Lepakshi Temple (Andhra Pradesh)

image credit : Nand Kishore Kartha

The Lepakshi temple situated in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, is also known as Veerabhadra temple. The architecture of the temple reflects the Vijayanagar style and located 480 km from Hyderabad. The architectural beauty of the temple is unparalleled with fine carvings arts. A 10 day long festival is celebrated in the month of February. On this occasion a car festival is conducted, which is attended by huge number of people.

image credit : Sridhar Vedantham

A monolithic “Nandi” (the bull) sculpture of 6 ft. height and 8 mt. Length is placed in the Lepakshi temple. It is considered to be the biggest monolithic Nandi in India. The majestic artistry of Nandi sculpture is mesmerising fo the tourists. This popular pilgrimage center of Southern India is located centrally between Hindupur and Kodikonda check post. The Lepakshi temple can be divided into three sections – the ‘Mukha Mandapa’, (or the ‘Nitya Mandapa’ or ‘Ranga Mandapa’), the ‘Artha Mandapa’ and ‘Garbha Griha’, and the ‘Kalyana Mandapa’.

image creit : Sridhar Vedantham

The sculptures and the mural paintings seen in the Natya and Kalyana Mandapams are exceptional for their artistic beauty and skill. Most of these sculptures portray the mythological puranic episodes like ‘Ananthasayana’, ‘Dattatreya’, ‘Chaturmukha Bramha’, ‘Tumburu’, ‘Narada’ and ‘Rambha’. The Lepakshi temple has been built in honor of Lord Veerabhadra. According to the legend the Kalyana Mandapa of the temple had witnessed the marriage Lord Shiva and Parvati. The ‘Natya’ (Dancing) and ‘Ardha’ (worship) Mandapas are the best parts of the temp-le in terms of architecture. The ‘Natya’ Mandapa has been adorned with sculptured pillars depicting life-size musicians and dancers.

image creit : Sridhar Vedantham