Lo & behold Lepakshi!

With its medieval architecture and vibrant culture, Lepakshi leaves Suryakumari Dennison wonderstruck

Lepakshi, in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, is 15 km east of Hindupur and about 130 km north of Bengaluru. My husband and I went there just before the lockdown. We travelled by car in the afternoon, keeping our sightseeing for the relative cool of the evening. Assailed by heat, even at 5 pm, we took refuge in the dark interior of the Veerabhadra Swamy temple. After visiting the shrines dedicated to Lord Veerabhadra, Shiva, Vishnu, and other deities, we admired the stately edifice. Murals cover the walls and carvings adorn the pillars.

The temple was built around 1530, during the reign of Achyuta Deva Raya (of the Vijayanagara Empire), by Viranna and Virupanna, while the cost was borne by the government. Not surprisingly, the architectural marvels of the Veerabhadra Swamy Temple resemble those of the Virupaksha Temple complex at Hampi.
The statues outside the Lepakshi Temple include impressive ones of Ganesha and Hanuman. Most remarkable, however, is the multi-hooded Nagalinga. Apparently, it was sculpted in an hour from a single boulder. Praising her son’s achievement, the mother of the artisan involuntarily invoked the ‘evil eye’, and the sculpture developed a crack. Facing the Nagalinga, not far from the temple precincts, is another monolithic masterpiece. An imposing granite Nandi poses patiently for pictures with selfie seekers!

Lepakshi is famed as the place where Jatayu fell from the skies in a bid to save Sita from Ravana. Encountering the dying hero, Lord Rama said, ‘Le pakshi’ (Rise bird): the adjuration that gives the temple town its name. But naturally, atop a hillock, at the nearby Jatayu Park, is an image of the valiant vulture.

Nagalinga