Every now and then, I have what I call ‘travel cravings.’ Sometimes I crave the seas; sometimes, the mountains; and sometimes, forests. I recently had this strong desire to see some art-on-stone (that’s not something that happens very often). And I couldn’t ignore it. Hubby was game for it so we buckled up the little ones in the back seat and drove to what might be a destination getting popular by the day — Lepakshi.
Lepakshi is a small town in AP’s Ananthapura District. For some time now it has been attracting people from India’s Silicon Valley and other parts. The attractions here are a few temples and whole lot of admirable sculpture in granite.
What left me tipsy at the end of the day were the ornate pillars of the Veerabhadra Temple in Lepakshi. Built in the Vijaynagar style of architecture, this temple is quite a display of pillars, sculpture and paintings of another era.
The entrance into the second enclosure of the temple. And the pillared Hall
Talking of pillars, there’s one that must get a special mention. This is the famous Hanging Pillar of Lepakshi. Now if you haven’t read about it or don’t have somebody showing it to you, you would probably pass it off as just another of those sculptured pillars of the Veerabhadra temple.
After walking around the temple and taking in all its sights-of-stone, it stuck me that I had missed the pillar. And I couldn’t leave without seeing the celebrated column. Spotting a lady who seemed to know her way around the temple, I thought she was the one to approach. She was a local and seemed to know only Telugu. However, she gathered what I was trying to tell her in Kannada, and through gestures and in the language she knew, she directed me to it.
As I was taking a good look at it, she came by, spread a towel on the floor and moved it toward the foot of the pillar. It easily slid through and went through a good part of what was supposed to the be bottom of the pillar. That was testimony to the fact that the pillar wasn’t for the most part attached to the floor of the pillared hall in which it stands.
Other attractions at the Veerabhadra Temple, Lepakshi
Lepakshi has a connection with the great Indian epic Ramayana, and even owes its name to it. It is believed that after abducting Sita from the forest, Ravana and Sita came this way, on the way to Lanka.
Later Lord Rama, while looking for his wife, is said to have came this way too. They say it was here on these rocks that the exiled king encountered a wounded and dying Jatayu. Rama supposedly uttered the words ‘Le pakshi,’ (meaning ‘get up, bird’) to the badly injured vulture who tried to fight Ravana. And that is how ‘Lepakshi’ got its name.
Sita is said to have set foot here on the way to Lanka. And this is the mark of that.
They say that the naga (the snake) was carved while the sculptors waited for their mother to make lunch.
The story: The builder Virupanna and the ruler are said to have had a misunderstanding on the temple funds or something like that, on which the King ordered his eyes to be removed. Virupanna on hearing this decided to do the job himself. He is believed to have pulled out his eyes and thrown it against a temple wall. These two marks on the wall are said to be a mark of the blood from his eyes.
The Monolithic Nandi at Lepakshi
This Nandi is like the Welcome-to-Lepakshi sign. It’s the first thing you see when you enter this small town. With a height of 4.5 meters and a length of 8.23 metres, it is believed to be the biggest monolithic Nandi.
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A beautiful post which leaves one awestruck:)
Thank you, Mr Bhatia for you kind words.
I was awestruck by those pillars and the sculpture on them. 🙂
Fascinating and gorgeous!
Thank you for visiting, Lady Fi.
Great photos!
Thank you, Lotus Leaf.
Welcome here. 🙂
Very interesting photos !
Thank you, Gattina. The sculptures were awesome and that, I guess was what made the pictures interesting.
My God Dee.. its full of so much history !!
Now I can easily work as a guide to my husband and watch his astonished face ..specially when I'll tell him about the hanging pillar, the monolithic Nandi, sign of eyes (!! ) and the footprint of Sita… wonderful post dear.
One of my friends told me about their visit to Lepakshi but what I gathered from them made me dilly-dally this trip there with kids .. but if its via Nandi hills may be we can plan…
Nice post with great pics.. the ceiling of the dancing hall is awesome along with the ornate pillars
It's such an easy drive from Bangalore, Kokila. And the road's great for the most part because you take the highway to H'bad.
That'll be fun. Go surprise the patidev.;)
And on your way back, you could go catch the sunset at Nandi Hills. It'll be a perfect day! 🙂
Maybe you should wait for the temperatures to go down a bit. We went last month it was pretty hot already. I'm sure it's worse now.
Thank you so much, Kokila. 🙂
Really gorgeous statues and art work! Something to be preserved for generations to come!
Those pillars, Anu — awesome! 🙂
I hope this place has a long, long life. Only the murals are at stake, I guess; most of it is peeling off. I don't know if touching it up will work.
I hope you guys are doing good. Happy travels.:)
Nice pics. Interesting pillar. My trip pics: http://aruntravelpics.blogspot.in/2013/02/lepakshi.html
Thank you, Arun.
I'll come by. Thank you for the link. 🙂
One of those places I planned to visit many times but could never go… Goo to read this post and I had no idea about the hanging pillars…really amazing…
The next time you come down to Bangalore maybe 😉 It's such an easy drive from here.
You will love the place, DesiTraveler.
beautiful pictures Dee. I've seen that Naga Linga picture so many times – its so powerful, but I didn't know which temple it was… now I do, and will make it a point to visit it with my husband… we are Shaiviks… and this is going to be a beautiful experience…. thank you so much for sharing.. 🙂
If you have Bangalore plans, you could club the two.
I'm glad it was of use to you. You read the little story behind the making of the naga, right? 🙂 Interesting, huh?
You're welcome and thank YOU, Archana.
Fascinating post!! Beautiful captures and the narration is riveting!
🙂
Oh wow! Thank you for that comment, Magic Eye. You are kind. 🙂
Beautiful place. Must visit if one visits Andhra.
Or Bangalore. 😉
This looks so beautiful. It is a pity I have seen so little of South India!
Maybe it's time to head south. If you are coming this side in the next few months, we should meet. 🙂
Oh, I remember having read about the Hanging Pillar long back, but Lepakshi didn't ring a bell in my head when I started reading your post. What magnificent artwork, especially the monolithic Nandi and the Naga Linga! And the Hanging Pillar – how in the world did our ancestors manage that?! Thanks for this post. 🙂 I'd love to visit this place if I happen to be in Bangalore or thereabouts for some time.
The Nandi is beautiful with those ornaments around it's neck and all. Ah! I couldn't stop taking pictures of that sculpture. I'd have pictures of it for a whole new post. 🙂
They say that pillar has been dislodged a bit after a British engineer tried to figure out how it was done. Thankfully it's still in one piece. 🙂
You're welcome Ami. And thank YOU. 🙂
Lemme know if you are coming this side in the next few months, ok.
Have a fab weekend. <3
Lepakshi no doubt is ethereal, Have you been to Hampi, its full city extension of Lepakshi, A must visit..
Nice to see you here, Roohi.
Not yet, Roohi. I'm sure.
Hampi is on the wishlist. But it is for later — when it's not so hot. 🙂
Isn't our city quite uncomfortable now?
Nice Photos…….
Thank you.
And welcome here. 🙂
Wonderful post, Nambiare! Had been here a few years back. As mentioned, I happily missed the hanging pillar. Got to go again to see that architectural brilliance. 🙂
Thank you, Nomad. Brilliant this place IS.
Let me know before you go. I'll tell you where exactly that mysterious and fascinating pillar is. 😉 Gosh, I almost missed it.
Beautifully penned. A must visit place.Especially the nandi ornaments makes you wonderstuck.
You can also visit our blog on Lepakshi and leave your valuable comments.
http://www.srikri.com/2014/11/lepakshi-lovable-architecture-and-mural.html
Thank you Sriram. 🙂
The Nandi was chiselled to perfection. I will have to put up a photo post on just that. I couldn't stop taking pictures of it. 🙂
Love the pictures in your post!! 🙂
I always marvel at the things that were built with limited equipment and tools. This is an excellent example, thank for sharing.