A Monsoon Ride To Lepakshi

52 days , a long time without a ride considering the last time I rode was a short ride , not that the ride I did this time was longer or i had been to a place which i never visited , but still this ride was different majorly because as the name suggests it was a monsoon ride we started at 7 in the morning and point being esteem mall. As always Kande (Karthik) was on time and we left sharp at 7. Did i mention that it was an unplanned ride,oh yes it was , we decided that we shall meet near esteem mall at 7 and we shall ride on. Firstly when we met we thought we shall ride to penkonda fort and by breakfast which we had at Kamath on the NH7 it was decided we gonna ride to Lepakshi.

Entrance Of the Veerabhadra Temple

The weather was at its best, drizzle and breeze , what a fine combination for an ideal ride. As we rode along the NH7 and passed the Nandi hills bypass the hillocks along the NH7 were just breathtaking , the fog filled hills made me to stop by and take a few photographs. 

A Misty Morning

Few kms from there was our breakfast point and we had a quick idli vada and lime tea. Kamath Yatrinivas along the NH7 is a recommended place for breakfast , the food is tasty and the service is quick. As mentioned earlier it was here we decided the destination as Lepakshi as against our initial plan of Penukonda fort.

50kms we rode along beautifully laid NH7 we reached the junction were we have to take left towards lepakshi , there is a AP tourism building there and also a signboard and an arch indicating the route towards Lepakshi. From this point Lepakshi is 16 kms ride with well laid down but narrow roads. We reached Lepakshi around 10.30 am , stopped for a few minutes near the nandi which happens to be the biggest monolithic nandi sclpture in India and reached the main temple which is a 200 mts from there.The Nandi has been positioned such that it faces the shivalinga shielded by a huge serpent inside the temple.

Shivalinga Shielded by serpant

Shivalinga Shielded by serpant

Lepakshi is a small village located in the Anantapur District, in Andhra Pradesh .Lepakshi is historically and archaeologically significant with three shrines dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Virabhadra  built by a ministers of Vijayanagara Empire called Veeranna and Viroopanna , the residing deity of the temple is Veerabhadra Swamy an associate of Lord Shiva according to hindu mythology who happens to be the family deity of Veeranna . the temple complex along with 3 lingas , Lord Vishnu also has Lord Ganesha , Godess Kali and Goddess Durga , the huge complex around the temple has beautiful carvings in according to the vijayanagara style.

Half Completed Mantap

Half Completed Mantap

Half Completed Mantap

Vijayanagar Style Architecture

Vijayanagar Style Architecture

Wide Angle of the beautiful incomplete mantap

We spent a good 2hrs at the temple clicking photographs , the ride back was beautiful with a lite drizzle all the way till home . A Sunday well spent . That’s it with this blog , hope u like the photographs , until next time when I ride to Hogenakkal falls , be well.