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.
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Nandi Statue
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Nandi Statue
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Nandi Statue
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Nandi Statue
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one for the memories
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Nandi Statue
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Nandi Statue
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the pond next to Nandi Statue
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notice the Jatayu bird statue
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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.
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Jatayu park in Lepakshi
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Jatayu park in Lepakshi
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Jatayu park in Lepakshi |
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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.
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view from the top at Jatayu Park
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huge boulders at the top at Jatayu Park |
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the small temple like structure at the top at Jatayu Park |
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view from the top at Jatayu Park |
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view from the top at Jatayu Park |
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one for the memories
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visitors at Jatayu Park
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a foot impression at the top in Jatayu Park
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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
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rock carvings |