Lepakshi on tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage

Vijayawada: Architectural marvel, Lepakshi (Veerabhadra Swamy temple complex) in Anantapur district, has now been included in the tentative list of World Heritage structures of the UNESCO, following the detailed documentation submitted to it sometime back.

This is one of the three included in the tentative list of the World Heritage Structures of the UNESCO along with the geoglyphs of Konkan region and the Jingkieng jri Living Roots Bridge of Meghalaya.

Built on a tortoise shaped rocky hill called Kurmasailam, Lepakshi is known for its Vijayanagara style of architecture as it was built by Virupanna and Veerana, two brothers who were governors under the Vijayanagara Empire.

The 16th century temple is a fine spectacle of timeless art with murals and frescoes. The main attraction of Lepakshi is Basavanna which is the largest monolithic sculpture of a Nandi (bull). The other remarkable and engineering wonder of the temple is the hanging pillar. Though the outer portion of the temple has a big hall with 70 stone pillars and one of the pillars does support the ceiling but it doesn't touch the floor as there is a marginal gap between the base of the pillar and the temple floor.

The Nandi was part of Andhra Pradesh government's tableau during the 2021 Republic Day parade in New Delhi.