Mitaoli's Yogini Temple: From obscurity to global fame

In front was an elegant structure built in circular form. Standing on a high platform, it had Hindu deities carved on its exterior. Access was via a small gateway. Entering this was like going inside a giant wheel. A visitor entered a pillared corridor that ran all around the temple courtyard. Apart from the entrance portal, the corridor had several small rooms attached to it, so tiny that they appeared to be magnified niches. Within each was a Shiva linga.

In the centre of the courtyard was a circular pavilion, surrounded by two more concentric circles of pillars, akin to the hub of a wheel. The circular pavilion functioned as a central shrine. While this pavilion as well as the pillared corridor were covered, the rest of the courtyard was open to the sky, making this a hypaethral structure. The structure touched the edge of the hill and some part of its outer wall had crumbled, due to the hill itself having suffered erosion. Despite this damage, the shrine had an atmosphere, a sense of dormant energy that few ruined shrines retain.

Close view of the inner shrine at Mitaoli

The visual effect of row upon row of circular, pillared corridors was so striking that one could not help but recall another structure of similar design - the (then) Indian Parliament building designed by Herbert Baker. Perhaps that similarity was what caused some people to call the Mitaoli shrine 'Shiv Sansad'. Others gave it a more formal name - the Ekateshwara Mahadev.

According to the extensive research done by scholar Vidya Dehejia, the shrine at Mitaoli was a Chausath (64) Yogini temple. As per an inscription found here, it was built in the 11th century CE under the patronage of a Kachchhapaghata ruler called Devapala and his consort. Interestingly, the inscription mentioning this ruler was itself dated to more than two centuries after the stated date of temple building. One wonders how authentic this dating is or is the shrine even older? The Kachchhapaghatas were initially feudatories of the Chandela rulers of central India and carved out an independent kingdom once the Chandelas weakened by the end of the 12th century. The last inscription found here dates to 1503 CE, indicating the place saw worship even in the early 16th century before falling into neglect.

The number of niche-like rooms attached to the pillared corridor of the Mitaoli shrine is sixty- five. As per Dehejia, sixty-four of these contained sculpted Yogini icons with the one in the middle being a more significant deity. The Yoginis are part of the Hindu pantheon of divine beings and were worshipped between the 8th and 12th centuries CE. They are often manifested in sixty-four forms and their shrines were mostly circular in design.

Remains of such shrines have been found in a belt across central India, extending from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh through till Odisha. The temple at Mitaoli is part of this tradition of faith. There is one more common factor that binds the Yogini shrines - their religious practices, being Tantric in nature, are shrouded in secrecy and their shrines are usually outside the area of habitation. This secrecy has continued till the modern period, and it is only in the early 20th century that evidence of this tradition began to emerge.

At Mitaoli, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has worked painstakingly. They even rebuilt the eroded section of the hill and then restored the broken part of the shrine. The state government and Madhya Pradesh Tourism also joined the effort. Today, not only is road connectivity to Mitaoli vastly better, but innovative publicity has also brought a growing stream of tourists. From government entities to interested private bodies to enthusiastic individuals, everyone has contributed to this 'rediscovery' of an ancient shrine.

Acknowledgement of these efforts has begun coming. On February 11, 2025, India's Chausath Yogini temples - including Mitaoli - were given a place in the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. This is a significant milestone in a long journey from obscurity to global fame.

However, while basking in Mitaoli's glory, there is also a need to state that the shrine misses one crucial element - its precious Yoginis are not here. Not a single one! And there is no word as to when the Yogini idols vanished. Were they destroyed in a medieval attack? Or hidden away when armies of an Islamic ruler entered the area - never to be found again? Or were they spirited away by antique smugglers in modern times? Perhaps even more than World Heritage status, Mitaoli awaits the day when even one of its lost Yoginis makes her way back.

The author is a heritage explorer by inclination with a penchant for seeking obscure sites. A brand consultant by profession, he tweets @HiddenHeritage. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.

Source URL: https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/mitaolis-yogini-temple-from-obscurity-to-global-fame-13871869.html