Lepakshi-tempeldagtour vanuit Bangalore

Contrary to popular notion, Lepakshi is a very much day- to- day functioning temple. You can do archana and pooja for Sri Veerabhadreshwarar and Durga Maatha . The priests accept coconuts and flowers. Shiva in the form of Lingam is seated atop Lotus stand ( which is normally seen in Vishnu temples) and Vishnu in the form of Raghunandaswamy is seated atop a normal stand ( which is seen in Shiva temples). These two sannidhis are at straight opposite to each other. It is said that Sage Agastya wanted to emphasise that both Shiva and Vishnu are the same source and hence this arrangement here. Tax collector of Raja Krishna devaraya Virupanna and Veeranna brothers installed the Veerabhadreshwarar and Maa Durga sanctums here. Maa Durga is seen in Bengali style and it is said that she gave darshan to him and said that she will bless devotees in the same form. Another sanctum sanctorum of Bhadrakaali is here which is very beautiful as opposed to her ferocious form in many places. Anjaneyaswamy can be seen along with another small Shiva lingam said to be consecrated by Rama when he visited this place and met Jatayu before granting immortality to the bird.About half a km from this temple one can see a giant statue of Jatayu. The Shiva Vishnu was built very long ago during Sage Agastya' s times, later this place became derelict and forgotten. Centuries later one Chola king discovered a Shiva ling here and worshipped and built a mandapam. Hundred years later the place became derelict. One noon the tax collector Virupanna was taking rest here when he had a dream in which his Kuladevam Veerabhadra instructed him to install a temple here and asked him to search around and re furbish the old Shiva Vishnu sannidhis or Sanctum sanctorums. In the temple premises one can see the footprint of Maa Sita which rested here for a while when the mighty divine bird Jatayu fought Ravana when he was trying to rescue her from him. Ravana defeated the bird and Jatayu fell down pleading for water . Then a small brook started flowing from the very place where Maa Sita's footstep rested here. Even today we can see a slow gush of water in this place. No one knows from where it is coming. In the temple premises we can see beautiful sculpture depicting the wedding of Shiva and Parvati and all the guests who attended the wedding in Kailasha. On the other side in the temple premises is the hanging pillar which is an architectural Marvel. There is a mandapam which had sculptures of dance by celestial nymphs Ramba, Menaka, Oorvasi and their Guru who has three feet! If you look above you can see color paintings and it is a wonder how they stay like this till today after hundreds of years. So 1) it's a functioning ancient temple from morning 8 to evening 5.30 , without holidays , the priests follow a shift system. If one is lucky one can spot the official guide Virupanna here ( he says that he is the direct descendant of Veeranna and Virupanna brothers who built this temple) 2) it's an architectural wonder with so many works of art. There is a mandapam here with many pillars each having an intricate and unique design from which weavers get inspiration for saree designs....non - copyrighted ! 3) After this you can visit the Big Bull or Nandeeshwar just opposite houses in a park kind of place.No pooja is done for Nandeeshwar, one can just see him as he is. 4) After that one can walk few hundred metres and climb a very small hillock and look at the gigantic Jatayu 5) AP Haritha hotel offers reasonable veg lunch for Rs 100. Small cool drinks shops are nearby 6) No souvenir shops. Nothing worth buying. 7) From Bangalore Majestic bus depot ask for AP buses to Lepakshi. They will guide you . From there take AP bus to Hindupur almost 3 hrs journey we have frequent buses , they charge Rs120 ( June 2022) From Hindupur pay Rs.20 in share auto and ask to go to Lepakshi.After crossing the town you will come across fields and within an hour another small town arrives and that is Lepakshi. 8) From Majestic bus depot Bangalore you can also take private buses to Lepakshi.Id you r lucky you may find a direct bus to Lepakshi else take bus to Hindupur and from there share auto to Lepakshi . Start early atleast by 7.00 maximum from Bengaluru. If you start at 7am you reach Hindupur by10 am and if you get auto immediately can reach Lepakshi at 11am. Spend 2 hours in the temple later another hour at Bull temple park and Jatayu park. At 2 pm you can hv lunch and return back to Bengaluru by 6 pm. The routes are good , safe for solo woman travellers too. A very enriching part of our Indian heritage Lepakshi should not be missed. In the temple premises you can see a gigantic Shiva lingam and Nandeeshwar looking at him from a faraway place which we call in recent days as the Bull Temple the largest monolithic Nandishwara, meaning made of a single stone.Another artistic wonder.