhadra (which is fierce form of shiva ) . Rather than this there are idol of Vishnu , Papaneshwara , Laxmi , ganesha and Durga . There are beautiful paintings in the above celing . Some are related to the marriage ceremony of Shiva . The color consists of yellow , black , blue and green .
Jatayu Theme Park :
Near to this temple there is Jatayu theme park where you can see a big bird statue above the big rock . From this place you can have the panoramic view of the nearby areas .
Price for entry to this place is Rs 10 INR .
Big Nandi :
It is situated just 200 m from the Veerbhadra temple and the whole nandi is curved from a single rock . It is 6.1 meter in height and 9.1 meter in length .
The chains in the neck of the nandi is specially beautiful .
This is a free site and opened from the 6 am to 5 pm .
Summary :
Lepakshi temple which is situated in the Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka border is a temple in the time of the Vijayanagara Empire . It is one of the famous temple in the southern India and have main deity of Veerbhadra and other deity as Ganesha , Vishnu , Papaneshwara , Laxmi and Durga . In this temple there is a pillar which is hanging from the roof which is the most astonishing fact of this temple . This place is connected with Ramayana where the big bird Jatayu fell from the sky after Ravana killed him . After seeing Jatayu Rama said Lepakshi . There is a sculpture of Naga linga where a shiva linga is covered by the seven hooded serpant snake . This is another famous sculpture in this temple complex .
