Sai Baba and 64-Yogini temple at Bhubaneswar, Orissa !

Continued from the last Blog - Kedar Gouri, Siddheswara, Mukteswara and Parasurameswara Temples at Bhubaneswar, Orissa!  

64-Yogini Temple/Chousathi Yogini Mandir at Hirapur, Bhubaneswar

               Our taxi driver was a devotee of "Shirdi Wale Sai Baba". We had no earlier plan to visit "Sai temple" here but since he was not sure to visit "64-Yogini Temple" so he requested us to visit his "Ishtdeva" (Favorite god) temple - Sai Baba Temple. We still had time in hand and no other taxi or auto driver was ready to go to "64-Yogini Temple" so we agreed. About four kilometers from "Kedar Gouri" temple we reached near the "Cuttack - Puri" bypass road. We saw some other old temples on the way that were similar in architecture to "Lingaraja Temple" which is called "Kalinga Architecture". But did not alight from the vehicle because these temples are mostly of archaeological interest and very few are visited by devotees. 

Mahadev Temple in the
campus of  64-Yogini Temple
Bhubaneswar

               Just crossing the "Cuttack - Puri" bypass road the driver stopped the vehicle at the entrance of Sai Baba Temple and requested us to visit there. Though the campus was not large like just visited other temples but it was very well maintained. The front garden had green grass and many flowering plants. On the ground floor was a big hall for "Dhyana" and Sai Baba Temple was on the first floor. The stairs to the first floor were in the front. 

Goddess Kali in Hibiscus
at 64 Yogini Temple,
Bhubaneswar

                The temple is, in fact, a big hall. The white 'Sai' idol is placed on an elevated platform and somewhat larger than life-size. Many red roses were put on the feet of 'Sai'. The clean and peaceful ambiance of the temple was impressive. We offered our "pranam" to 'Sai' and came back and thanked the driver for bringing us to this temple. In the meantime, the driver had collected some information about the location of "64-Yogini Temple". He told me that he would take us there because we have already come to halfway distance. We got into the vehicle and headed towards "64-Yogini Temple". We saw that "64-Yogini Temple" also called "Chousathi Yogini Mandir" is located in a village named Hirapur that was outside the town of Bhubaneswar. In fact, we crossed a wide river named "Kuakhai" (which is a distributary of Mahanadi) and drove on a road that was parallel to the river. A canal was also on the other side of the road. After about four km travel from the Sai Baba Temple, we took a left turn from the riverside road. Half a km on this village road and we had a big pond in front of us. This was "64-Yogini Pond". At this point, we had roads on both turns. The driver asked a local person who told that road on the right is for Hirapur village while on the left is Chousathi Yogini Mandir. So we turned left and 100 m away we reached our destination.

                 It was a peaceful place away from the rush of a city. The temple campus is secured with fencing and a small gate is opened for visitors. Near this gate was a small shop. Very few visitors were present at that time. The temple complex is maintained by Archaeological Survey of India and a caretaker is appointed for this place. When we entered through the gate we saw a Pundit Ji. He showed us the campus and the temples. In fact, only two temples were in the small campus. Near the gate, on the left-hand side, a small Shiva temple was there. We said our "Pranam" to Shiva who is here with a name of "Kusheswara Mahadeva" or something like that. I saw a big flower on "Shivalinga" that was in size of a lotus but cream in color. It had five petals. I had never seen such a flower before. Since I am interested in flowers of worship so I asked Pundit Ji about it. He told me that it was a flower of worship and local people offer it to Shiva but he could not tell me its actual name. 

Goddess Mahamaya, the main Yogini
at Chousathi Yogini Temple
at Bhubaneswar

                On the right of this temple in the open is a Vishnu idol. Next, we visited the main temple that is "64-Yogini Temple". Apart from Pundit ji, an old man came with us whom we did not know. He was showing us the temple like a guide without asking for it. When I inquired about him, he told me that he was the caretaker. He showed us inside and outside of the temple. He had some books in a bag with him, one of which was on this "64-Yogini Temple" written by some research scholar. He tried to sell it to me too.  

                It is a unique temple. Made of sandstone blocks in a circular shape but without a roof. It is called "Hypaethral Architecture". These types of temples are made for "Tantra-sadhana". Very few temples of "yoginis" are found in India and most of them are in Orrisa and Madhya Pradesh. This "64-Yogini Temple" at Hirapur village is constructed in the ninth century. All of these 64 "yoginis" are manifestations of "Adishakti" or "Durga" into demi-goddesses. Their idols are in black granite and in each of these idols these "yoginis" are standing overheads of animals or humans. It symbolizes superiority of heart over mind. 56 of the 64 idols are placed along the inner side of the circular wall in rectangular cavities. Rest eight are on the four sides of a platform made in the center of the temple. Some say that there was an idol of "Bhairava" on this platform. There may be truth in it because "Adishakti" is always worshiped with "Shiva" who is also "Bhairava". The "yogini" directly in front of the entrance is seen through the platform and she is "Mahamaya". Most of the idols are now damaged to some extent. When we went inside the temple we saw two sisters from the nearby village preparing 64 "Deep" (earthen lamp for worship) with 'ghee' and 'baati' (cotton thread). These were for 64 "Yoginis" worship. Some idols are also placed on the outer wall. Since "Adishakti" is nature itself so the "Sadhaka" here tries to connect with nature through 'Yoga' in the 'Tantra-sadhana' and no-roof helps him in doing so. 

Yoginis in damaged state at 64-Yogini Temple
at Hirapur, Bhubaneswar

                   The caretaker as a guide was showing us the idols in his own typical style. When seeing the temple was over we gave some money to both persons - Pundit Ji and Caretaker. Just in front of the temple is a big platform which is called "Surya-chabootara" (Platform of the Sun). Apart from these structures, there is one more thing that may attract the attention of visitors and it is a thick walled small diameter water well. Its diameter is hardly one meter. There are green grasses and few flower-trees in the campus. One of them "Swarn-Champa" tree is planted mainly in temples. In Bhubaneswar, I saw these trees near the gate of many houses.

Surya Chabootara at 64-Yogini
Temple Campus, Bhubaneswar

                    We stayed there for some more time and snapped some pictures. It was a peaceful and nice place. Now our driver was eager to return back. We were satisfied and got back into our taxi for the return journey.   

(Next visit to "Ram Mandir, Bhubaneswar" - journey details in coming blog) 

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