A Day on Hyderabad Highway- Lepakshi and Bhoga Nandeeshwara

This trip was taken on Feb 2020 before my birthday. Me and One of my friend was ready to embark this place. The roads from Bangalore to Lepakshi is pretty straight forward. We took a route via Hebbal to Hyderabad road. There is one turn on your left which will take you straight to the small town called Lepakshi. Please be careful of google navigation as we were given instructions to turn at places where there were no turns.

Lepakshi is a village in the Anantapur District of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located 15 km (9.3 mi) east of Hindupur and approximately 120 km (75 mi) north of Bangalore." 'Le pakshi' said Lord Rama to Jatayu, the bird, asking it to get up," says the guide a bit dramatically narrating the episode from Ramayana."Ravana had chopped off its wings and Lord Rama found the bird had fallen right here in this village.

Trip Brief -

15^th Feb 2020 -

Places visited are mentioned in detailed towards end in the article.

We started in the morning around 8 AM from my house which is near Hebbal (Bangalore) and headed towards the Hyderabad highway. The roads have tolls and please make sure that you have Fastag otherwise you will be required to pay the double toll. This unfortunately happened to us.

This highway has a lot of restaurant options. You can choose as to when and where to eat. They are also very reasonably priced as long as no fancy dishes are ordered. Majority of them have ample

place to park. We had breakfast at one of the veg restaurant at a very decent price.

Entry on the left side from Bangalore

We reached the town around 11 AM. As soon as you enter the town from Bangalore you will see “Jayatu Theme park” on your left and on your right you will see the Nandi temple.

Little ahead on the same road, towards your left side you will find the entrance to the Veerabhadra temple. The parking is at minimum cost of 20 Rupees. The temple can be reached from Jayatu Theme park as well. The places would be opposite if you are coming from the other side of the town.

You can find a lot of restaurants serving South Indian foods. However, there are no non-veg food options available in this town.

Entrance to the Veerbhardra temple

After entering the temple

We took a little detour while returning and explored another architecture and that is Bhoga Nandeeshwara at the base of Nandi Hills (or Nandidurga) in the Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka state, India. It is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.

We returned to our place via the same route around 5 PM.

Jatyatu Theme Park

Jatayu is a large vulture/Gidd mentioned in the Hindu Epic Ramayana. Jatayu fell from the sky when Ravana had cut his wings.

The park has a small hill of rocks with a statue of the Bird on the highest point.
The area is well maintained with benches and trees planted on the sides of the road.
There are few shops where you can buy snacks.
The entry is with a nominal fee of 10 Rupees.
There is a metal staircase which is in good shape to climb to the top.
You can also visit Veerabadra temple from the back of this park.
Parking is on the main street.
Public toilets are available.

Nandi

Opposite to the Jatayu Theme park and 500 meters away from Veerabadra Temple
This monolithic sculpture of Nandi crafted out of single granite stone measures 6.1 m in height and 9.1 m in length. Believed to be the largest statue in India.
No entry fees.
No public restrooms.
It is built in a park which has a lake behind with few lotuses in it.
The park has quite a lot of trees and a few benches which can help if you would like to just sit and relax.

Lake with lotuses in the Nandi Park

Veerabhadra Temple

The temple was built in 1530 (1540 is also mentioned by Virupanna Nayaka and Viranna, both brothers who were Governors under the Vijayanagar Empire during the reign of King Achutaraya, at Penukonda.
The temple is of the Vijayanagara architectural style. The main temple is laid out in three parts, -The assembly hall known as the Mukha mantapa or Natya mantapa or Ranga mantapa; arda mantapa or antarala (ante chamber); and the garbhagriha or the sanctum sanctorum.
It has idols of Ganesha, Nandi, Veerabhadra, Shiva, Bhadrakali, Vishnu and Lakshmi.

The Lepakshi temple also has the finest specimens of mural paintings of the Vijayanagar kings
It is said that there is 24 by 14 ft fresco of Veerabhadra on the ceiling before the main sanctum sanctorum is the largest in India of any single figure.

Hanging Pillar - It is at the left side of Natya Mantapa.

● There are about 70 pillars at this fabulous 16th-century temple of stone in Vijayanagar style.

● You can see many people doing the same thing: Put a piece of cloth underneath and slide it around the other side, proving that the pillar is disconnected from the floor.

Large footprint - There are multiple stories behind it. Some says it is footprint of Sita when she was being abducted and was trying to get away from Ravana. Other legend says it is footprint of Hanuman.

Since this is a temple please remove your footwear outside
There is drinking water available
Public washrooms are available
There is a lake behind the temple.

Bhola Nandeeshwara

This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is located at the base of Nandi Hills in Chickaballpur District of Karnataka.
The architecture belongs to the Hoyasala time period.
The temple is complex in nature and have two large shrines- The “Arunachaleswara” shrine built to the south and the “Bhoga Nandeeshwara” Shrine built to the North. It is built by Ganagas of Talakad and cholas respectively.
There is a small intervening shrine called with "Uma-Maheshwara" shrine with a kalyana mantapa. It is supported by the pillars depicting the various Hindu gods like Shiva, Paravathi , Brahma, Saraswathi, Vishnu, Lakshmi.

Very few shops available around this place.
Restrooms are available.
The entry and parking at this place is free.
There is a place where you can leave your footwear before entering the Temple at a minimum cost of 10 Rupees.

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