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Chausathi Yogini Temple, Hirapur

Chausathi Yogini Temple, Hirapur

Photo: Rohit Agarwal · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Location
Hirapur, India
Client / Owner
Hiradevi
Year
Completed 864
Access
Public
Typology
Spiritual
Style
—

The Chausathi Yogini Temple at Hirapur, about 12 miles (20 km) from Bhubaneswar, Odisha, is considered the first Chausathi Yogini temple in India. It was built around 864 CE and is traditionally attributed to Queen Hiradevi of the Bhouma dynasty. The Archaeological Survey of India maintains it.

The temple is hypaethral, meaning roofless, and circular, with a diameter of about 25 feet (7.6 m). It is built of sandstone blocks in concentric circles in a mandala pattern, and the entrance passage gives the plan a yoni-pedestal form. The inner wall has niches for statues.

The temple is dedicated to the yoginis, with the goddess Kali as the central deity, and is also known as the Mahamaya Temple. It originally had 64 idols of dark chlorite stone, each about 16 inches (40 cm) tall, and 56 survive. Kalapahad, a 16th-century general, is said to have damaged them.

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