Lepakshi (లే పక్షి)’ village and the Jatayu Sculpture In Andhra Pradesh

 

 The village-sign ‘Lepakshi’ attracted my attention on way to Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh. We visited the village on our way back. The village boasts of Jatayu sculpture atop a hillock as you approach the village. In spite of this very unusual piece of art people usually head straight past this to the temple complex without paying much attention to the bird. We too did the same.

Jatayu sculpture atop the hillock

The Virabhadra temple in ‘Lepakshi’, erected during the 16^th century by the Nayaka brothers, the governors under the Vijaynagar Empire, has Virabhadra- the rudra (fierce form Shiva) as its presiding deity; it also houses images of Durga, Parvati, and Ganesh. But the hanging pillar in temple ante-chamber is the main tourist attraction. The base of this hanging pillar rises about an inch above the ground in a way that a sheet of paper can be pushed underneath with ease. This gravity-defying pillar is hugely popular. 

Entrance to Virabhadra temple, Lepakshi

The temple showcases other numerous sculptures- of   Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Parvati, as also the musicians- in stone relief on its pillars. But the beautiful colorful murals on the ceiling depicting stories from Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Sanskrit classics like Kiritarjuniya of Kalidasa takes the cake for their exquisite beauty. Alas! the painting are fading due to ageing and exposure to the elements. A huge granite Shivalingam protected by the many-hooded serpent in the temple complex straight in the line of the sight of Jatayu sculpture is another attraction of this temple complex.

Shivalingam protected by many-hooded serpent

Being not on popular tourist map this temple complex isn’t usually crowded; we were done with it in less than an hour. But it was only when we proceeded homeward to Bangalore, we realized having missed another famous attraction here- the huge Nandi bull, possibly the largest in size in the South.  

Later, the quaint name- Lepakshi- got me thinking. It took me a little while to search. The very helpful Internet proved a boon again with a few searches here and there.

The word ‘Lepakshi’ is associated with a lore from Ramayana age, which tells about Jatayu who fought Ravana, the demon king as he flew to Lanka with Sita. The ageing vulture- Jatayu- lost one of his wings in the process and fell to the ground. Later, when Rama miraculously appeared on the scene, he pepped up the ageing bird-warrior with a call, ‘le, pakshi (లే పక్షి)’- get up, bird!’ And the village since then is known as Lepakshi. The name finds immediate connection with the land and the people for the Rama’s words sounds accurate in Telugu language!