| Specifications |
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Publisher: Niyogi Books |
| Author A.L. Dahmen Dallapiccola, Brigitte Khan Majlis, George Michell | |
| Language: English | |
| Pages: 272 (With Color Illustrations) | |
| Cover: HARDCOVER | |
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11.5x9.5 inch |
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Weight 1.67 kg |
| Edition: 2019 | |
| ISBN: 9789386906908 | |
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HBW053 |
| Delivery and Return Policies |
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Usually ships in 3 days |
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Returns and Exchanges accepted within 7 days |
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Hidden away in the remote village of Lepakshi in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, merely a couple of hours drive from Bengaluru, is one of the most spectacular Vijayanagara temples. Unlike so many other religious monuments of the period that have suffered disfiguring additions, or have lost their original carvings and ceiling paintings, that at Lepakshi dedicated to Virabhadra, a fierce emanation of Shiva, is miraculously intact. Its architecture, sculptures and paintings showcase the finest artistic achievements in southern India during the first half of the sixteenth century.
While the remarkable qualities of Lepakshi have long been recognised, particularly its unique series of ceiling paintings, this volume is the first to provide the temple with a comprehensive description. It is authored by three eminent scholars: George Michell, who has focused on Vijayanagara temple architecture; Anna L. Dallapiccola, who has extensively researched the sculptural and painting traditions of southern India; and Brigitte Khan Majlis, an expert on Indian textile designs and techniques. In addition to newly prepared architectural plans of the monument, the volume is illustrated with more than 250 specially commissioned photographs of the temple's exterior and interior by Surendra Kumar.
The great temple that crowns a rocky rise overlooking the small town of Lepakshi in southwest Andhra Pradesh must be regarded as one of the most architecturally magnificent and artistically refined Hindu monuments of the sixteenth century in southern India. Dedicated to Virabhadra, a fierce form of Shiva, the Lepakshi temple is of outstanding interest for its beautiful stone carvings and painted ceilings, among the finest and best-preserved examples of these arts from the Vijayanagara era. Located 15 kilometres along a minor road off National Highway 7. Lepakshi is now attracting increasing numbers of visitors from Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Hence the need for a thorough description and explanation of the temple's wonderful sculptures and paintings. In the first part of the volume, which serves as an introduction, the authors consider the religious background to the Lepakshi temple, drawing on current beliefs, practices and illustrations of popular legends, as well as the available historical data gleaned from ancient inscriptions, for which summaries are given. Here, too, they situate the monument within the architectural and artistic context of the period. The second part of the volume describes the overall layout of the temple, and then directs readers through the monument, beginning with the Virabhadra shrine and ending with features in and beyond its outer enclosure. Here, the most important architectural attributes and sculptures are all described. The ceiling paintings that are the glory of Lepakshi form the subject of the volume's third part. These are fully illustrated and the divine and human figures in the various narratives identified. In the fourth part, the costumes and textiles depicted in the paintings are shown to be representations of contemporary cloth designs and manufacturing techniques. The volume concludes with a glossary, bibliography and index.
Though one of the greatest surviving masterpieces of Vijayanagara architecture and art, the Lepakshi temple and its cult of Virabhadra suffer from a scarcity of historical sources, the only available records being the inscriptions found in the monument itself. (See pages 22-23.) These confirm the patronage of the temple by Virapanna during the reign of Achyutaraya, who was on the Vijayanagara throne from 1520 to 1542. Virapanna was Achyutaraya's representative in the Penukonda province of the Vijayanagara empire in which Lepakshi was located. In these records the Penukonda governor is named as Virapanna (not Virupanna, as is common today). Except for one inscription, these records span less than ten years, during which there was substantial investment in the temple. This concentrated period of sponsorship and artistic activity resulted in the magnificent granite mandapas, column carvings and ceiling paintings that we appreciate today. These achievements reflect the power and refinement of the emperor, as well as the wealth and influence of the Virashaiva merchant community to whom Virapanna belonged, and for whom Virabhadra was the principal patron deity.
FOUNDATION STORIES
No sthalapurana has yet been discovered that sets down the stories associated with the Lepakshi temple, though one or more such texts must surely have been committed to writing in Kannada and/or Telugu languages. The stories summarised here are drawn from popular, verbally transmitted traditions recounted to this day at Lepakshi by local priests and guides.
Agastya and the Papanasheshvara Linga
The story that best elucidates the foundation of the Lepakshi temple is linked with the venerable sage Agastya. On his tour of the sacred places of southern India, Agastya visited the rock shelter on a hilltop known as Kurmashaila where he practised austerities. Kurmashaila is identified as the site of the Lepakshi monument and is considered one of the prestigious, holy Shaiva places of southern India. According to the Yuddhakanda of the Ramayana, Rama visited Agastya's hermitage at Kurmashaila and installed there a linga, which he named Papanasheshvara-Sin-Destroying Lord. This act was intended to purify Rama of his crime of killing Ravana, who was one of Shiva's devoted followers. This explains why worship of the Papanasheshvara linga at Lepakshi today is understood as the veneration of Shiva together with Vishnu, of whom Rama is considered an aspect. That the Lepakshi linga may be of considerable antiquity is suggested by the mention of 'Lepakshya Papanashanah' in the Skandapurana (Karthikeya Sarma, 1976). How ever this reference cannot be verified.
The Blinding of Virapanna and the name of Lepakshi
Another story at Lepakshi focuses on Virapanna, who is attested in the inscriptions of the monument, and is depicted together with his brother and courtly retinue in the ceiling paintings. According to this story, Virapanna was the treasurer and chief of a local merchant guild under Achyutaraya. Wishing to erect a beautiful temple in honour of Virabhadra, he used the taxes due to the emperor for this purpose. When Achyutaraya returned to the capital and found the royal treasury empty he ordered Virapanna to be blinded. As a loyal servant, Virapanna carried out the order with his own hands, dashing his eyes against a gateway next to the kalyanamandapa within the temple precinct. The two dark stains seen on the walls of a nearby gateway are today pointed out as marks left by his eyes. Virapanna died soon after, leaving the kalyanamandapa uncompleted. This story is sometimes quoted to explain the name 'Lepakshi', literally meaning 'eyes of stain'.
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