Hanging Pillar of Lepakshi, a miracle or a mystery?

India is a land of rich legacy and cultural and religious heritage. It is full of many architectural treasures that prove the ancient glory of the land. One such miraculous structure is Hanging Pillar of Lepakshi.

It is an epitome of the mastery the sculptors and architects had over the technique. The hanging pillar attracts large number of tourists from world over. People are left wondering at its engineering excellence.

Where is the Lepakshi Temple?

Lepakshi Temple or Veerabhadra Temple is a beautifully crafted 16^th century temple. It is in the village of Lepakshi in the Anantpur District, Andhra Pradesh.

Lepakshi Temple

It was built by two brothers Viranna and Virupanna, the Governors of the Vijayanagar empire. The temple is built on a tortoise shaped hill called Kumasailam which in Telugu means Tortoise Hill. Hanging pillar is one of its major attractions.

Beautifully embellished temple

This majestic temple of Vijayanagara architecture is decorated with graceful sculptures of gods, goddesses, dancers, musicians and paintings based on the themes of Mahabharata, Ramayana and Puranas.

Nandi carved from a single stone

The temple has a large fresco of Veerabhadra on the ceiling and a huge Nandi carved from a single stone.

Mythology behind the Lepakshi Temple

This temple with the hanging pillar has an interesting link with Ramayana. The story goes that Lord Rama while searching for Sita, met the dying bird Jatayu at this spot.

Jatayu had fought Ravana here and had had fallen wounded after trying to save Sita. Rama awakened him and helped him attain Moksha by saying ‘Le Pakshi’ which means ‘Rise Bird.’ Thus the village got its name as Lepakshi.

The Lepakshi Hanging Pillar

The Lepakshi Temple is world famous for one exclusive engineering marvel- the Lepakshi Hanging Pillar. The temple has total 70 beautifully carved stone pillars.

Hanging Pillar

One of them is hanging and it does not touch the ground.  There is some space between the base of the pillar and the ground. A piece of cloth or paper can be passed from below this pillar. The pillar is said to be in the hall where the reception ceremony of Shiva and Parvati’s marriage took place.

Engineering brilliance of the hanging pillar

The Archaeological Survey of India has done research on the Lepakshi Hanging Pillar and has proved that the construction of the pillar was not a mistake and imperfection.

On the other hand, it was the reflection of the engineering excellence and architectural brilliance of the designers, builders and sculptors of the ancient era.

Other attractions at the Lepakshi Temple

• Magnificent India’s biggest monolithic Nandi 15 ft. tall and 27 ft. long
• Huge Ganesha in stone
• Grand Naga with 3 coils an d7 hoods forming a canopy over a black granaite Shivlingam
• Various forms of Shiva
• A footprint that is belived to be that of Sita
• Bhadrakali goddess statue
• Mural paintings of the Vijayanagar empire
• 24 by 14 ft. fresco of Veerabhadra on the ceiling before the main sanctum sanctorum- the largest in India of any single figure
• Natya Mandapam with sculpted pillars

How to go to the Lepakshi Temple?

Lepakshi Temple is about 480 km from Hyderabad and about 130 km from Bangalore.

The climate is hot for most of the year and best time of the day is morning. Fresh and pleasant you feel very refreshed and pure in this temple in the morning.

• By Air: Hyderabad Begumpet Airport, Tirupati Airport.
• By Road: On the way to Hyderabad from Bangalore, you must take a route of about 16 kms on the left to reach Lepakshi.

Best Time to Visit Lepakshi Temple

Since the Summers are hot and humid, the best season to visit Lepakshi is between the months of November and March.

So, while planning your vacation do visit the Hanging Pillar of the Lepakshi Temple and get a unique experience.