Lepakshi Temple

The Lepakshi temple, located in the tiny hamlet of Anantapur District of Andhra Pradesh is also known as Veerbhandra Temple. Once the essence of the Vijayanagara Empire, Lepakshi is culturally and archaeologically significant as it acts as the prime location of the shrine dedicated to Veerabhadra. The Lepakshi Temple is an Exhibition of timeless art, with famous frescoes and murals.

It is a paragon of excellent architecture and art famous for its architecture characterized by hanging pillars and cave chambers that can astonish you, There is another thing that makes this temple unique and a place to must-visit is the footprint that is believed to be of Maa Sita. As soon as you step inside the temple, you get glimpses of the history of the Vijayanagara kingdom by way of pictorial representations.

The Lepakshi Temple has everything which makes it an attraction of archaeological and artistic splendor even though it has figures of musicians and saints to that of Parvati and Lord Shiva. According to Skanda Purana, the temple is a divyakshetra, in other words, an important pilgrimage destination of Lord Shiva.

History of Lepakshi Temple

The origination of the name Lepakshi has two myths associated with it. According to the first legend, Lepakshi found its roots in the legendary Ramayana when Ravana kidnapped Sita. As he was taking her away, the bird Jataya tried saving her from his hand. Defeated by Ravana, he fell to the floor.

As he was counting his last breath Lord Rama helped him attain Moksha by saying 'Le Pakshi' which in Telugu means 'Rise Bird.' Hence the name Lepakshi originated. According to another legend, there were two brothers in the Vijayanagar Kingdom - Virupanna and Veerupanna. Virupanna's son was blind, and it is said that he gained sightedness while he was playing around the Shivalinga in the temple.

Veerupanna was one of the financiers of Vijayanagar. Blamed by others for using the royal treasury; some say for the completion of the temple while some say for curing his son, the king gave orders for taking off his eyes. Disturbed by the false accusation, he forestalled the punishment and threw his eyes onto the walls of the temple. Hence, the place got its name Lape-Akshi meaning the village of the blinded. Now the eerie part is that the temple wall still has blood marks on the eyes.

Architecture of Lepakshi Temple

The temple is an outcome of the Vijayanagara Architectural Style. It is divided into three parts, namely, Mukha Mandapa or the assembly hall, Arda Mandapa or the Ante-Chamber, and lastly, Garbhagriha or the Sanctum Sanctorum. The pillars and walls have the images of divine beings, musicians, dancers, saints, guardians, and 14 avatars of Shiva.

The fresco painting technique is used with bright colors to make the scenes of Rama and Krishna from famous epics: Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the Puranas. The fresco on the ceiling of Ante-Chamber is Asia's largest fresco painting. It measures 23 by 13 feet. This is a representation of the 14 avatars of Lord Shiva.

These paintings showcase the beauty of Vijayanagara's pictorial art. The colors are subtly personifying the grandeur of its history. A blend of mineral and vegetable colors makes the walls of the Lepakshi temple awe-inspiring. The entrance to the sanctum has the figurines of goddesses Yamuna and Ganga. The Hall's exterior columns are full of decorations in the form of carvings of soldiers and horses. The northeastern part of the room has images of Nataraja and Brahama along with that of a drummer. One can also see the carvings of dancing nymphs around it. The southwest hall has the image of Parvati flanked by the female attendants.

The deity Veerbhadra is deified in the sanctum sanctorum. A life-size image of his having been decorated with skulls could be seen. It is believed that Sage Agasthya has installed the image of Linga here. The ceiling above the deity has the painting of its builder brothers, Virupanna and Viranna.
Within the temple, on its eastern wings is the chamber of Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati. The other chamber has the image of Lord Vishnu.