Lepakshi Temple.

Lepaskhi  is situated about 135 Kms North of Bangalore, in the District of Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh. It is an ideal one-day outing for those interested in history, heritage and archaeology in addition to the spiritually inclined.

The small town is famous for the Veerabhadra swamy temple and the monolithic Nandi.

The earliest inscription about the temple dates to 1533 C.E. Folklore takes it to the Treta Yuga when Lord Rama visited this site. It is here that Jatayu attained moksha . The name Lepakshi is said to be derived from ‘Laya Pakshi’ (unconscious bird). Another version attributes the etymology to ‘Le Pakshi’, meaning ‘Arise, Bird’ uttered by Rama.  There are also a Ramalingam and a Hanuman Lingam installed by Rama and Anjaneya respectively.

The entire temple complex is built on a monolithic convex rock shaped like a tortoise.- Kurma Saila. The original temple had seven enclosures, but only two survive now. The rest are encroached by residents and part of the town. The Nandi was originally in the sixth praakaram.

Some of the attractions here are the Nandi, The balancing pillar, the murals on the ceiling, kalyana mandapam, Ganesha, Sri Kalahasti, Sita’s paadam, Naga Lingam, Bhikshatanar, Mohini, etc. I shall try to showcase some of these in these blogs, in installments.