Chausath Yogini Temple, Madhya Pradesh

Address

Chausath Yogini Temple, Sevagram, Khajuraho, Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh 471606

Diety

Devi

Introduction

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. The temple is located among the Western group of temples on a 5.4 m high platform. It has a rectangular plan No sculptures remain among the temple ruins. Three large statues of mother goddesses or Matrikas, found among the ruins, are now in the Khajuraho museum he goddesses have been identified as Brahmani, Maheshvari, and Hingalaja or Mahishamardini. The image of Brahmani has three faces; her vehicle is a hamsa (swan or goose). Maheshvari is depicted with a trident and a humped bull

Puranic Significance

The construction of the Khajuraho Yogini temple can be dated to approximately 885 CE. It is the earliest extant temple at the Chandela capital, Khajuraho. The temple has been classified as a Monument of National Importance by the Archaeological Survey of India. Ruins of Yogini temples have been found at other places in and around the territory formerly ruled by the Chandelas or their feudatories, including Badoh, Bhedaghat Dudahi, Lokhari, Hinglajgarh, Mitaoli, Nareshwar, and Rikhiyan. This suggests that the cult of the Yoginis was well-established in the Chandela territory. The Chausath Yogini temples are connected to the Kapalika and Kaula sects