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| THE NANDHI AND THE JATAYU- MYTHICAL BIRD,ON TOP OF A HILLOCK |
Credit due to Vijayanagara rulers in temple building is usually not given despite the fact almost all the important temples in South India have their marksmanship and signature to it.
In this shortish blog we will be travelling to Lepakshi,a monument which showcases the architectural work during Vijayangara rule.
THE CREATOR:
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| VIRUPANNA |
After reading and then visiting Lepakshi,the temple never left my eyes and heart because of the way it had been conceived and built by Virupanna and Viranna in 1530 AD.
Virupanna was a vassal of Acthuthayaraya,and he took 16 years to build this temple.He was born at Penukonda and he modelled himself as Veerabadra,the valiant warrior form of Lord Siva.
Lepakshi is present in Andhra,Karnataka border and can be accessed easily from Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka.It’s a two hour drive from Bangalore.
THE MYTH:
Le Pakshi means get up bird - "Jatayu" the mythical bird had died after losing a battle to the great Ravana.
Rama gave life again to Jatayu by asking him to rise.
NANDHI:
As we enter the town the huge monolithic Nandhi welcomes us.It’s 15 feet tall and 27 feet in breadth and this is apparently the largest monolithic Nandhi of India.
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| THE LARGEST MONOLITHIC, NANDHI |
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| THE BACK OF THE NANDHI |
The temple when it was built had seven enclosures with the Nandhi in the seventh enclosure.Now the temple has only three and the monolithic Nandhi is present around 500 meters away from the main temple.
THE MAIN TEMPLE:
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| ENTRY TO THE TEMPLE |
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| BALIPEEDAM&FLAG POST |
A small hillock greets us as we near the temple and the shrine has been built on this hillock which resembles a tortoise and its locally called "Kurumi hill".Its an, ASI protected monument and hence reasonably clean and well maintained.
The temple has three walkways and the first walk way brings us to the Balipeedam and the flag post.We then enter the Natyamandapam.The Natyamandapam takes us to the Arthamandapam and from here we can access the Garbhagraham which has three main dieties.
GARBAGRAHAM -THE MAIN SANCTUM:
The main Grabhagraha facing south is of Veerbhadra,the manly and fearsome form of Siva and on his right is the Linga form of Siva called as Papanasasami, apparently worshipped by Lord Rama.To the left there is a separate shrine for Lord Perumal.
The Veerabadra swami's inner walkway has beautiful mural paintings on the upper walls and on the left side there are small shrines for Hanumanthalinga and Kalabairava.
The Arthamandapam also has shrines for Durga and for Navagraha as we get outside on the left and right,respectively.
After getting the blessings of Veerabadra,Papanasami and Perumal we again enter the Natyamandapam.
NATYAMANDAPAM:
Natyamandapam is in the second walkway and it epitomises the rich artistic excellence of the Vijayanagara empire.
The Natya mandapam has 70 pillars out of which the one in the north eastern corner is the famous "Hanging pillar" - it does not rest on the floor.One can easily negotiate a kerchief or a sari underneath the hanging pillar.
Apparently the British tried to place the pillar on the ground and while doing it,the other pillars started shaking and hence they abandoned it.
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| THE HANGING PILLAR |
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| THE SECOND WALKWAY-ENTRY, TO NATYAMANDAPAM |
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| BIKSHATANAR,WITH FOUR HANDS, ACCOMPANIED BY A DEMON&A ANTELOPE |
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| BRAHMA PLAYING DRUMS |
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| A MUSICIAN |
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| BRINGI,WITH THREE LEGS |
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| LOTUS ENGRAVED ON THE TOP OF NATYAMANDAPAM |
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| HANUMAN -WATCHING THE DANCE |
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| RAMBHA'S DANCE |
On top of the Natyamandapam the lotus has been sculpted beautifully.The pillars have carvings of cute dancers and some playing drums.The stand out carvings are the Bikshatanar form of lord Siva and the other one of the Bringi priest.A fierce Saivite, Bringi never worshipped Parvati the consort of lord Siva.Infact when Siva converted himself to the Arthanareswarar(Siva and parvati half each- andrgynous form) form,Bringi was too clever that he converted himself to a bee so that he can pierce between Siva and Parvati and come out circumambulatimg lord Siva only.A furious,Parvati made him stand and fast.Bringi continued fasting, lost weight and when he was about to collapse lord Siva gave him a third leg so that he can continue his worship.
The Bikshatanar form of lord Siva is literally a talking sculpture,accompanied by a demon Kundodara with a begging bowl and a lady giving alms.Bikshatanar has four arms the lower two,one touching a deer and the other one holding the human skull.The upper arms holds a Drum and a Trident.With one knee bent Bikshatanar looks like he is taking a walk.
MURAL PAINTINGS:
The mural paintings adjacent to the hanging pillar adorning the upper wall are masterpieces.
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| GODDESS PARVATI WITH HER MAIDENS |
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| VIRUPANNA&VIRANNA |
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| VIRUPANNA PRAYING TO VEERABADRA |
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| LORD KRISHNA FLANKED-BY HIS DEVOTEES |
THE NAGALINGA:
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| THE NAGALINGA |
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| SAPTAKANNIS-SEVEN FORMS OF PARVATI |
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| ELEPHANT OFERING POOJA TO SIVA |
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| KANNAPA NAYANMAR PRAYING TO SIVA |
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| A ROCK CUT GANESH |
To the left of the Natyamandapam there is the kitchen and infront of it in the third walkway the one which catches your eye is the Naga linga resting under the 5 hooded snake.The base of the Naga linga,on the right side has carvings of Saptakannis-seven forms of Parvati and on the right side carvings of Kannapa,one of the 63 nayanmars and an elephant worshipping lord siva are engraved.Adjacent to it a huge carving of lord Ganesh can be seen engraved on the rock .Mesmerised by the huge Ganesh and the Naga lingam,we walk further across towards the Kalyana mandapam.
THE KALYANA MANDAPAM:
The Kalayana mandapam is an "Incomplete monument".Virupanna could not complete it because the king stopped funding.The king felt Virupanna had spent money without his knowledge and ordered to gouge,Virupanna’s eyes.Instead,Virupanna blinded himself and threw his eyes on the wall infront of the Kalyana mandapam.
Virupanna’s blood stain and the Kalyana mandapam in pictures.
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| VIRUPANNAS BLOODY EYE STAINS |
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| THE KALYANA MANDAPAM |
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| INCOMPLETE KALYANA MADAPAM, NO ROOF |
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| BEAUTIFUL SCULPTURE OF A WOMAN LOOKING AT THE MIRROR |
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| BIKSHATANAR |
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| LORD VARUNA |
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| LORD BAIRAVA AND BRAHMARISHI |
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| A THREE HEADED BULL,DOING THREE DIFFERENT WORKS SIMULTANEOUSLY |
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| BRAHMA RISHI |
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| LORD AGNI |
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| LORD BRAHMA |
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| LORD GANESHA |
Kalyana mandapam has 80 pillars and it has been built depicting the marraige of lord Siva and Parvati,in the earth and being witnessed by the gods and the great rishis.
As we walk down the Kalyana mandapam on the right side a four pillared sanctum with a Siva linga is present.Further down and out on the left side we can see Sita’s foot print which always has water probably from the water coming from the rock underneath.Adjacent to the foot print another four pillared Mandapam housing the statue of Hanuman can be seen.The Hanuma statue could be a later addition.
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| FOOT PRINT OF SITA |
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| UYALA MANDAPAM WITH HANUMAN |
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| NEXT TO KALYANA MANDAPAM, A LINGA IN A FOUR PILLARED,SHRINE |
The walls of the third walk way are pillared and probably functioned as resting place for the travellers and pilgrims who frequented the temple.
THE SUMMARY:
As we walk out of the temple the salient features of Lepakshi,can be summarised as,
1.The largest monolithic Nandhi.
2.Vijayanagara empire’s important monument.
3.The mural paintings.
4.Three main deities in Karpagraham.
5.The Natyamandapam and the incomplete Kalyana mandapam.
6.The hooded snake and the Linga-The Nagalinga
7.Lord Ganesh's engraving in the boulder on the side of the Nagalinga.
8.Sita’s foot print.
9.The hanging pillar of the Natyamandapam.
10.Blood stains of Virupanna’s eyes.
As I walked out of the temple,two things made an indelible mark in my heart,the deep devotion of Bringi and Virupanna to Lord Siva,one worshipping with a third leg gifted by lord siva and the other one, self gouging his own eyes.I flew to Bangalore and took a taxi to Lepakshi but if it had been Virupanna or Bringi they would have walked to see the Almighty.As the taxi went past the Nandhi the breadth and warmth of the Nandhi ,the perception of Siva&Parvati’s earthly marriage at the "Complete Kalyana mandapam" and Ramba’s dance at "Natyamandapam "came in my dreams when the Bangalore traffic woke me up.
ADDENDUM:
Nandhi -Means holly bull.
Kalyana mandapam - Marraige hall.
Natya mandapam - Dance hall.
Garbhagraham - Main sanctum.
Artha mandapam - walk way to the main sanctum and the hall in front of it.
Balipeedam- A place to wash the sins and then enter the temple.
Kurumi means tortoise.
ASI - Archealogical survey of India.
