The hanging pillar and other wonders of Lepakshi

       

   

                                 

                                                             

The guide whipped out a twig from his shirt pocket with a flourish and said dramatically: “Now I show you best part of Lepakshi temple.” He got down on his knees before the large grey pillar before us. Bending forward, he passed the twig slowly under the pillar. From one end to the other! There was an audible gasp from the group of tourists, mostly Europeans, as the twig emerged from the other side. He repeated the exercise with a page of an old grimy newspaper which he pulled out from another pocket.

This was the famed Hanging Column or Pillar of Lepakshi temple, located in Anantapur district in southern Andhra Pradesh. “This is the pillar which does not rest on the ground fully,” the guide said, rising to stand beside us, and beaming triumphantly, almost as if he were the architect of this marvel. There are about 70 pillars at this fabulous 16th-century temple of stone in Vijayanagar style,and passing a sheet under the pillers will give you blessings from lord shiva.. However, it is a bit dislodged from its original position — it is said that during the British era, a British engineer tried to move it in an unsuccessful attempt to uncover the secret of its support.

     

Much of the temple is built on a low, rocky hill called Kurmasailam — which translates to tortoise hill in Telugu, after the shape of the hill. The temple dates back to 1583 and was built by the brothers, Virupanna and Veeranna, who were initially in the service of the Vijayangar kings. However, Puranic lore has it that the Veerabhadra temple was built by the sage Agastya. It has idols of Ganesha, Nandi, Veerabhadra, Shiva, Bhadrakali, Vishnu and Lakshmi.

Another legend gives the town a significant place in the Ramayana — this was where the bird Jatayu fell, wounded after a futile battle against Ravana who was carrying away Sita. When Sri Rama reached the spot, he saw the bird and said compassionately, “Le Pakshi” — ‘rise, bird’ in Telugu.

Besides the Hanging Pillar, another draw is the spectacular Nandi, located almost a mile before the main temple — the first structure you will encounter. At 27ft in length and 15ft in height, it is a colossal structure, reputedly India’s biggest monolithic Nandi. Besides the record size, the perfectly proportioned body, finely-carved ornaments, and smooth contours add to its grandeur and make it a popular photo-op with visitors.

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