The Hanging Pillar of Lepakshi
In a 16th-century temple, one stone pillar doesn't quite touch the floor: you can slide a cloth underneath it.
What was reported
The Veerabhadra temple at Lepakshi was built in the 16th century under the Vijayanagara empire. One of the roughly 70 carved pillars in its hall hangs slightly clear of the floor, so visitors pass a thin cloth or a sheet of paper beneath it.
Local accounts say that during British rule an engineer tried to move the pillar to find out how it was supported, and that his attempt shifted the pillars and roof around it.
Explanations offered
The pillar is held by the stone beams and roof it is locked into, so it doesn't need to rest on the floor. Many think it was knocked slightly out of place, perhaps during that attempt to move it, rather than built to hang. How exactly the builders spread its weight is still debated.
- When
- Temple built in the 1500s
- Where
- Lepakshi, Sri Sathya Sai district, Andhra Pradesh, India
- Witnesses
- Visitors every day
- Status
- Mostly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.