LEPAKSHI

 

Lepakshi Sri Veerabhadreswara Temple:

The Lepakshi Temple is located in Anantapur city of Andhra Pradesh, India. In this temple lord Shiva is worshiped as Sri Veerabhadreshwara swamy by people.

The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. This temple is also famous for its architecture. The temple is built in a very beautiful style. The temple is very large and The village of Lepakshi is credited for artistic finesse of Vijayanagar Empire. Veerabhadra Temple is renowned for sculptures of archaeological magnificence constructed by the artists of Vijayanagara empire.

People will be allowed into the temple in normal timings morning 7:00 am to evening 7:00 PM.

The temple was built in 1530 AD by virupanna nayaka and viranna,both brothers who were governor's under the vijayanagara Empire and the famous sculpture of the snake on the Nagalinga. Local legend claims that the 'naga' was carved from a single block of stone while the sculptors were waiting for their mother to cook lunch for them.This serpent naaga shading the lingam sculpture is built by the both brothers virupanna nayaka and viranna.

One of the most peculiar things about the temple is its hanging pillar. It is suspended in the main hall which is said to be the hall of reception for Shiva and Parvati's marriage. The miraculous thing about the pillar is that  Among the 70 pillars of the Lepakshi Temple, this pillar is a salute to the makers of the temple. A British Engineer to know about the secret of its hanging in the air had made an unsuccessful attempt to move it which is the reason behind it dislodgement. To prove its uniqueness people often pass clothes from under it. 

The Lepakshi Temple owes its fame to the remarkable tourist attractions it has. One among these is the Durga Padam or seeta devi padam which makes the place more famous. 

 It is famous for its architecture. In this temple, lots of paintings are drawn on the temple ceiling. These paintings represent the stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata. One of the big single stone nandi statues is located nearby the temple.Big nandi statue 20 feet in height and 30 feet in length,carved out of a single block stone,is located about 200 meters from the temple.

How to reach Lepakshi Temple?

You can reach lepakshi by train and bus.the nearest railway station is hindupur at a distance of 15 KM. from that number of buses are available. If you are travelling by vehicle it is a distance of 15 km from kodikonda check post which is located in NH44 Hyderabad to Bangalore highway.

The nearest airport is bangalore international airport at a distance of 100KM from lepakshi.