Historicity Research Journal

Volume 1 | Issue 12 | Aug 2015

ISSN:- 2393-8900

Research Article

YOGINI

Shreekant S. Jadhav
Superintendent of Excavations , Dept. of Archeology
Deccan College , Pune.
Abstract:
The Yogini Cult, Tantrik in nature and tantra itself, with primitive ideas on the
efficacy of magical rituals and spell, sounds and gestures, is a movement that has deep
connections with rural and tribal traditions. Gradual transformation occurred with the
village Goddesses and they are being consolidated in to potent numerical grouping of
mostly sixty four paving a way for establishment of sixty four Yogini cult. Sometimes the
number of Yogini are eighty-one or forty two and in totality a different cult with unique
characteristics.

KEY WORDS:
Yogini, cult, Goddess, Shaktism, Shaivism, Purana, Sakti.
INTRODUCTIONThe Yogini cult an important sectarian manifold; within the Shaktism in mediaeval India. The very
name Yogini suggests a meditative nature; seemingly the counterpart of the Yogis. However, her
appearance is usually fierce and revolting as depicted in visual art such as sculptures and miniature
paintings. Yogini in other sense is a demoness or sorceress, possessing magical powers as argued by some
scholars but there are some other counter views about the nature and functional aspects of the Yoginis. The
Shaiva mythological background suggests that; Parvati has been created or manifested herself in seven
forms while when Shiva was on marching to kill the demon Andhakasura. So here all these goddesses had
helped Shiva for killing the demon Andhakasura, meanwhile Parvati who have created other Goddesses
onwards this incident she was known as Yogeshvari the leader of group the yoginis Noteworthy this
mythological legends indicates the process of amalgamation and assimilation of cult of the Yogini in
Shaivism in general and Shaktism in particular. In the formation process of the Yogini cult and their
iconography contemporary dominant forces have played a very significant role such as the local folk
goddess village, forest, and animal worship etc. These forms worships developed and represented in
sophisticated iconography because of that they are shown in obscure nature. These natures of the goddesses
are degraded because of their association with the non-ethical tantric practices and this critical outlook over
the yogini cult and their goddesses are reflected in their counter sectarian textual traditions.
The temples of yoginis are constructed in remote area, on high altitude and outskirt of the
settlement as it can observe in various temple sites likewise Hirapur, Bheraghat, Khajuraho etc. As revealed
in sectarian text of the cult of yogini and other non-sectarian texts the numbers of yoginis are not uniform
they can be 42,64 or 81 depends on the region and the period in which it has been existed. And it seems the
multipalation numbers have been taken in consideration i.e. seven multiplied seven forty two. The popular
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notions of about the numbers of yoginis are 64 among the followers and worshipers of the yoginis.
As discussed above the Yogini as a female protective deity is associated with the Sakti worship and
among which only male deity who comes in to the center of ritual place that is Bhairava. Often the sixtyfour Yoginis are depicted in structural temples during onwards 8th century CE to 12th century CE and in
later period they represented in the form of the yantras drawn on cloth and paper for the daily worships, this
type of numerous depiction are noticed in Rajasthan and in Nepal. .
The Agamic textual tradition enumerates sixty-four Bhairavas. These Bhairavas are divided in
eight groups of eight each. The names of the leaders of these groups are called Asitanga, Ruru, Canda,
Krodha, Unmatta-Bhairava, Kapala, Bhisana, and Samhara. They are considered to be the consorts or
guardians of the sixty-four Yoginis who are mentioned in the several tantric texts.
The Brahmanda Purana enumerates a well-known poem called Lalita Sahasranama, i.e.,
Thousand Names of Lalita, which warns that anyone who so loses his wits to impart the poem to noninitiate will be cursed by the Yoginis. The curse of the Yoginis is regarded as a fate worse than the death.
Another text the Jnanarnava Tantra tells that a person transmitting sacred secret knowledge to one
who is uninitiated, will become food for the Yoginis. Such statements in the early texts seem to be the
prime cause for the Yogini Cult which remained a well guarded secret over the centuries.
The medieval literature such as Somadevasuris Yasatilaka, (c.959C.E.), Kalhanas Rajatarangini
(c.1150C.E.), and Somadevas Katha-saritsagara contain several myths and legends about the Yoginis as
goddesses. Many of these stories deal with human witches and few about Yoginis as goddesses. es.
However, the Tantric texts belonging to the Kaula School gives significant information on the Yoginis and
the Cult associated with them. The Yogini cult in these Tantras is esoteric by nature and initiation is through
a Guru who introduces the secrets of the cult. The Kularnva Tantra is one of the best tantras of the Kaula
School which contains numerous references to the Yoginis.
Some other texts like Kauljnana-nirnaya calls itself as Yogini Kaula, while Sri Matottara Tantra in
its chapters Yogini-Guhya , i.e., secret of the Yoginis, gives the name of sixty-four yoginis and it also
discusses the genesis of the goddesses in different aspect.. In the text Sri Matottara Tantra describes the
dialogue between the Siva and Devi Kubjika, the text relevant to Yoginis and their four Cakra (ritual
circles). These four are Khecari Cakra and the Yogini Cakra gives the circles of the sixty-four Yoginis. The
Mula Cakra embodies eighty-one Yoginis and the Malini Cakra gives a circle of fifty goddesses. In brief
these texts narrate that the aim of Yogini worship is the requisition of a variety of occult powers and the
ritual practices associated with the cult. These Cults were practiced by the Saktas who believed in the
supremacy of Sakti or Power concentrated in the person of the Great Goddess.
The worship of the Yoginis and its roots are outside the fold of the orthodox Brahmanical
tradition. Though tantric in nature it mostly relies on magical rituals and spells that have deep connections
with the rural and tribal tradition. It appears to be the simple village cults or the local village goddesses. In
the villages of India these were the favored and popular deities. The philosophy of these occult cults
originally appears to be non-Brahmanical but during the late mediaeval period all these were brought under
rubric Tantra and gave legitimacy in later Hinduism.
So far as the structural edifices of the Yogini temples are concerned, in plan generally they form a
circle (cakra) with sixty-four Yoginis. In Orissa at Hirapur near Bhubaneswar (Fig. A, Fig 1a, 1b). and the
other at Ranipur-Jharial bordering Madhya Pradesh. Both these temples contain exactly sixty-four Yoginis
having a central Pavilion with an image of Siva in a form of Bhairava in the sanctum. Hirapur Yogini temple
measures 9 meter in diameter with sandstone walls 2.40 m high. The inner circular temple has sixty niches
with all sixty four Yoginis still in position in their respective niches. The Yogini images are beautiful about
60 cm high and are carved in chlorite slabs (Fig 3a,b,c,d & Fig. 4a, b, c, d). All the images have soft and
sensitive modeling. The temple is dated to c. 9th-10th century C.E.
The Ranipur-Jharial Yogini temple is situated on the rocky mound and has a diameter of about
15m (Fig B). The Yogini images are in the act of dancing and are enshrined in sixty-four niches. In the centre
of the circular pavilion is a small roofed shrine containing an image of dancing Siva with three faces and is
shown with urdhva-linga. Ganesh and Nandi are shown at the base of the pedestal. Many of the Yoginis
have animal heads, and the modeling of the figures is fine. The Ranipur-Jharial temple is dated to about 900
C.E.
The Yogini temple at Mitauli near Gwalior is circular on plan with sixty-four niches, many of
which, however, are empty. In the centre of the Mitauli enclosure stands a circular pavilion which once
probably housed an image of Siva as Bhairava. The inscriptional evidence in the temple suggests the
construction by the Kacchapaghata ruler Devapala who ruled between 1055-1075 C.E.
Of all the temples, the circular temple of Yoginis at Bheraghat near Jabalpur overlooking the river
Narmada is the most famous (Fig C). The temple, however, consists of eighty-one niches for the placement
of eighty-one Yoginis instead of the usual sixty-four (Fig. 2a). However, it is generally referred to as a
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Causath Yogini temple. It has been suggested that the Bheraghat temple is a royal foundation in the nature of
a royal chapel with a diameter of about 40m with a circular pillared colonnade. Very few of the Bheraghat
Yoginis remain in their original positions, and the peculiar natures of these yoginis icons are they are
inscribed and represent the outline of the contemporary nomenclatures of the Yoginis. It has been suggested
in Sri Matottara Tantra describe a specific grouping as ekasiti or 81 Yoginis in the Mula Cakra.
There is also a group of forty-two Yoginis at Dudahi and Badoh near Lalitpur in Madhya Pradesh
which was a flourishing centre under the Candella rulers who built these temples around C.E.1000. Dudahi
temple is circular on plan (Fig D). Whereas the Badoh temple is rectangular in its plan. The Candella
temples at famous site at Khajuraho Yogini temple isolated from the main group is built in the granite stone
(Fig E, 2b).
Acknowledgement: I am grateful to my friend Gopal Joge who went through the draft and made necessary
corrections. I thank my dear friends Drs. Sanjay Gaikwad & Ravi Jadhav who pursued me to write on
Yogini.
REFERENCES:
1.Stella Dupulis, The Yogini Temples of India, In the pursuit of a mystery Travel notes.(Pilgrims
Publishing, Varanasi, 2008).
2.Suresh Balabantaray, Sixty four Yogini temple Hirapur, (Bhai Patra, Bhubaneswar, revised 2013).
3.Vidya Dehejia, Yogini Cult and Temples and Tantric Tradition, (National Museum, New Delhi, 1986),
pp.1-10, 91-145.
Fig. 1a Hirapur - Orissa, Yogini Temple, General-View of the circular temple. View from
West.

Fig. 1b Hirapur Orissa, Yogini Temple, General-View of the temple showing viewer's right
portion, few Yogini figures are visible.

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Fig. 2a Chausath yogini temple, Bhedaghat.

Fig. 2b Khajurao chausath yogini temple, 9th. century A.D.

Fig.3a . Hirapur Orissa, Yogini Temple, Yogini No.53. Aditi standing on a parrot, two armed
with braid of hair over her hand.

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Fig. 3b Hirapur Orissa, Yogini Temple, Yogini No.62 Vayu Veaeena. Four armed figure with
a dancing pose.Braid of hair. Standing on a stag.

Fig. 3c Hirapur Orissa, Yogini Temple,Vikarali kakarali.

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Fig. 3d Hirapur Orissa, Yogini Temple, Virupa panchavarahi.

Fig. 4a Hirapur Orissa, Yogini Temple, Bhardakali, Rudrakali

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Fig. 4b Hirapur Orissa, Yogini Temple, Charchika

Fig. 4c Hirapur Orissa, Yogini Temple, Chinnamastaka

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Fig. 4d Hirapur Orissa, Yogini Temple, four armed figure mounting on a haladi kathua pot
for turmeric paste.

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