What is the mystery behind the hanging pillar of Lepakshi temple?
Lepakshi is a culturally, historically and archaeologically significant village in Andhra Pradesh. The village in the Anantapur District is the location of various shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva, Vishnu, and Veerabhadra which were built during the king Vijayanagara’s period (1336–1646). Lepakshi is one the best places to visit from Bangalore city. It is located approximately 120 km north of Bangalore. Let’s know what is the mystery behind the hanging pillars of Lepakshi temple?
The village is also regarded as the place where Jatayu fell down after being injured by Ravana. Jatayu is a mythical bird in Indian epic Ramayana who tried to rescue Sita when Ravana was abducting her. Despite being very old Jatayu fought very bravely with Ravana but could not stop him and fell on the earth while fighting. Lord Rama and Lakshmana found injured and dying Jatayu in their search for Sita, Jatayu informs them of the fight between him and Ravana and tells them that Ravana had gone towards South. Lord Rama then performed the last rites of jatayu with full honor. Ramarkal Mettu is the place where the last rites were performed.
Lord Rama is said to have commanded the bird to rise Le Pakshi (‘rise, bird’), hence the name for that village.
The Veerabhadra temple of Lepakshi was built by the Viranna and Virupanna brothers. It is an excellent example of the Vijayanagara architectural style. The temple is very popular and has been dedicated to Veerabhadra. There are various points of interest in the temple which include Durga Paadam, a rock chain, Vastu Purusha, the eyes of Viroopaakshanna, the Padmini race lady, the hanging pillar, and Lepakshi saree designs. The hanging pillar is the most famous of these attractions
A huge granite Nandi (bull) is located about 200 meters from the temple which is 20 feet in height and 30 feet in length. The statue of Nandi is decorated with garlands and bells carved out of a single block stone. The statue faces another popular statue of the serpent.
There is the huge rock of granite rock which has the carving of coiled multi-hooded snake making an umbrella cover over a ShivaLinga, on the eastern side of the temple’s site.
By Narasimha Prakash — Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21162895
The Miraculous Hanging Pillar of Lepakshi temple
The outer portion of the temple has a massive Dance Hall with 70 stone pillars supporting the roof. One corner pillar is the famous ‘hanging pillar’ that does not touch the temple floor at all and there is a small gap between the temple floor and base of the pillar which gives the impression of the hanging pillar. The base of the pillar barely touches the ground and it is possible to pass thin objects such as a sheet of paper or a piece of cloth from one side to the other.
There is a story about it. during pre-independence era, a British engineer who wanted to know how the temple was supported by the pillars, tried to move one of the pillars and it caused the movement of as many as 10 pillars around to maintain the balance. The temple, as well as the pillars in the temple, was designed to resist earthquakes.
In another story, British Government decided to do some repairs and attempted to remove the pillar. But they couldn’t because it was fixed so perfectly, they could only remove it. They realized that removing this pillar is impossible, so they left it in this weird position.
There are a stream and a big stone with giant footprints on it, just beside the temple.
So, guys pack your bags and get ready for this amazing one-day trip from Bangalore. Did you like the story, please share with your friends.
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Originally published at trendpickle.com on April 26, 2018.