Most of the travel plans happen when you are there, sitting in office & suddenly the life-getting-monotonous feel strikes a chord inside you. This time the search for weekend getaway ended up in 'Lepakshi'. Lepakshi is a small village located in Anantpur District, Andhra Pradesh. It is approximately 125 kms from Bangalore. Anything less than 250 kms in single day is a perfect choice for bike drive. So we set out for a Saturday ride on 4 bikes.
Someday before the trip happened, I stumbled upon this inspirational video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXkQT-w5Km0 by Dewitt Jones where he says while photographing a geographic location, he questions himself - "What am I falling in love with" ?. I decided to try that out & the results were pretty amazing. So instead of going on a spree clicking the photos of the temple, we tagged along with the guide listening to history behind the architecture. Few portions were unclear as the mode of communication was Telugu. But nevertheless after the tour, I had a fair idea of what should I photograph.
The history behind the name 'Lepakshi' is that, when Sita was abducted by Ravanan, the bird Jatayu tried to help her. It got injured during the fight & fell dying in this place, later found by Ram & Laxman. Hence the name Lepakshi which in Sanskrit is 'Rise o Bird'.
The Veerabhadra temple located in Lepakshi is built in Vijayanagar architectural style. Each sculpture carved has a piece of history associated with it, which sometimes is unbelievable yet interesting. We were amazed to see the modern design patterns that we use in our interior decorations carved in the pillars dating centuries back. On the road, there is a huge Nandi, carved entirely out of single monolithic stone.
The swing pavillion placed to the north of the temple. Four tall pillars support a square roof surmounted by a circular vimanam. A Hanuman slab is placed inside.
Carved out of a natural boulder to the west of the shrine, this seven-hooded Naga shelters a black-polished lingam cradled in its ribbed coils. A saptamatrika panel is placed below to the right.
The story of Unfinished Kalyana mantapa is very interesting. Virupanna, the king's treasurer had an idea of building a temple & laid out the execution plans while the king was away. As this place was nearing completion, the king returns just to see his treasury empty. He aborts the construction & orders the treasurer to be blinded. He being loyal, blinds himself & throws his eyes to the wall across. You can still see the stains of two eyes on those wall near the Kalyana mantapa, which are said to be the marks made by his eyes which he himself dashed against the wall.
One of the main attractions of Lepakshi is the hanging pillar. It is of great architectural importance that, one of the British rulers wanted it to fix it & a slight movement has caused damages & cracks in the adjacent pillars. We literally tested the hanging pillar by passing a towel cloth right through it. Marvelous indeed. You can find the image here.
The kalyanamantapa is the place where the wedding between Shiva & Parvathi is assumed to have happened. There are rich information carved in the sculptures depicting the presence of God's like Brahma, Devas & others present during the wedding.
The big granite Nandhi bull is on the main road, about 200 metres from the temple. It is carved out of single monolithic stone.
Route - Bangalore –> Yelahanka –> Devanahalli –> Chikaballapur –> Bagepalli –> Lepakshi
Distance - 125 Kms from Bangalore
Approx time - 2.30 hrs
Travel - Started from Bangalore @ 9 AM and reached Anantpur by 2 PM. ( Including multiple pit stops for coffee). Started back @ 6.30 PM and reached by 8 PM.
Road condition - Except for the last stretch of 2 Kms, its a complete NH drive.
Food - There are quiet a few Dhaba's on the highway close to Anantpur junction.
A must visit place if you are in & around Bangalore.
Cheers,
Prem.
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