A Trip to Historical place "Lepakshi"

After tiring and prolonged work schedule for many weeks, we decided to head towards a place where we could score a completely new experience and which could revive our energy to carry out the everlasting demand of  IT Job, till we get chance for next enthralling journey. We were looking for a place which is comparatively less explored and where we could get a historical essence with divine feelings.

After giving it some thought, we reached to a conclusion that this would be a short one day trip somewhere near to Bangalore. After further exploration we settled down for a place named "Lepakshi" which could have been easily covered in one day trip and also it had all that we were carving for. 

Lepakshi is a small village located in the Anantapur District, in Andhra Pradesh, India

The famous Veerabhadra temple dates back to 1583, dedicated to Veerabhadra, is located here. Built by the brothers Viranna and Virupanna, the temple is a notable example of the Vijayanagar architectural style. It is famous for its sculptures, which were created by the artisans of Vijayanagara empire. It has idols of Ganesha, Nandi, Veerabhadra, Shiva, Bhadrakali, Vishnu and Lakshmi. A huge Nandi bull made out of a single granite stone is one of the major attractions in Lepakshi. The place is renowned for being one of the best repository of mural paintings of the Vijayanagar Kings. Many old Kannada inscriptions dating back centuries can be seen on its walls. Legend has it that the Naga of the Nagalinga was carved out of a single stone by sculptors while they waited for their mother to prepare lunch.

Another legend gives the town a significant place in the Ramayana — this was where the bird Jatayu fell, wounded after a futile battle against Ravana who was carrying away Sita. When Sri Rama reached the spot, he saw the bird and said compassionately, “Le Pakshi” — ‘rise, bird’ in Telugu.

NH7

This place is around 135 KM from Bangalore and very near to Karnataka and Andhra boarder. The most preferred and also the best route to take is NH7, Bangalore-Hyderabad highway. This is the same road which connects the Bangalore International Airport to Hebbal Flyover. It was fun to drive on NH7, although it was tough driving till International Airport due to ongoing construction and heavy traffic flow towards the Airport.
But once we crossed the BIA, there was very less traffic and 4 lanes road with divider. Thereafter it was fun to drive.Road leading to Lepakshi village is also in good condition. It is a narrow road but compensated by very less amount of traffic.

NH7 on a foggy morning

After crossing the Karnataka-Andhra boarder keep looking for APTDC restaurant and sign board directing towards Lepakshi. You can find these around at a distance of 3-4 Km from the boarder point. At this point you will need to take a left turn on a road which goes to Lepakshi. From this point temple will be of around 18 KM. In the way you will see two big statues of stork (one kind of bird). Keep going straight. 1 KM before the main temple there is big Nandi statue, another major attraction of Lepakshi. As said, it is the biggest Nandi statue in India. A very nice park is built up around this statue and is very well maintained. You can spend sometime here and can take some good snaps.

We had started at 6:45 AM from our house in our own car and reached at Lepaskhi around 9:30 AM with one break in between for fuel filling and breakfast. It was really fun to drive on NH7. We spent around 15-20 mins near Nandi statue and around 2 hours in exploring Main temple. Around 12 PM we started from Lepakshi and by 2:30 reached back to Bangalore.

As soon as you step into the temple premise, it will start tracing an impact of its enriched cultural and ancient engineering marvel. It is a true splendid creation which compelled me to think about the master skill posed by the engineers, architects and whoever else were involved in creating this masterpiece.The whole temple is made of stones depicting our never vanishing traditional and cultural integrity. Various deity of God and Goddess have been carved out on the walls and pillars of the temple. You can see various sculptures all around in the temple, all made of stone and some are crafted on walls and pillars. Another attraction is roof painting speared all over on the roof of temple depicting glorious ancient Indian culture and traditions. 

                                                    Kamat restaurant on NH7

                                             View of Bangalore-Hyderabad NH7

Nandi- At 27ft in length and 15ft in height, it is a colossal structure, reputedly India’s biggest monolithic Nandi. Its grand size and the perfectly proportioned body make it a popular photo-op with visitors.

                                                     A small Pond in Nadi Park

View in Nandi Park

Some Pics of Lepakshi Main Temple

Hanging pillar - This is the pillar which does not rest on the ground fully.There are about 70 pillars at this fabulous 16th-century temple of stone in Vijayanagar style, but this one is the best known and a tribute to the engineering genius of ancient and medieval India’s temple builders. However, it is a bit dislodged from its original position — it is said that during the British era, a British engineer tried to move it in an unsuccessful attempt to uncover the secret of its support.

Roof paintings

Shiv-ling under the shadow of 7 headed snake

Uncompleted Kalyan Mantapa. It is said the if this Kalyan mantapa had been completed, Lord Shiva and Ma Parvati's marriage would have happened here.

                                                      Lord Ganesha's sculpture 

                                                          Temple premise 

This is believed to be Goddess Sita's foot print

Food outlets on the way: Kamat (after crossing Chikballapur town), APTDC (Near Andhra-Karnataka boarder, where you will take left turn for Lepakshi)

Travel Options: Best is by your own vehicle. You can take cab from tour operator. Other option is to take Buses plying from Bangalore to Hyderabad. You will need to get down near boarder check-post. From there you can take auto/tempo running towards Lepakshi.


***************************Wish you a nice and memorable trip*****************************