Chausath Yogini Temple of Ranipur Jharial in Balangir District, Odisha, is one of the circular, open air Yogini temples of India, dedicated to the 64 Yoginis. It appears to be an early temple from soon after 900 AD, and the presence of other temples indicates that it was an important site at that time. The surviving central shrine holds an image of dancing Shiva; all the Yogini images are, uniquely, similarly shown dancing.
The Chausath Yogini Temple, built in the 9th or 10th century in Ranipur-Jharial, in an isolated position some miles from the towns of Titilagarh and Kantabanjhi in Balangir district, Odisha, is a circular, hypaethral, 64-yogini temple made of sandstone, some 50 feet in diameter. [1] 62 of the yogini images survive. The site, on an outcrop of rock, must have been important, given the presence of a large temple built of brick and several small temples of stone. [1] [2] [3] [4] The primary entrance is an opening in the circular wall towards the east; unlike at the Hirapur yogini temple, there was once a further opening towards the south, now filled in. [1]
Ranipur-Jharial was the first of the Yogini temples to be discovered; it was described by Major-General John Campbell in 1853. [5]
At the centre of the temple is the original shrine with four pillars, holding an image of Nateshwar, Shiva as Lord of Dance. The Shiva images is three-faced and eight-armed, and is depicted with urdhva linga, an erection. Elephant-headed Ganesh and the bull Nandi are shown in the image's base. [1] [6] The similar-sized image of the goddess Chamunda in the temple may once have been housed with Shiva in the central shrine. [6] [7] [1]
The Ranipur Jharial Yoginis are made, like the temple walls, of a low-quality coarse sandstone, which has weathered poorly; they were once finely-carved. Uniquely, all the Yogini images are depicted poised about to dance, in the karana pose of Indian classical dance; Vidya Dehejia explains that the posture is taken up at the start of each group of movements. Like the Hirapur temple, but unlike other Yogini temples, there are no Matrikas, mother goddesses, among the Yoginis. 14 of the Yoginis are animal-headed; among them can be seen goddesses with the heads of a cat, an elephant, a snake, a horse, a buffalo, an antelope, and seemingly also of a leopard and a sow. The leopard-headed goddess is holding up a human corpse, suggestive of the corpse rituals (shava sadhana) of the Yogini cult. The absence of haloes or attendant figures as at later Yogini temples suggests that this temple was built relatively early. [1]
The 19th century archaeologist Alexander Cunningham described two further Yogini images. One, uniquely, had the attributes of the Sun-god, Surya; she had two arms, a lotus flower in each hand, and seven horses. The other (now surviving only from the knees down) was dancing on a reclining male; she had 6 or 8 arms, and was depicted pulling her mouth open wide; she held a skull-cup, a kettle-drum, and a sword. [1]
Chamunda, also known as Chamundeshwari, Chamundi or Charchika, is a fearsome form of Chandi, the Hindu Divine Mother Shakti and is one of the seven Matrikas.
Chhinnamasta, often spelled Chinnamasta, and also called Ch(h)innamastika and Prachanda Chandika and Jogani Maa, is a Hindu goddess (Devi). She is one of the Mahavidyas, ten goddesses from the esoteric tradition of Tantra, and a ferocious aspect of Mahadevi, the Hindu Mother goddess. The self-decapitated nude goddess, usually standing or seated on a divine copulating couple, holds her own severed head in one hand and a scimitar in another. Three jets of blood spurt out of her bleeding neck and are drunk by her severed head and two attendants.
Balangir District, also called Bolangir District, is a district situated in western Odisha state of India. The district has an area of 6,575 km2 (2,539 sq mi), and a population of 1,648,997. The town of Balangir is the district headquarters. The composition of the land is predominantly rural. Other important big & small towns in Balangir district are Titlagarh, Patnagarh, Kantabanji, Loisingha, Saintala, Belpada, Tushra, Agalpur, Deogaon, Chudapali, Biripali, Bhalumunda, Bangomunda, Sindhekela, Turekela and Muribahal.
The Chausath Yogini Temple of Hirapur, also called Mahamaya Temple, is 20 km outside Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha state of Eastern India. It is devoted to the worship of the yoginis, auspicious goddess-like figures.
A yogini is a female master practitioner of tantra and yoga, as well as a formal term of respect for female Hindu or Buddhist spiritual teachers in Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Greater Tibet. The term is the feminine Sanskrit word of the masculine yogi, while the term "yogin" IPA: [ˈjoːɡɪn] is used in neutral, masculine or feminine sense.
Matrikas also called Matar or Matri, are a group of mother goddesses who are always depicted together in Hinduism. The Matrikas are often depicted in a group of seven, the Saptamatrika(s). However, they are also depicted as a group of eight, the Ashtamatrika(s).
Kantabanji (KBJ) is a town and a notified area committee in Balangir district in the Indian state of Odisha.
This article lists monuments and sites of historic importance in Odisha, India.
Khemukhi is the name of one of the 64 yoginis, which was a secret and esoteric female cult between the 9th and 13th century. In Hinduism, the term yogini refers to a female yogi in general, but the term 64 yoginis refers to a tantric and secret female cult worshiping Hindu Goddess Durga. Khemukhi is the goddess whose broken statue is found in the 64 yogini temple in Bhedaghat in the Jabalpur District in India. Her name is most probably derived from Khe - In The Sky and mukhi - faced.
Indralatha Temple is dedicated to Shiva and is situated in Bangomunda block near Ranipur-Jharial in Balangir district. It was supposed that Indra first worshipped lord Shiva here and erected a temple.
Odisha, is an eastern Indian state on the Bay of Bengal. It is known for its tribal cultures and its many ancient Hindu temples. During the ancient times, many small kingdoms existed now known as Western Odisha, which was ruled by local chieftains.Western Odisha, or the western part of Odisha, India, extends from the Bolangir district in the south to the Sundargarh district in the north.
Vinayaki (Vināyakī) is an elephant-headed Hindu goddess. Her mythology and iconography are not clearly defined. Little is told about her in Hindu scriptures and very few images of this deity exist.
Bangomunda a tehsil located at about 95 km from Balangir in Titlagarh sub-division of Bolangir district, Odisha, India, has historical importance. Bangomunda is the new name of Banganmura which means Brinjal Firm.
The Chausath Yogini Temple, Bhedaghat, also called the Golaki Math, is one of India's yogini temples, but exceptionally it has shrines for 81 rather than the usual 64 yoginis. All the same, scholars include it among the 64-yogini temples. The group of 81 is a mark of royalty, implying that the temple was founded by a king. The large temple is on a hilltop above the river Narmada in Bhedaghat, some 5 km from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.
The Chausath Yogini Temple, Mitaoli, also known as Ekattarso Mahadeva Temple, is an 11th-century temple in Morena district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Build during the Kachchhapaghata reign, it is one of the few well-preserved Yogini temples in India. The temple is formed by a circular wall with 65 chambers, apparently for 64 yoginis and the goddess Devi, and an open mandapa in the centre of a circular courtyard, sacred to Shiva.
The Chausath Yogini temples in India include:
The Chausath Yogini temple is a ruined Yogini temple in the Khajuraho town of Madhya Pradesh, India. Dated to the late 9th century, it is the oldest surviving temple at Khajuraho. Unlike the Yogini temples at other places, it has a rectangular plan, but like them it is hypaethral, open to the air.
Gadarmal Devi temple is a Hindu and Jain temple at Badoh village of Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh.
The Yogini temples of India are 9th to 12th century roofless hypaethral shrines to the yoginis, female masters of yoga in Hindu tantra, broadly equated with goddesses especially Parvati, incarnating the sacred feminine force. They remained largely unknown and unstudied by scholars until late in the 20th century. Several of the shrines have niches for 64 yoginis, so are called Chausath Yogini Temples ; others have 42 or 81 niches, implying different sets of goddesses, though they too are often called Chausath yogini temples. Even when there are 64 yoginis, these are not always the same.
Shaman Hatley is a scholar of Asian religions, specializing in the goddess cults and tantric rituals of medieval India, including the yogini cults and the history of yoga.
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