PM Modi worships at Lepakshi temple in Andhra Pradesh

TIRUPATI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the historic Lepakshi temple in Andhra Pradesh ahead of the consecration of Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Lepakshi in Andhra Pradesh is an ancient village linked to Ramayana.

According to the ancient scriptures, the bird king Jatayu, who bravely fought with the demon king Ravana to rescue Goddess Sita while she was being abducted, fell down here after his wings were clipped off by Ravana.

And when Lord Rama finds Jatayu in a helpless state here, he exclaims "Le-Pakshi" which in Telugu means "Oh Bird...Arise" and thus this place came to be known as "Lepakshi".

The ancient Lepakshi temple and the monolithic gigantic Nandi statue found here were added to the Unesco's tentative list of world heritage sites in India in 2022.

The Prime minister who is scheduled to inaugurate the national academy of customs, indirect taxes & narcotics at Palasamudram village in Sri Sathya Sai district, landed at the Puttaparthi airport earlier in the day.

Narendra Modi first went to the ancient Lepakshi temple in Penukonda mandal and offered prayers to the presiding deity Veerabhadra Swamy for a brief while.

The Prime Minister went around the Lepakshi temple as the temple priests and officials explained about the historical significance of this sacred village and the uniqueness of the hanging pillar found at this temple, which has links to the great Indian epic Ramayana.

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