Circle of Yoginis
The water was still,
reflecting the cloud clotted blue sky, the overgrown pond side greens and their
lavender flowery ends swaying in light breeze.
In the middle stood the ‘deepdandi',
its top only visible. It was a perfect mystical backdrop for the place of
worship we were about to enter.
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| Hirapur Yogini Temple- Outside |
Hirapur, a tiny village on
the outskirts of Bhubaneshwar in Odisha holds a wonder to its heart. Chausath
Yogini Temple or Abode of 64 Yoginis here is the smallest of the Yogini shrine
in India. The structure is circular in plan as all Yogini temples are and open
to sky. The circular stone wall has niches for each of the Yoginis. The yogini
sculptures are exquisite. They are small and perfectly sculpted in greenish grey
chlorite stone. Each one is different than the other, one with horse face,
another with lion face, one with sunken belly and another one fierce looking.
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| Hirapur Yogini Temple |
with the blue dome of sky above,
sheltering these age-old idols, the place is indeed mystical and calm. It was a
beautiful fresh morning but the air around the yogini temple was thick with
mystery.
Who are these Yoginis? and
who worships them?
Yogini by definition implies
women master practitioners in the path of spiritual progress. They are ascetics
who have renounced the world and are following a ‘Yogic’ path to attain the
highest goal of Moksha. But then our ancient scriptures, temples, folklores,
plays and paintings tell us about different aspect of ‘Yogini’s.
We have known about eight Matruka
(sometimes seven too), nine Durga and in the same vein, there are sixty-four
Yogini, each Matruka commanding 7 more Yoginis. Sometimes there are sixteen or
at times eighty-one Yoginis too as mentioned in some scriptures. Yogini are also
manifestations of Shakti, the ultimate goddess and power within in the Shakta
tradition.
So why are these semi
Goddesses worshiped?
‘Tantra’ in Indian scriptural
tradition refers to application of certain philosophy. With our legacy of dual
and non-dual philosophies, several ‘Tantra’ were also developed to provide
methodologies for the students of these philosophies to master the knowledge
and gain the ultimate truth, which mostly would be Moksh.
However, while you climb up
the spiritual ladder towards Moksha, as your knowledge, awareness and
dedication grows, a devotee also gains powers. YogShastra calls them eight Maha-siddhi
or 8 great powers. These include flying in sky and becoming weightless or
reducing yourself to smallest size and then expanding to horizon. Acquiring
these siddhis also means, you can control someone else’s mind and body, or move
things with your own will and so on.. Many aspire to acquire these ‘Siddhi’ or
powers using ‘Tantra’, Now as per some scriptures, Yogini are those who have
achieved these siddhis and they help you achieve these Sidhhis if you follow
their path. Several ‘Tantra’ followers worship Yoginis as part of rituals and
in their path of spiritual advancement. Yogini, Shakini, Dakini, all these
words are used interchangeably to denote these powerful pantheons in Shakta and
Shaiva traditions.
Let us get our gaze back to
the Hirapur Yogini temple..
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| Hirapur Yogini Temple - Mahamaya |
Right in the center is small
stone structure dedicated to Bhairav, which is the presiding deity of Yoginis. The
Hirapur Yogini temple was ‘discovered’ recently as in 1953. Experts date it to
9’th century based on the sculptural elements.
Since Hindus consider everything ‘prayer worthy’, although our collective memory has lost the thread to Yoginis and their cult, we still have no problems praying to these idols with flowers and lamps and bringing alive this forgotten temple. Locally this is known as Mahamaya temple based on one of the prime Yogini figures in the circular wall, which is all decked up in festive cloth.
Since Hindus consider everything ‘prayer worthy’, although our collective memory has lost the thread to Yoginis and their cult, we still have no problems praying to these idols with flowers and lamps and bringing alive this forgotten temple. Locally this is known as Mahamaya temple based on one of the prime Yogini figures in the circular wall, which is all decked up in festive cloth.
Also interesting is the
one-legged Bhairav at the entrance of this circular monument. The wall from
outside also has niches to house eight direction goddesses, all of them fierce,
standing on a human head, wearing garland of human skulls and fearsome too!
Yogini temple and its
circular plan implies a circle or Mandal of Yoginis. Circle is supposed to
enclose whatever it holds within, be it energy or power. The yogini temples are
hypaethral in nature i.e. they are open to sky. No roof to cover or shield the
energy flow that can originate from the circle. It is mentioned in texts that
Yoginis could fly out into different realm through this portal and would come
back in flocks once their space sojourn is over.
The Yogini
temples are generally found in remote areas, isolated from human footfall,
perched on hill, or hidden in woods.
Taking turns through some
wooded hills and charming white limestone quarries, the next Yogini temple we
are about to see is a hilltop attraction. The sandstone steps of Mitaoli hill
near Gwalior are steep but not too many. The Sun was high in the sky, but the
short climb became easier with a light breeze and beautiful vista all around.
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| Mitaoli Yogini Temple- outside |
On the top stood the massive
circular temple which is visible from the bottom of the hill, and even from
the aeroplane above. The sparsely ornamented outer walls looked
impressive. As you enter inside, you are presented with one more circle in the
center and a Garbhagriha there in. There is a Shivlinga inside, and temple is
known as Ekottar Shiv temple as of now.
The temple was secluded. The
niches in the walls are now empty. The concentric circles, the erect and
austere pillars, the absence of roof or ornate pinnacle, and the gusts of wind playing through the
circular boundary, the stone on fire with blazing sun, this abode of Yogini
casts a spell on you for the time you spend here.
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| Mitaoli Yogini Temple - Inside |
There is an inscription in
Mitaoli temple which mentions that the temple is dedicated to 64 Yoginis. As
you stand outside the temple on a gleaming sandstone boulder, the beautiful,
divine and near perfect structure of this monument amazes you. And yes, it does
remind you of our parliament building!
These illusive Yoginis do visit us through the pages of some
old texts, like ‘MalatiMadhav’ , an eighth century play by Bhavbhuti. There is
a character of Yogini named Kapalkundala of Kapalik sect and also Saudamini
from Buddhist sect and macabre setting of ‘Smashan’ and burning pyres.
‘Katha Saritsagar’ or the original ‘Brihtkatha’, has several
mentions of Yoginis
their lifestyle, their belief system. We also see references
to queens performing these magical rituals.
Overall, the cult practiced several unpleasant rituals like
eating raw flesh and drinking blood, they would also indulge in corpse rituals
and sexual methods, all to attain the powers. Kapalik, Kaul are some of the
Shaiva sects who included these practices in their fold. As per experts, local
smaller deities and their rituals also merged in these practices and sects.
Yogini cult
must have grown in stature around
sixth century and became active during 9 to 12’th century as per experts. It
received quite a lot of royal patronage and hence we see temples coming up in
present day Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, generally eastern India.
Intricately linked with paranormal powers, possible the royals became disciples
to achieve greater powers and greater protection from others.
The last yogini temple we will visit is on the holy banks of
Reva.
Narmada, after
plunging through Dhuandhar, runs slowly and majestically through tall cliffs of
marble at Bhedaghat. Earlier knows as Bhairavi Ghat, on the northern bank and
on top of a hill stands another Yogini temple.
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| Dhuandhar Falls, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh |
It was late
afternoon. The breeze from Narmada and slanted sun rays from bluest of the blue
sky showered the age-old stone steps. As you climb to the top, the usual circular
wall, looking like fortification blocks the view. As you enter through the small
entrance, the ever turning enclosing
high wall, the sun kissed ground, the exquisite structure of the central
temple, glowing in the setting sun and the marigold garlands cascading from the
walls created a lasting impression for
sure.
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| Yogini Temple at Bhedaghat |
The central
shrine here is slightly off the center. It is named as Gauri-Shankar temple and
it has a very peculiar roof. The outer round wall of this largest yogini temple
has 81 niches and each niche has a life size yogini, sculpted to perfection but
broken and destroyed at times. The Yoginis are sitting silently observing the
crowds, some of them lingering and some making hasty retreats out of the
temple. An inscription slab was found in Gauri-Shankar temple, stating that a
temple was built by queen Alhandevi in 1120 AD. Now we do not know if this refers
to outer Yogini enclosure or the Gauri-Shankar Temple.
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| Yogini Temple at Bhedaghat- inside |
There are other celebrated yogini temples too, one in
Khajuraho and another in Ranipur-jharial. Shri-Parvat in Andhra is mentioned as
prime center of Yoginis in several ‘Nath Sampraday’ texts. Getting information about Yogini cult is not easy.
The cult flourishes on secrecy and hidden knowledge. There would be current
practitioners, however the information is not divulged unless you are initiated
into it.
India, as a country and civilization, has many such riddles and several such long lost memory threads.
But then again,
aren’t we fortunate to have those temple walls to lean on, Yogini idols to look
at and old plays and lore to read so that we build the bridge of memories one
brick at a time?
Reference
Dehejia, V. 1986. Yogini Cult
and Temples: A Tantric Tradition. New Delhi: National Museum.
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