Chausath Yogini Temple, Hirapur, Odisha

The philosophy of the concept of Yogini is based on the concept of Sapta Matrikas, seven Mother Goddesses. Since prehistoric times the number seven has had mystical significance in India. In North India, Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu has been designated as the “Elder Sister” among the seven Devi shrines in a fairly narrow belt of the Siwailiks between the Yamuna and Chenab rivers. In Western and Southern India, the Sapta Kannagis (seven maidens) are considered the tutelary deities. In her manifestation of Durga, she created seven manifestations of Shakti from her body to help her while she was engaged in battle with the demon Raktabija. These seven manifestations of Shakti came to be known as seven little mothers--Sapta Matrikas. “The philosophy of the concept of yogini is based on the concept of Sapta Matrikas, seven Mother goddesses. These seven goddesses symbolise the motherly aspect and have a logical, esoteric, and conceptual sequence. Sometimes the Sapta Matrikas are portrayed in a deeper philosophical conceptual meaning with the eight divinities involved in the creation of universe and its various integral life forms in a serial logical order. • Brahmi or Brahmani represents the unmanifested sound, logos, and she creates the universe. • Vaishnavi gives the universe a definite shape. • Maheshvari gives individuality to all created beings. • Kaumari bestows the force of aspirations. • Varahi is the power of assimilation and enjoyment. • Aindri or Indrani is the immense power that destroys whatever opposes the cosmic law. • Chamunda is the power of spiritual awakening. Sixty-four yoginis symbolise the multiplication of these values. The symbology involves references to sixteen kalas or phases that are constituted by the mind, five gross elements, and ten sense organs. The moon has sixteen phases out of which fifteen are visible and one is invisible. There is a group of sixteen eternal goddesses.” Dr Suruchi Pande The general belief based on Puranic texts has been that from the body of Adi Para Shakti came out eight great female demi Goddesses called Ashta Matrikas when she was in the form of Sati. As per ‘Kaula Tantra’, which is an ancient spiritual tradition and also a school of thought in different Schools of Tantrism, those eight Ashta Matrikas namely Brahmani, Vaishnavi, Maheswari, Indirani, Kaumari, Varahi, Chamunda and Narasimhi in turn brought out from their bodies eight Divine Shaktis each, called Yoginis, totaling to 64 Tantric Yoginis. The Yoginis are also popularly known and worshiped in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism in several countries in the name of Bhairavis, Dhakinis, Shakinis, Sakinis, Sakthis, etc. The Yoginis are mentioned in the Skanda Purana variously as Yoginis, Dakinis, Shaktis or Bhairavis. The Lalitha Sahasranama and Vishnu Bhagavata Purana reverently call the Divine Mother Shakti as Maha Yogini and Kula Yogini. Sometimes Goddess Durga is even referred to as the queen of the Yoginis because in some of the legends it is stated that the Yoginis came out of the body of Goddess Durga. Out of the generally accepted 64 Yoginis, regardless of their number the most important amongst them is said to be Yogini Mahamaya. Sometimes she is described as the mother of the universe and her appearance is largest compared to the other 63 Yoginis. Vaishnava scholars in the state of Orissa believe that Yogini Mahamaya was the same Yogini who occupied the eyes of Lord Vishnu in the name of Yoganitra; hence she is seen at the entrance gate of the Hirapur temple. The Chausath Yogini Temple of Hirapur, also called Mahamaya Temple, is 20 km outside Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha. It is devoted to the worship of the auspicious goddess yoginis. The temple is believed to have been built by Queen Hiradevi of the Bramha dynasty during the 9th century. The legend behind the temple, according to local priests, is that the Goddess Durga took the form of 64 demi-goddesses to defeat a demon. Sixty-four yogini cults in tantra were the powers created to assist goddess Durga in killing the demon Raktavirya. After the fight the 64 goddesses, equated with yoginis, asked Durga to commemorate them in the form of a temple structure. . The Chausath Yogini Temple of Hirapur is small and circular, only 25 feet in diameter. It is hypaethral, (roofless) and built of blocks of sandstone. The inside of the circular wall has niches, each housing the statue of a Goddess. 56 of the 64 idols, made of black stone, survive. They surround the main image at the centre of the temple, the Goddess Kali, who stands on a human head. Inside the open-air temple, 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. Each idol is delightfully posed, many with a soft smile that enhances their attractiveness even further. They are all standing on their own pedestal or vahan, which typically consists of an animal, human head, or demon. The variety of their hairstyles, weapons and accessories ensures no two images look alike. Around the outside of the temple are nine unsmiling Goddesses, locally described as the nine Katyayanis, an unusual feature for a yogini temple. The entrance is flanked by a pair of male Darapala, door guardians. Two additional images near the Darapalas are Bhairavas. Some historians believe that an idol of Maha Bhairava was worshipped in the Chandi Mandapa. The temple follow a Mandala plan in a way that concentric circles are formed while a Shiva at the center inside the inner sanctum is roundly surrounded by four Yoginis and four Bhairavas. The circle is reached via a protruding entrance passage, so that the plan of the temple has the form of a Yoni-pedestal for a Shiva Lingam. The scholar Shaman Hatley writes; “that if the temple is seen as a tantric Mandala embodied in stone, Shiva is surrounded by 4 yoginis and 4 Bhairavas of an inner circuit, and sixty yoginis of an outer circuit. The images of the Yogini are acala images carved in black chlorite whereas the images on the outer side of the wall are carved in sandstone. The four dvarapals at the passage into the temple are fierce-looking, wearing garlands of skulls and holding khaḍga in their hands.” The temple plan resembles a yoni patt on which a Shiva-linga rests. The Yogini images depict standing Goddesses and their animal vehicles (Vahanas). The Yoginis are naked but for their bejeweled girdles, from which hang flimsy skirts that can be made out as a light decoration on their legs; they are adorned with bracelets, armlets, necklaces, and anklets. At least 8 of the yoginis stand on animal vehicles representing signs of the Zodiac, including a crab, a scorpion, and a fish, suggesting a link with astrology. The scholar Istvan Keul writes; “that the yogini images are of dark chlorite rock, about 40 cm tall, and standing in varying poses on plinths or Vahanas, their animal vehicles; most have delicate features and sensual bodies with slender waists, broad hips, and high, round breasts with varying hairstyles and body ornaments”. He further states, “that the central structure is faced with three yogini images and four naked ithyphallic representations of Bhairava" “The sixty-four yogini temple at Hirapur, Odisha, has its tantric roots. The circular walls, lack of roof, that is, hypaethral style of a building, arrangement of each yogini image in the niche of the wall to replicate the seat of self, that is, as a symbol of origin of the Self. The circle of sixty-four yoginis symbolises the continuation of life. It is a never-ending circle—a spiritual symbol named ‘mandala’. It is also called ‘yogini chakra’ as an auspicious ritual circle. Usually the yogini temples were situated in remote places for tantric rituals. Metaphorically they may suggest that the difficulty in finding out the remotely built temples indicate that the sadhaka, a spiritual aspirant, has to accept difficulties and obstacles in aiming for tantric sadhana.” Dr Suruchi Pande There are various lesser-known theories which present the architecture of the Hirapur Chausathi Yogini Temple in a different light. One of them being, “that the cosmological programme 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 centre inside the inner sanctum is roundly surrounded by four yoginis and four bhairavas. The next circle is formed by the nine katyayanis and two dvarapalas. It is the only yogini temple which 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 dvarpalas have been identified as bhairavas. Inside the enclosure, there is a rectangular central shrine housing Ekapadabhairava (also known as Jhamkarabhairava).” (Donaldson 1985: 1053) In the words of Shaman Hatley (2007: 18), “with the increasing significance of Yoginis in the Purana corpus, the Yogini temples in fact appear to mark the entry of these deities into a wider religious domain, beyond the confines of the esoteric tradition - to the point that their ritual mandalas are translated into monumental circular temples.”