Lepakshi Temple

Lepakshi temple

The structure of Lepakshi temple is designed to bring Human beings and Gods together. The Ideas and beliefs of Hinduism is symbolised in the beautiful architecture of the Lepakshi Temple. This is located in Andhra Pradesh state Anantapur district. This temple has many stone carvings and paintings. Nandi (bull) is one of the most attractive statue which is about about 200 metres (660 ft) away from the temple which is carved from a single block of stone, which is said to be one of the largest of its type in the globe. This Nandi looks like as if it is ready to stand up and run. The beautiful paintings and the carvings in this temple is very closely related to the epic stories Ramayana and Mahabharata.

History of Lepakshi temple

According to the ancient History the Shivalinga in the Lepakshi Temple is installed by Agastya Maharshi one of the great Vedic sage of Hinduism of Indian traditions. This temple is closely related to Ramayana, it is said that when Ravana had kidnapped Sita Devi, Jatayu fought with Ravana to save Sita but he couldn’t and fell down in this place and told about this incident to Lord Rama in this place. Jatayu was a bird means “Pakshi” in Telugu. It seems that Lord Rama said Jatayu “Le pakshi” which means “bird get up” hence this place got this name as Lepakshi. The temple was built in 1530 by both brothers Virupanna Nayaka and Viranna who were the Governor of Vijayanagar Emperor King Achutaraya’s. The cost of building the lepakshi temple was defrayed by the government. According to Skanda Purana, the temple is one of the famous Divyakshetras, an important holy place of Lord Shiva.

Construction of lepakshi temple

Lepakshi temple is built in 16th century. The architecture of this temple is mostly in the style of Vijaynagara. The temple has been structured on the southern side of Lepakshi town, on a low altitude hillock of a large exposure of granite rock, which is in the shape of a tortoise, and hence known as Kurma Saila, This Lepakshi temple is given more importance Nationwide and have been kept under protected monument. The paintings and the carvings in this temple is very closely related to the epic stories Ramayana and Mahabharata. One of the most amazing things is that there are hanging pillars inside the temple which do not touch the ground. These hanging pillars are called as “Akasa Stambham”. The architecture and the pictures in this temple show the today’s modern life which is very interesting to see. The trend of the modern lifestyle like clothing hairstyle, ornaments, habitation ect were already shown in the Lepakshi temple’s architecture. There are many other pictures stoned out like Lord Shiva asking Bhiksa, Ramba dancing, many gods and Goddesses etc. There is a huge statue of Shiva Linga covered with a seven headed snake this looks Marvolous.

How to reach Lepakshi Temple

Lepakshi Temple is about 140 kilometres away from Bangalore. From the highway NH7 to Hyderabad there is a branch road at the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border leading to Lepakshi, 12 Kilometres). There is no railway station or airport. However, it is well-linked with various major cities through roadways. International Airport Bangalore is the nearest airport to Lepakshi. Many state buses are locally available to take you from different parts of Andhra Pradesh.