My Travel Pursuits: A Day Trip to Lepakshi from Bangalore

Geet gaya pattharon ne (the rocks sang a melody)…that’s the impression Lepakshi gave to the curious visitors. It is a mini Hampi.

I was in Bangalore for a couple of days in the last week of January this year. This presented me with the perfect reason to go and explore Lepakshi. Though Lepakshi is in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, it is easily accessible from Bangalore and can be explored within a day. It is about 130 km north of Bangalore.

I arrived at Majestic bus station (Bangalore) early morning. The bus station is massive in size; and much to my utter dismay I ended up at the wrong section. A friendly and helpful employee at a nearby ticket counter guided me to the right place to board the bus for Lepakshi. It was like going from the domestic terminal to the international terminal in an airport. Damn!!! Thankfully found the bus. I had a few minutes before having a quick breakfast at a hotel. Now, the bus doesn’t directly go to Lepakshi. I have to get down at Hindupur town, and from Hindupur town I have to take another bus to go to Lepakshi village. It took 3 hours to reach Hindupur town from Bangalore. Hindupur to Lepakshi village is at a distance of 15 kms. There are regular buses from Hindupur to Lepakshi.

It was 12:00 p.m. when I finally arrived at the quaint village of Lepakshi. It was the last day of January, but the sun was scorching hot.

My first stop was at Nandi Statue. A small gate led to the gigantic monolithic idol of Nandi Bull (the mount of Lord Shiva). The statue is crafted out of a single granite stone. It measures 10 metre in length and 6 metre in height. It is arguably regarded as the biggest Nandi statue in India. I felt tiny standing in front of this gigantic statue. LOL!!! A nice garden with a small pond is built around this statue.

Nandi Statue

one for the memories

Nandi Statue

the pond next to Nandi Statue

notice the Jatayu bird statue

I next proceeded to Jatayu Theme Park. Jatayu is a large vulture mentioned in the Hindu epic Ramayana. As per the epic, Jatayu fell down from the skies in this very village after getting injured by Ravana. It is near the location of Nandi Statue. I crossed the main road and after a short walk found myself at the entrance of the park. There is an entrance fee. There is a well-maintained manicured garden with some benches at the base. The park has a small hill of rocks/boulders. A series of stone steps led to the base of the rock/boulder; and the last few metres to the top is climbed by a metallic stairs. There are two sections at the top, the view point with a small temple like structure, and, the highest point where the actual statue of Jatayu is installed. Unfortunately the metallic stairs leading to Jatayu's location is restricted and locked.

Jatayu park in Lepakshi

The view from the top is breathtakingly beautiful offering a bird’s eye view of the place. One can see most of the houses of the village, fields, hills including Nandi statue and Veerabhadra Temple. There are safety railing all around at the top. Looking at the Jatayu bird statue will give you the impression that it is ready to fly away at any moment. The sun was extremely hot and I decided to take refuge in the small temple like structure.

Oh yes, there is a foor impression at the top. I am not sure whether it is man made recently or was done ages ago.

view from the top at Jatayu Park

huge boulders at the top at Jatayu Park

the small temple like structure at the top at Jatayu Park

view from the top at Jatayu Park

one for the memories

visitors at Jatayu Park

a foot impression at the top in Jatayu Park

It was 1:30 p.m. I was hungry. The unbearable heat wasn’t helping either. I saw Andhra Pradesh Tourism hotel near Nandi Statue. I had a delicious veg lunch here. Highly recommended!

veg lunch at Haritha hotel in Lepakshi

Haritha hotel of APTDC in Lepakshi

Veerabhadra Temple was my last stop of the day. The Veerabhadra temple complex is an architectural wonder from the Vijayanagara era. Before entering the temple premises, one has to remove one’s footwear. A flight of steps led to the temple premises. It is dedicated to Veerabhadra, another form of Shiva. Natya Mandapa (dance pavilion), Ardha Mandapa (foyer) and the sanctum, and Kalyana Mandapa (wedding hall) are the three sections of the temple.

info board at Veerabhadra Temple

a flight of steps leads to Veerabhadra Temple

Veerabhadra Temple

Do keep an eye out for the remarkable rock carvings of various deities, musicians, and saints skilfully carved out on the walls and pillars of the temple complex. I looked up at the ceilings of Natya Mandapa and Ardha Mandapa and was in awe of the very well-preserved ceiling paintings. The ceiling paintings/murals depicted scenes from the Hindu epics.

rock carvings

rock rock carvings

rock carvings

well-preserved ceiling paintings

There are 70 pillars, supporting the roof, in the massive Natya Mandapa, but it is the Hanging Pillar which draws the most crowds. It is tilted on one side and does not actually touch the temple floor. There is actually a small gap between the temple floor and base of the pillar which gives the impression that the pillar is hanging. I noticed some curious visitors trying to pass a piece of cloth through the gap under the hanging pillar. The piece of cloth easily passed under the pillar and came out from all sides except at one corner.

hanging pillar in Veerabhadra Temple


*hanging pillar in Veerabhadra Temple*

Just behind the back of the main temple, there is a multi-hooded Nagalinga in the courtyard. The linga is crowned with a seven-headed snake. It is said the snake sculpture was carved out of a single stone.

nagalinga in Veerabhadra Temple

Next to it is the incomplete Kalyana Mandapa (wedding hall). It is devoid of roof, but the pillars are intricately carved with beautiful figures.

kalyana mandapa

I noticed a large footprint on the ground after crossing the incomplete Kalyana Mandapa in the temple complex. The large footprint is believed to be of Goddess Sita.

footprint of Goddess Sita

Mentioned must also be made of the inscriptions on the walls/floors of Veerabhadra Temple complex. The inscriptions are in Kannada language. I have absolutely no clue what the inscriptions mean due to the absence of any info board.

inscriptions

Let me remind you again. You have to explore the huge temple complex barefoot; and so it can be a bit difficult walking on the burning bare surface exposed to the heat. Especially during noon, the surface becomes too hot and you will keep running to escape the hot surface.