India has many hidden places to explore and so we explored Lepakshi. It is a small village in Andhra Pradesh but has mythological, cultural and architectural value. Our desire for the hanging pillar and many speculation and stories led us to plan a half-day tour from Bangalore to Lepakshi.
LOCATION AND CONNECTIVITY
Lepakshi is a small village in Anantpur district of Andhra Pradesh. It’s located on the Bangalore Hyderabad highway NH 44.
It is
- 120Kms from Bangalore
- 12 Kms from Hindupur
- 120Kms from Anantpur
Lepakshi is well connected by regular bus services from Bangalore, Anantpur, and Hindupur, which are further connected to all parts of India by rail and air network.
Mythological Importance:
It is believed that Lord Rama said “Le pakshi” to Jatayu which means “bird get up” in Telegu after his wings were chopped by Ravana while kidnapping Sita and Jatayu fell in this village. A huge Jatayu sculpture is built on the hill right next to Nandi.
Places of Interest in Lepakshi Complex
Veerabhadra Temple:
This temple was built in the 16th century during the Vijaynagara King’s regime. The main temple is still functional where daily rituals and pujas take place. Inside the temple, we have shrines of Veerabhadra Swamy, Vishnu, Shiva, and other Hindu Gods. There are many stories regarding this temple. One of which says that the work of in and around the temple was left incomplete because of the internal fights in the kingdom.
Nandi the bull:
Just 500 mtrs from The Veerabhadra Temple complex a monolithic Nandi welcomes you. The monolith Nandi sculpture is made out of single granite and is around 20 ft in height. It has a small garden and a water body as well as where you spend your time.
Jatayu Sculpture
Built on a hill almost 200 mts from the Nandi sculpture is the Jatayu Sculpture. We could see the Jatayu sculpture from a distance. It has an entrance fee of Rs 10/- per person with which you can go inside the garden complex and have a closer look at the Jatayu sculpture. Even after taking the entrance fee they lack basic clean public conveniences.
Sita’s feet:
Inside the Veerabhadra temple complex and near the Kalyan Mandap we can find a foot impression. It is said that it is of Sita. But then why only 1-foot impression? A mystery that definitely will have few stories behind.
Hanging pillar
The very renowned reason why people come across is to witness the engineering marvel of the hanging pillar. The pillar lies just inside the temple on the left-hand side. It is said that the base of the pillar barely touches the ground and thinnest of thin cloth or piece of paper can pass below it. We also tried in fact.
Kalyana Mandap
Inside the complex, we also find an unfinished Kalyana mandap. It was supposed to be the wedding venue of Shiva and Parvati. This mandap has carved pillars but no roof. It is also said to be incomplete but what actually happened is still unknown
HOW WE TRAVELLED
Lepakshi is ideal for a half-day outing from Bangalore. It was a Sunday in August 2019 when we suddenly planed for Lepakshi as it was already on our list. We started at 9 AM in the morning. It is precisely 2 hrs from our home and 120 Kms. Being monsoons it was fun driving. Being on Bangalore Hyderabad highway drive was smooth and the highway is very nice. After the Karnataka- Andhra Pradesh border we have to take a left cut from Chilamathur. It’s almost 15 Km inside from the main highway.
We reached around 11 AM and right away went to the Nandi complex first and enjoyed the lemonade and coconut water from the vendors there.
After that, we went to the Veerabhadra Temple. Its architecture is really amazing. We went inside the temple and then spend our time outside admiring the complex. Being Sunday it was filled with tourists. Then after asking many people about the “hanging pillar” we finally reached there and tried getting our “dupatta” below the pillar. In actual the whole dupatta passes except at one point, something sticks and it does not pass fully.
A LIVE WONDER
You can see the hanging marvel in the link below:
Then we went to the Jatayu sculpture. Being on the small hill you can have a look of the area around. While coming down we met an artist who was making sketches. Many people were giving their pics from their phone and he was instantly sketching. He is a genius artist I must say who do not get recognition.
Being the lunchtime we decided to have lunch in Haritha Hotel which is of AP Tourism. It provided a very basic buffet lunch at a reasonable price. No ala carte options were available there. They also had accommodation facilities as well. Apart from Haritha Hotel, we could not find many good places to eat.
It was at 2.30 PM that we started back for Bangalore and reached home at 4.30 PM. We can spend approximately 3 to 5 hrs seeing all the places together.
Let’s Sum Up
- Lepakshi is a must-visit place for culture as well as architecture lovers.
- Being close to Bangalore, its ideal to visit throughout the year.
- Not many food joints and public conveniences en route so you are advised to carry some.
- Only 2 or 3 hotels are available to have food around the Lepakshi complex.
