Sixty-Four Yoginis Dr Suruchi Pande
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Sixty-Four Yoginis Dr Suruchi Pande oginis are holy women with yogic unmanifested sound, logos, and she creates the Ypowers or female attendants of Shiva or universe. Durga. Commonly it is believed that eight • Vaishnavi gives the universe a definite yoginis exist, namely Mangala, Pingala, Dhanya, shape. Bhramari, Bhadrika, Ulka, Siddhi, and Sankata. • Maheshvari gives individuality to all cre- They are also perceived as divinities constituted ated beings. by eight groups of letters of the alphabets. • Kaumari bestows the force of aspirations. The philosophy of the concept of yogini is • Varahi is the power of assimilation and based on the concept of Sapta Matrikas, seven enjoyment. Mother goddesses. These seven goddesses sym- • Aindri or Indrani is the immense power bolise the motherly aspect and have a logical, es- that destroys whatever opposes the cosmic law. oteric, and conceptual sequence. Sometimes the • Chamunda is the power of spiritual Sapta Matrikas are portrayed in a deeper philo- awakening. sophical conceptual meaning with the eight div- Sixty-four yoginis symbolise the multiplica- inities involved in the creation of universe and its tion of these values. The symbology involves ref- various integral life forms in a serial logical order. erences to sixteen kalas or phases that are consti- • Brahmi or Brahmani represents the tuted by the mind, five gross elements, and ten sense organs. The moon has sixteen phases out IMAGE: HTTP://REDISCOVERYPROJECT.COM / CHAUSATH-YOGINI-MANDIR, MITAWALI MITAWALI / CHAUSATH-YOGINI-MANDIR, IMAGE: HTTP://REDISCOVERYPROJECT.COM Dr Suruchi Pande is a Vice Chairperson, Ela Foun- of which fifteen are visible and one is invisible. dation, Pune, India. There is a group of sixteen eternal goddesses. PB January 2019 243 254 Prabuddha Bharata There are sixteen siddhis or attainments or supernatural powers. Yoginis are representations of powers that are sheltered everywhere in Nature. They are hid- den in forest outside and also in mental states— ‘manasa vana’ of a human being. A special reference in this article is to the sixty-four yogini temple at Hirapur, Odisha, India, that show us its tantric roots. The circu- lar 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 con- tinuation 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. Metaphoric- ally they may suggest that the difficulty in find- ing out the remotely built temples indicate that the sadhaka, a spiritual aspirant, has to accept difficulties and obstacles in aiming for tantric CENTRAL MUSEUM, INDORE / 12TH C. SURUCHI PANDE IMAGE: HINGLAJGARH, sadhana. This desertion in and around the lo- cation sometimes gave rise to superstitions and wrong concepts regarding tantric sadhana. Goddess Parvati as the Major Deity in Yogic Sadhana In Indian mythology Gauri, one of the forms of Parvati, the consort of Lord Shiva, is said to have performed a penance while standing on a moni- tor lizard. She is described as ‘godhasana bhavet gauri’. 1 It can be translated as, ‘Parvati is known as Gauri, when she performs penance standing on a monitor lizard, godha’. In Sanskrit, monitor lizard is called godha. Here the root verb is ‘gudha’, which means to wrap up, to envelope, or to conceal. In the sculptures at Rani Ki Vav, Patan, Gujarat—a unique and intricately carved step Goddess Gauri doing Penance Standing on a Monitor Lizard well from the Solanki dynasty of the eleventh 244 PB January 2019 Sixty-Four Yoginis 255 century, originally constructed as a memorial Sixty-Four Yoginis: to king Bhimdev I by Queen Udayamati—fif- Important Temples in India teen forms of Parvati are depicted. Among these • Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh; ninth century. sculptures there is one image of Parvati in pen- • Chandel Dynasty. All shrine cells and stat- ance standing on a beautifully carved monitor ues of goddesses are ruined. Only Brahmani, lizard. This form of Parvati or Gauri, who has Maheshvari, and Hingalaja or Mahishasuramar- engaged herself in a penance is known as pan- dini are remaining. chagni-tapasya meaning penance in five types of • Morena, Mitavali, Madhya Pradesh; elev- fires. She is depicted as standing in the middle of enth century. Belongs to the Kachhapaghata four fire altars and looking up at the burning sun. dynasty; built by King Devapala, vassal of the In the sculptures found in South India, moni- Chandelas. tor lizard is sometimes shown to be the carrier • Badoh, Gadarmal Matru Mandir, Madhya vehicle of goddess Parvati.2 Pradesh; ninth century. A sculpture of a tiger-faced Matrika, one of the • Dudhahi, Uttar Pradesh; eleventh century minor goddesses, found at Kaushambi, Allahabad, Brahma temple. shows a monitor lizard on her left lap (252). • Ranipur-Jharial, Titalagadh, Odisha; ninth The Uma-Maheshvara images sometimes or tenth century. Built during the reign of Soma- show the monitor lizard as the mount of Par- vanshi Keshari kings. vati (306). • Hirapur, Odisha; ninth century. Built by Yo g ini Kshemankari is also depicted in a Queen Hiradevi of Brahma dynasty. sculpture from the ninth century as standing on a monitor lizard at the sixty-four yogini temple, Major Sanskrit Textual Sources of Yoginis Hirapur, Odisha.3 • Puranas: Agni Purana, chapter 52; Markan- The reason for choosing a reptile like the mon- deya Purana, Kalika Purana, Bhagavata Purana, itor lizard as a mount for penance is open to inter- Matsya Purana, Garuda Purana, Skanda Purana, pretation. I feel that it may be due to the solitary and Devi Bhagavata Purana. nature of this secretive reptile, which is shy and • Maya Dipika, a rare text. avoids humans. It has a keen eyesight and is said • Pratishtha Lakshana Sara Samuchchaya. to detect human movement from about 250 me- • Chaturvarga Chintamani of Hemadri; thir- ters away. Monitor lizards dwell in various kinds teenth century. of habitats from open areas to forests. They shel- • Matottara Tantra; thirteenth century. ter in burrows or tree hollows. This behaviour also tallies with its apt Sanskrit name godha, which The Yogini Cult refers to the habit of concealing oneself. Since the • Yogini: She is believed to be the origin of goddess was engaged in a penance, she preferred the centres of energy in the human body. a completely solitary undisturbed atmosphere. • Machhindranatha’s Yogini: Also called Hence, according to my interpretation, one can kaula marga, this cult respects women and gives say that the Indian tradition has wisely chosen them a right to receive spiritual knowledge. the monitor lizard as her mount and has not only • Shiva-Shakti synthesis: This philosophy is offered a respectful place to this reptile but has known as kaula jnan. also encouraged its protection and conservation. • Puranic mythology: The Puranic mythology PB January 2019 245 256 Prabuddha Bharata speaks about the origin of yoginis. Different • Yogini Shashakanana: Rabbit-faced yo- names of yoginis are found as per the seven dif- gini. She is shown with small rabbits peeping ferent lists and references to their mounts. out from each end of her seat. • The number of yoginis were believed to be • Yogini Sarpasya: Snake-faced yogini sitting 42, 64, or 81. on an elephant. A large hood of a snake is shown • Varahamihira’s Brihat-samhita: This work behind her face. says that the yogini temples should be built on • Yogini Hayanana: Horse-faced yogini rest- 81 or 64 squares. ing upon a hyena-like animal. With a fish in her • Adi-Shakti is connected to 64 forms of art. hand she supports a horse-faced child on her knee. • Sixty-four: This number has a unique sig- • Yogini Ajanana: Goat-faced yogini resting nificance in tantra; tan, to spread philosophy. on a goat. • Yogini Gomukhi: Cow-faced yogini having Characteristic Features of the a cow as her carrier vehicle. Names of Yoginis • Yogini Vrishanana: Buffalo-faced yogini • Synthesis of tribal beliefs and Vedic as well seated on a crane. as Puranic concepts. • Yogini Rikshanana or Yogini Bhalluka: • Each Matrika has her own set of yogini Bear-faced yogini mounted on a bear. attendants. Matrikas are personified forms of • Yogini Gajanana: Elephant-faced yogini. powers of gods. They are usually depicted in • Yogini Mrigashira: Deer-faced yogini. a group of seven or eight and they are subsid- • Yogini Simhamukhi: Lion-faced yogini iary deities. with lion as her carrier vehicle. • Some yoginis are indicative of fearsome aspects. They are believed to have magical Unique Features of Yogini Temple, powers and they have an important place in Hirapur, Odisha tantric traditions. • Built by Queen Hiradevi of Brahma dy- • The worship of Devi Kamakhya has the nasty in ninth century; no information of this invocation of sixty-four yoginis in the worship. dynasty is available. Probably it was the transi- • Some yoginis are zoomorphic deities. tional period of Bhaumakar kings who ceased • In the concept of yogini, we see the pres- their reign around 900 CE and Somavanshi rul- ence of totemism. Totemism is the identification ers took it over in 1000 CE. of a tribe with a particular bird or animal. Most • Use of sandstone and black chlorite stone. totems have their own story where the totem • Circular, hypaethral, tantric rituals for wor- animal or bird has saved the ancestor of that tribe. shipping bhumandal consisting of five mahabhu- tas—fire, water, earth, sky, and ether. Some Rare and Unusual Zoomorphic • Yogini sculptures represent the victory of Forms of Yoginis feminine power and they express various emotions.