Located 130 km north of Bangalore, Lepakshi is a significant place carrying the legacies of 13th-15th Century when Vijayanagara dynasty ruled. 

It is the location of shrines dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Veerabhadra which were built during that period. The temples are the location of mural paintings of the Vijayanagar kings and Kannada inscriptions. The main temple is of Veerabhadra – the fiery form Shiva took after the Daksha Yagga and the immolation of Parvathi.  Near the temple complex once can find a large Nandi bull.

This bull is built on a monolithic structure and is the largest in India (27 ft length & 15 ft tall). This place has its mention in The Ramayana also. This is  where the bird Jatayu fell, wounded after a battle against Ravana who was carrying away Sita. When Rama reached the spot, he saw the bird and said compassionately, “Le Pakshi” which in Telugu means ‘rise, bird’. 

My mother used to say in my childhood “Ramayan Mahabharat e ja nei, bhu-bharat e ta nei” which means what is not there in Ramayana or Mahabharata is not there in India. To a great extent it is true as one will hardly find a place in India which is not mentioned in either of these two epics.

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