An exciting mystery that is Lepakshi

If you are someone who prefers to be away from the city for a while, but also wants to explore how the ancient cities used to be, you might find the ancient temples of medieval times interesting. Here is one such place where ancient architecture meets scientific mysteries. Lepakshi is a village in Andhra Pradesh, secluded from the hustle and bustle of the cities, but, well connected with them.

First things first.

What is Lepakshi: Legend has it that, this is the place where Jatayu fell after a failed mission to rescue Sita from Ravana’s clutches. Rama saw the mighty eagle lying on the ground miserably and said “Le Pakshi” which translates in English as “Rise, bird”.

The main attractions in Lepakshi are the Veerabadraswamy temple and the world’s biggest monolithic Nandi which were all built during Vijayanagara empire times between 13 & 15^th century A.D.

What to see in Lepakshi:

    1. Veerabadraswamy Temple.

     a. Kalyana Mandap

A massive unfinished Kalyana Mandap stands testament to the architectural magnificence of our erstwhile kings. There is a story around this that the Kalyana Mandap was built exploiting the government treasury and thus left unfinished, and the royal brothers who misappropriated the government exchequer were punished by plunging their eyeballs on the temple roof, which is still seen as red patches and which I am not able to locate.

    b. Giant footprints, believed to be of Sita’s

While roaming around the temple, be sure to catch the giant impressions on the rocky floors. After a few different patterns, finally comes the giant footprint which is believed to be of Sita’s. Another interesting thing about the footprint (and other impressions) is there is a constant secretion of water only on these particular locations of the otherwise solid rocks.

c. Mural paintings of Vijayanagara empire

The mural paintings are found in the ceilings of the chambers of the main deity and the peripheral corridors. The paintings inside are damaged to a great extent, but, the corridor ceiling is well maintained and brings into light the glorious days of their empire. Don’t miss to notice the beautiful lingam carved out elegantly in the ceiling as if it was on floor. Bet you would sprain your necks watching it!

d. Naga lingam, Vinayaka and adjoining scultptures

A giant Nagalinga is scultpted with a majestic cobra guarding the linga with all its might. It is sure to bring goose bumps to un-expecting ordinary eyes. To the side of this masterpiece are scenes carved in the rocks. One is of a prince performing pooja to two lingas and the other one is of an elephant worshiping the linga. Next to that is a monolithic Vinayakar carved out of the rocks. The detailing with a tiny mouse at his feet would put anyone to shame.

Source: insta/the travelling hippie

     e. Hanging pillars

This is believed to be another scientific mystery, where 70 pillars which look like any normal pillar at first glance is indeed a scientific marvel with their bases not at all touching the ground. There are proven cases of sending a cloth or paper through the base and retrieving it at the other end. But, my attempt was unsuccessful. I believe that to be because of the debris that settled underneath for a long period of time. Nevertheless, the sequence of intricately designed pillars all around the temple is a trademark Vijayanagara style and a sight to behold without doubt.

     2. Monolithic Nandi Statue

Less than half a km from the temple is the world’s biggest Nandi. The Nandi is not just massive but peculiar in a way, as ASI puts it, “This is different from the regular nandis for the fact that it holds its head at a higher angle towards the lingam in Veerabadraswamy temple, than the regular nandis that don a submissive posture.” The ornament detailing of the massive Nandi proves that the task of sculpting a giant piece out of a single rock is not at the expense of compromising nuances. The Nandi complex includes a park, mini-lake and a sit-through maintained by ASI without any entry fee.

 3. Jatayu Park

From the Nandi complex we could see a jatayu statue on top of a huge rock built in recent times to felicitate the history behind the village’s name. With an entry ticket of 10rs, one could either sit around facing the hill top Jatayu or even climb up the mini hill to take a close view of Jatayu and a bird’s eye view of the village we just explored.

How to get there: It is a 100 odd kms from Bangalore. If you have a private vehicle and the stamina to drive through, a road trip along the picturesque NH44 would be just fine. Otherwise there are a plenty of KSRTC, APSRTC and private buses that ply between Bangalore and Hindupura. And, from there just a 15kms in town bus to Lepakshi.

Happy backpacking!