Veerabhadra Temple
Lepkashi is a small village in Anantapur district, in Andhra Pradesh. It lies near the Andhra-Karnataka border. Built on a low, rocky hill called “Kurma sailam” (meaning tortoise hill in telugu), Lepakshi is of historical and archaeological significance, dating around 1540 CE and was built by the brothers, Virupanna and Veeranna, who were the governors of Penukonda in the service of Vijayangara king Achyutadevaraya.
The temple complex seems to be almost completely built on a single rock on the hill.
Inspite of the beautiful architecture, something might seem amiss in Lepakshi. This is because the work there never got completed. It has a gory history which goes like this. Virupanna, the royal treasurer, who planned and executed the construction, was accused of drawing funds without the king’s permission from the state treasury to build the shrines.
When the king came to know of this, he ordered that Virupanna must be blinded for his felony. On knowing this, Virupanna inflicted the punishment upon himself by removing his own eyes. The two reddish spots on the western wall of the inner enclosure are told to be the blood stains from his bleeding eyes when he threw them against the wall after plucking them.
The work at the temple came to a standstill after this. The unfinished “Kalyana Mandapa”, or marriage hall behind the main temple in the complex, and other unfinished structures here and there stand still even today, reminding us of that fateful day.
Virupanna did not survive for long, and the village is called "Lepa-akshi" or, "Lepakshi", i.e., a village of the blinded eye. But that’s not all. As the another legend goes, the temple at Lepaksi was built on the spot where Jatayu fell after being injured by Ravana during the kidnapping of Sita. According to that legend, Lord Rama exclaimed, "Le, Pakshi", meaning, "Rise, Bird", in Telugu, seeing the fallen Jatayu, and hence leading to the name of the place.
Lepakshi Temple Rd, Lepakshi, Andhra Pradesh 515331
Anantapur
094480 51023
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