2 DAY TRIP FROM BANGALORE | MANTRALAYAM - LEPAKSHI

At a distance of 1 Km from Mantralayam Bus Station, Samadhi Temple is the place where Raghavendra Swamy entered alive into Jeeva Samadhi (tomb), also called Brundavan. Samadhi Temple is the prime place to visit in Mantralayam, The Guru attained Samadhi in 1671 AD.

The main shrine is situated in a large builing inside the sprawling temple complex. The building has large verandah inside with administrative blocks and Samadhi temple at the center of the building. The main shrine has large hall with queue lines and inner sanctum housing Brundavan of Guru Raghavendra.

Devotees visiting Mantralaya believe that the Saint still exists in his holy form after he had relinquished the material world and that he will continue to dwell in this form till the completion of 700 years from the time he attained 'Jeeva Samathi'. The male devotees who want to perform Pooja themselves at Brundavan have to wear dhoti. While male devotees paying normal .....

At a distance of 1 Kms from Mantralayam Bus Station, Manchalamma Temple is situated on northern-west corner of Sri Raghavendra Brundavan Temple building, towards the right side of the entrance. After Samadhi Temple, this is the most important place to visit in Mantralayam town. This deity is another manifestation of Goddess Parvathi. It is a practice for people to worship at this shrine before proceeding to Sri Raghavendra Brindavan.

Mantralayam was earlier known as Manchali, which was named after the deity Manchalamma worshipped here. Legend has it that Raghavendra Swamy requested the land required for the Brundavan Temple in Mantralaya from Manchalamma and hence devotees are first supposed to visit the Manchalamma temple before visiting Sri Raghavendra Swamy Temple.

The Manchalamma Temple has a hall with sanctum built in the form of a mini temple with vimana. The colorful vimana is decorated with several figures of goddress .....

At a distance of 400 m from Lepakshi Bus Stand, The Veerabhadra Temple is the famous temple situated in Lepakshi (this is also referred as Lepakshi Temple). It is famous for its sculptures and archaeological beauty created by the artists of Vijayanagara Empire. It is considered as one of the best temples built by Vijayanagaras and is the prime attraction of Lepakshi.

The ancient shrine was constructed by Saint Agastya which was rebuilt in the present structure by Virupanna, the treasurer of the Vijayanagara King Aliiya Rama Raya. According to the legend, Virupanna, the royal treasurer was accused of drawing funds without the king's permission from the state treasury to build the Veerabhadra temple. However, he blinded himself to avoid the king's punishment. Even today one can see two dark stains upon the wall near the Kalyana Mandapa, which are said to be the marks made by his eyes.

The temple is dedicated to Lord Veerabhadra, .....

At a distance of 500 m from Lepakshi Bus Stand and 500 m from Sri Veerabhadra Temple (Lepakshi Temple), Lepakshi Nandi (Bull) is one of the main attractions in Lepakshi and a well-known landmark for the tourism of Lepakshi. It was built during Vijayanagara period when the main Veerabhadra Temple was built.

The Lepakshi Nandi is made out of single granite. The monolithic Nandi sculpture is said to be the second largest monolithic structure in India after Gomateshwara in Shravanabelagola. It is 20 feet in height and 30 feet in length. The Nandi statue is decorated with a necklace, muvvalahara, a bell chain with small horns.

It is noticeable that the head of the bull is held aloft at a higher angle than usual. In addition, the expression of submission, which is typical of Nandi before Shiva, is not seen in the statue here.

This big granite bull is situated on the main .....