The temple of Lord Shiva famously known as Veerbhadra temple, situated in Lepakshi village of Ananthapur district in the state of Andhra Pradesh is a popular weekend getaway, especially for people looking for one day road trip from Bangalore and Hyderabad. Veerbhadra Lepakshi temple is famous for two things: A huge seven faced hooded Linga of Lord Shiva and its Hanging Pillar, which is said to be one of its kinds in the entire Asia region. You heard that right! A Hanging pillar which doesn’t touch the ground and rather stands without any support from anywhere.
Hanging pillar is what convinced me to make a visit to Veerbhadra temple in Lepakshi village of Andhra Pradesh. Infact, I was so inquisitive to see Veerbhadra hanging pillar, that preferred seeing it first and not really checked out any other thing in Lepakshi village, though there are couple of more places that you can see here . Anyways, upon seeing Lepakshi hanging pillar astonished me as I found that it doesn’t hang anymore and rather touch the ground from one side
How I doubted that Hanging Pillar doesn’t touch the ground at Veerbhadra Lepakshi Temple
“Pass a piece of cloth from all the sides of this famous Lepakshi pillar and see if its really hanging” Someone told me. He also said that if the cloth piece pass through all its sides successfully, a wish is granted. I put a scarf but it got struck at one end and wouldn’t pass. A closer look at the hanging pillar at Lepakshi Veerbhadra temple confirmed that it indeed touch the ground from one end and doesn’t hang anymore.
Why Hanging Pillar of Veerbhadra Temple in Lepakshi Village doesn’t Hang anymore ?
Well, it is indeed interesting to understand why hanging pillar was build at Lepakshi Veerbhadra temple during the 16th century. An engineer marvel in itself, hanging pillar of Lepakshi temple was built in such a way that it acts as a support for the ceiling and other 69 carved pillars of Veerbhadra temple in Lepakshi. Hanging pillar in Lepakshi temple was built in a way that this particular pillar remained off the ground and till acts as a support to the other pillar inside Veerbhadra temple. This was to show the technical advancements of the time. But, a British officer during the pre independence era tried to make modification to this pillar in Lepakshi temple, to understand how hanging pillar stands off the ground, without any support. In process to understand it, they made slight modification to the hanging pillar which left it tilted from one corner. It was not feasible to move this pillar at all inside the main sanctum of Lepakshi temple as the other 69 pillars rested on its support. And, that’s how the hanging pillar of Veerbhadra Temple in Lepakshi village got impacted and it doesn’t touch the ground any longer
Having said this, I will urge you to go and see this marvel because it truly showcases the talent and brilliant minds that our country had, during the time when technology wasn’t even present. And still they were able to build a pillar which still leaves you mesmerised by its first sight
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