“In the beginning God was a woman, and from her womb she created all that is, thus she is all things and all things are her.”

Karen Tate: ”Sacred Places of Goddess”

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This blog is part of my series on the temples in and around Bhubaneshwar. The initial blog: Bhubaneshwar – The Ekamra Kshetra can be read at this link.

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Introduction

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Powerful, sensual, untamed, bold, and fearless. These are just a few characteristics of the yogini. Yoginis are more than just devoted female yoga practitioners, as the word might suggest. They are a fluid embodiment of the scared, divine feminine. In Puranic literature, the sacred literature of Hinduism, yoginis are referred to not just as yoginis, but as dakinis, shaktis, or bhairavis. Miranda Shaw, a scholar in Tantric Buddhism, describes them as having a great deal of power and wisdom, possessing “life-enhancing energies that bring about fertility, growth, longevity, abundance, and material and spiritual well-being.”

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Because of their wisdom, yoginis are deeply revered figures in many different lineages. In fact, they are mentioned across various languages, scriptures, religions, and philosophies – from Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, to the languages of Sanskrit and Marathi. The yogini is a powerful symbol of feminine energy and strength, empowerment, and agency. She is a powerful force for change and transformation and has the ability to tap into the deepest aspects of her being. 

That the cult of sixty-four yoginis was widely prevalent is evident from several lists of yoginis recorded in different texts. The Kaliia Purana, Skanda Purana, Brihadnandikeswara Purana, Cansatha Yogini Namavali, Chandi Purana of Sarala Das, Durgapuja, Brihndla Tantra, Bata Avakasa of Balaram Das, and other texts contain lists of sixty-four Yoginis.

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Tantra

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Tantra is not to be confused with “Tantrism”, a word coined by some Western yogis in the 19^th century, which directly associates Tantra and sexuality. Just as yoga has branched out into many absurd variations, “beer yoga”, “chocolate yoga” and so on, “tantric sex” is based on a very appealing syncretic mishmash, since it promises sexual prowess and ecstasy. However, it has little or nothing to do with the essence of Tantra. The word appears for the first time in the hymns of the Rig-veda with the meaning of “weaving” – the intertwining of traditions and teachings.

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A woman dedicated to the pursuit of spiritual knowledge and mystical insight, or a Yogini has many faces: from devotional to demure and from fiery to fierce; all of these can be embraced under the rubric of a Yogini. Yogini is a term that finds reference in several texts related to Hinduism and Buddhism & here its literal meaning is “shaman” or wisdom seer (rishi). Some of the greatest of the ancient rishis were in fact women (Swami Vivekananda public lecture, Vedanta Voice of Freedom, ISBN 0-916356-63-9, p.43).

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Among the multitude of temples that dot India, those of the 64 yoginis (Chausath Yogini), which you can count on the fingers of one hand, occupy a very special place. These sanctuaries, dedicated to tantric worship and to the “Shakti”, the universal creative force, still remain an enigma. Surprisingly, very few theses have been developed on this subject, perhaps because Tantra is a secret knowledge that is only transmitted to a limited number of initiates, or perhaps it is because history tends to erase the cultural and spiritual heritage of women. The fact remains that the yoginis, powerful women, between myth and reality, shape our imagination and also bring us to a further reflection of what is the feminine principle.

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Yogini Temples

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On the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, 15 km southeast of the city, is a small, circular temple, the Yogini temple dating to the 9^th Century. It is on the banks of the Bhargavi River and is one of the few surviving Chausath Yogini shrines in India. The temple is a tantric shrine, with hypaethral (roofless) architecture as tantric prayer rituals involve worshipping the bhumandala (environment consisting of all the 5 elements of nature – fire,  water, earth, air, and ether).

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Amazingly, this temple wasn’t discovered until 1953, when archaeologist and historian Kedarnath Mohapatra of Odisha State Museum came across the sandstone blocks of a ruined temple. It was subsequently pieced back together.

There are 11 extant Chausath Yogini temples found across India out of which two are in Odisha, five in Madhya Pradesh, three in Uttar Pradesh, and one in Tamil Nadu. The most prominent ones are Hirapur, Ranipur Jharial, Khajuraho, Bhedaghat, Mitauli, Dudahi, and Rikhiyan. Yogini images have been discovered from Shahdol, Hinglajgadh, Lokhari, and Naresar. 

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The 64 yoginis are based on the Asta Matrakas or the eight major forms of Devi, the mother goddess. These are Brahmani, Vaishnavi, Maheshwari, Indrani, Kaumari, Varahi, Chamunda, and Narsimhi. Each of these yoginis has eight attendants and when they are all assembled, they add up to 64 yoginis. The yoginis are depicted in the form of chakra, and probably that is why their temples are built in a chakra or a wheel formation. Each yogini sits on a spoke of this wheel. 

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The principles of Sthapatya Veda (the Indian tradition of architecture) mention that the temple and the town should be a reflection of the cosmos. The temple architecture and the city plan are, therefore, related in their conception. (Subhash Kak). The Hindu temple also represents the Meru mountain, the navel of the earth. In the Shilpa Prakasha, a 9th-12th century Orissan temple architecture text, Ramachandra Kaulachara describes the Yogini Yantra for the layout of the goddess temple. Alice Boner writes (1966), “The Hirapur shrine represents the creative expanding forces, and therefore could not be logically represented by a square, which is an eminently static form. While the immanent supreme principle is represented by the number one, the first stir of creation initiates duality, which is the number two and is the producer of three and four and all subsequent numbers up to the infinite. The dynamism is thus expressed by a circular structure of the temple.”

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The yogini murtis represent female figures standing on an animal, a demon, or a human head depicting the victory of Shakti (feminine power). The murtis express emotions from rage, sadness, pleasure, joy, desire, and happiness. The number 64 finds its reference in Hindu scriptures in forms such as Kālá for time, Kalā for performing arts, etc.

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The Yogini

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Yoginis are a class of propitiatory goddesses that are associated with various forms of apotropaic Śakta-tantric practices. Their appearance in the Indian religious landscape was marked by the construction of open-air shrines, roughly dating from the 8th century till the 13th century, before they vanished. As a result, the yoginis have remained enigmatic and often prone to misguided interpretations, that also largely surround Tantra in general. Out of the twelve extant yogini temples, the Chausath Yogini temple of Hirapur in Odisha is considered one of the earliest of such shrines dedicated to the worship of yoginis.

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The period between the 9^th and 10^th centuries is widely believed to be one of correction and amendment in Hindu Tantra from ritualistic excesses to moderation. Here the transition does not mean a sudden change, but a steady process by which a former tradition not only altered but also continued and acquired newer connotations in a different socio-religious context that gave way to widespread architectural and sculptural proliferation. Hirapur Yoginis also emerged at the cusp of this widespread tantric monumental proliferation.

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Legend

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According to legend goddess Durga once took the form of 64 yoginis to defeat a demon. Once victorious, the yoginis requested Devi Durga to construct a temple in their honour, hence the concept of the Chausath Yogini Temple. Nothing much is known about the original date of construction of the temple near Bhubaneswar. Some scholars opine that the temple was constructed by Queen Hiradei of the Bhaumakara dynasty during the 8^th – 9^th century CE, as the nearby village of Hirapur (originally Hiradeipur) was named after her.

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Most prominent among the temple building activity of the Bhaumakaras was the Vaital Deul Temple of the late 8^th century in Bhubaneshwar. The barrel-vaulted Vaital Deul is a Kapalika shrine. Though this hasn’t been proven substantially by scholars, it cannot be denied that some of the prominent tantric temples of Odisha were constructed during the reign of Bhaumakaras. The Bhaumakaras came to power in the 8^th century AD after replacing the Sailodbhavas and ruled over all of Odisha except the north-western region of Dakshin Kosala.

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Location

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The temple is extremely isolated, with the only way to access it being through one small track. This temple is located between Bhubaneshwar and Puri – Ekamrakshetra and Prurshottamakshetra, both known to be prolific centers of tantrism in their times – in the Hirapur village of Khurda district of Odisha. The temple is built of coarse sandstone blocks with laterite in its foundation. According to an 11^th century Oriya text Ekamracandrika, the temple at Hirapur was one of the Shakti pithas of Ekamra (Bhubaneshwar). 

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Chausath Yogini Temple

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The temple plan resembles a yoni patt on which a Siva-linga rests. The outer walls of the circular temple rise to a height of 6 feet and it is overall 25 feet in diameter – of much smaller dimensions than the monumental temples of Bhubaneswar. It has a pabhaga and jangha. The pabhaga is devoid of any decoration. The outer wall of the jangha consists of nine unadorned niches containing the nine ferocious female guardians called katyayanis. The lowly built entrance to the temple is guarded by two dwarapalas – Jai and Vijay. On the sides of the narrow nape leading inside the temple are sculptures of Kaal and Vikaal. The southern carving (left) depicts a male figure with ear ornaments and a lotus creeper on the pedestal. The northern carving (right) is quite different, with a wrathful male figure with disheveled hair, a protruding stomach, and holding a skull cup in his left hand. 

The entrance is quite low, designed to ensure anyone entering has to bow down in order to proceed. It also adds to the overall experience as you go through the short passage, head down, into the mystical womb-like interior. 

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Inside the temple is a central shrine, the Chandi Mandapa, which has arches on each side and eight niches – four are occupied by yoginis Ajita, Suryaputri, Vayuvina (one empty niche dedicated to the now lost image of Yogini Sarvamangala); the other four niches are occupied by the four bhairavas. The inner face of the temple wall has 60 evenly spaced niches just above ground level, each one containing an extraordinary standing figure (yogini) carved from fine-grained chlorite of 40 cm height. Thus 60 yoginis along the outer walls and 4 on the Chandi Mandapa bring the total to 64 (chausath) yoginis. The presiding deity of the temple is Mahamaya, located in the 31st niche. An image of Shiva was originally found in the Chandi Mandapa in 1953 when the temple was rediscovered, but sadly it disappeared shortly afterward.

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All the yogini images are finely carved and are standing in varied poses. Yoginis are beautiful women with rounded breasts, slender waists, and broad hips wearing a diaphanous skirt held in position by a jeweled girdle placed low on the hips. They are ornamented with necklaces and garlands, with armlets, bangles, anklets, earrings, and elaborate coiffures. Unlike the much more elaborate and monumental Chausath Yogini temples of Ranipur Jharial, Mitauli, and Bhedaghat, the yoginis here occupy smaller niches with their own roofs and base moldings. It is considered the most beautiful of all the Chausath Yogini temples because of the inherent simplicity with which the temple has been constructed.

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The artful chiseling of each element ranging from the distinct hairstyles and jewelry to the smooth, glistening skin has given way to a unique visual vocabulary. Some of these delicately-carved yoginis have a smile on their faces which adds to their enigma, while some of the others are grotesque. What is evident from the pantheon of Chausath Yogini is that female divinization lies at the crux of it, and the presence of these yoginis comprises one of the most historically significant facets of their cult.

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The Katayanis are topped with an umbrella and each holds a blade.

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Temple Design

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Various lesser-known theories present the architecture of the Hirapur Chausathi Yogini Temple in a different light. One of them is that the cosmological program of the temple is akin to a mandala, where strategically placed yoginis like Varahi, Kaumari, Mahamaya, and Chamunda denote various energies within a mandala. The temple seems to follow a mandala plan in a way that concentric circles are formed when Shiva at the center, inside the inner sanctum, is roundly surrounded by four yoginis and four bhairavas. The next circle is formed by the nine katyayanis and two dwarapalas. It is the only Yogini temple that has sculptures on its outer wall. There are nine feminine images, identified as the ferocious katyayanis surrounding the exterior walls along with two male guards flanking the passage; these dwarpalas have been identified as bhairavas. Inside the enclosure, there is a rectangular central shrine housing Ekapadabhairava (also known as Jhamkarabhairava) (Donaldson 1985: 1053).

Similarly, well-known Indologist Prof. Henrich von Stietencron (2013: 70-83) has equated these temples kalachakras or the wheels of time. According to him, the temple was perfectly circular, and with the entrance facing east, the architecture of these temples was such that it helped the pujaris to calculate solar and lunar time. He further elaborates his hypothesis by looking at the square-shaped chandi mandapa located at the center of the temple.

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The image of Martanda Bhairava was placed at the center of the square pavilion. ‘Martanda’ is one of the names of the Sun god, and ‘Bhairava’ is a ferocious form of Shiva that is associated with yoginis – this points towards a syncretic solar-cum-saiva tantric deity. The solar aspect of this temple could also be ascertained from the four faces of Martand Bhairava representing four directions. The cosmological arrangement of the temple shows Sun as the ruler over space and time, as it is the sun which is the representative of the solar year and the stable center around which all the movement circulates.

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Rituals

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The daily prayer and rituals in the temple include the worship of Bhumandala which is the five elements of nature – water, sky, fire, earth, and ether. The Yogini practice has been known to include Yoga along with the practice of tantrism, having a strong connection with tribal and rural traditions. A large Diya or lamp is burning in front of Mahamaya, the presiding deity. The priest informed that it had been burning since the temple was built. During rains and cyclones that this region is prone to it is covered.

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For at least 500 years ancient rituals were practiced at this temple until the cult started to diminish and ultimately the temple was abandoned. This may coincide with the time when the yogini faces were damaged, said to have been done by Kalapahad. He was a converted Muslim general of 16th CE who attacked this temple and broke the Murtis. He is also known as the destroyer of the Puri and Konark temples. 

In front of the temple, towards the east is a platform called Surya Pitha or the Sun platform. This was used for Sun worship by the Sadhaks or devotees. Remember, Konark Sun Temple is not too far from here and Sun worship must have been prevalent in the region.

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A small Shiva temple called Sankateshwar in white colour stands close to the entrance of the temple complex. A lovely little Nandi in white is wrapped in a colourful scarf. A beautiful Murti of Krishna as Gopinath in black stands in the open under a tree beside the temple. 

Outside the temple, there is a beautiful Pushkarni or temple tank with a typical small temple in the middle as it is seen in tanks across Odisha. It is called Deep Dandi. The name suggests that it is used to light up the temple on festive occasions. 

The temple complex is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India.

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Festivals Celebrated

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Every year in the month of December (around 23^rd-25^th), the Chausathi Yogini Mahotsav is organized near the temple. Nrutya Prativa, a city-based cultural organization, with support from the Odisha Tourism Department conducts this three-day event, in which classical dance and vocal artists from across the country perform and mesmerize the audience.

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Despite being a very short distance from Bhubaneswar, the Chausathi Yogini Temple at Hirapur feels a world away from the city. The visit to the isolated rustic surroundings combined with the unique and mysterious temple is simply unforgettable. The Chausath Yogini temple is a cultural heritage destination of importance. At a time when modernity is pushing people into a chaotic identity crisis, cultural heritage strengthens cultural and historical identity. Despite its historic, cultural, and architectural grandeur the Chausath Yogini temple lies in relative anonymity and its importance as a heritage destination of importance requires to be promoted actively.  

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References

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• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chausath_Yogini_Temple,_Hirapur

• https://bhubaneswartourism.in/chausath-yogini-temple-hirapur-bhubaneswar

• https://kevinstandagephotography.wordpress.com/2020/04/02/chausathi-yogini-temple-hirapur-odisha/

• https://www.inditales.com/chausath-yogini-temple-hirapur-odisha/

• https://www.sahapedia.org/yoginis-and-bhairavas

• https://www.sahapedia.org/mothers-lovers-others-study-of-the-chausathi-yogini-temple-hirapur

• https://magikindia.com/les-intrigants-temples-de-64-yoginis/

• https://yogajala.com/the-yogini/

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogini#:~:text=A%20yogini%20(Sanskrit%3A%20%E0%A4%AF%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%97%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%80%2C,Southeast%20Asia%20and%20Greater%20Tibet.

• https://www.academia.edu/36564670/Sacredness_and_Spirituality_doc

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Note: All photographs displayed above (except those sourced and acknowledged) are my exclusive property and copyright; their use is prohibited without explicit consent, in writing.

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