Veerabhadra Temple, Lepakshi – Legends

Veerabhadra Temple, Lepakshi – Legends

Lepakshi:

As per legend, Lepakshi is regarded as the place where Jatayu fell down after being injured by Ravana. Jatayu is a huge mythical bird in the Ramayana who tried to rescue Sita when Ravana was abducting her. Despite being very old, Jatayu fought very bravely with Ravana but could not stop him. Instead, he was injured during the attempt and fell on the earth. Lord Rama and his brother Lakshmana found the injured and dying Jatayu during their search for Sita.

Before succumbing to his injuries, Jatayu narrated abduction of Sita to Lord Rama. Lord Rama then performed the last rites of Jatayu with full honour. Ramakkalmedu is the place where the last rites were performed. Lord Rama is said to have commanded the bird to rise: 'Le Pakshi (Rise, bird)' in Telugu, hence, the village came to be called as Lepakshi.

Lepa Akshi:

The Veerabhadra temple was built by Viruppanna, the treasurer of the Vijayanagara Kingdom. It is said that he used the treasury to fund the construction of this temple during the absence of the reigning King. The King returned and found the treasury empty. The furious king ordered Viruppanna’s eyes to be taken out. Viruppanna did not wait for the King’s order to be carried out and plucked out his eyes himself. Even today, one can see two dark stains on the wall near the Kalyana Mandapa, which are said to be the marks made by his eyes, which he himself dashed against the wall. The builder did not survive for a long time and the village is called Lepa Akshi (a village of the blinded eye).

Kalyana Mandapa:

The Veerabhadra Temple has an open air Kalyana Mandapam (wedding hall), where the wedding of Lord Shiva and Parvati should have taken place in the presence of other gods and goddesses. It can be noticed that the Kalyana Mandapam was unfinished. As per local folklore, this Mandapa was supposed to be ready for the wedding of Lord Shiva and Parvati, but since it was not ready, it was not used.

Etymology:

The town is variably called as Lepaksha, Lepakshi and Lepakshipura in the inscriptions found here. The name might have been derived from Lepa + Akshi meaning ‘embalmed eye’. The place was known as Lepakshi even before the construction of the temple as the father of Viruppanna is referred as Lepakshi Nandi Lakkisetti in an inscription.

Papanasheshvara:

As per Sthala Mahatmiyam, Sage Agastya stayed here, in a cave on the Kurmashaila hill, during his visit to the scared places in the south of Vindhya mountain. He built a small temple dedicated to Papanasheshvara at this place. This place is marked with a natural rock shelter over a hill and still revered by the locals.

Divya Kshetras:

The first reference of Lepakshi is found in Skanda Purana as Lepakshya Papanasanah.  According to Skanda Purana, this temple is considered as one of the Divya Kshetras, an important pilgrimage site of Lord Shiva.

Kurmashaila:

The major portion of the temple was built on a tortoise-shaped rocky hill. This hill is referred to as Kurmashaila, meaning 'Tortoise Hill' in Telugu.

Nagalinga:

As per legend, the Nagalinga was sculpted out of a single stone by sculptors while they waited for their mothers to arrange for lunch.