Hi everyone
My greetings !
Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their stay on this beautiful planet. 😊 Today I am going to share another marvellous piece of Indian architecture in ancient times in Central India. This region of full of historical places and anyone who is a lover of architecture will be surely enchanted by the beauty of these places.
This is one of the rarest temples in terms of it's design and it's open roof. This is Chausath Yogini temple located in Mitaoli village of Morena district of Central India. This temple is also known with the name of Ekttarso Mahadeva Temple.
According to an inscription found, This temple was built in 1323 by Maharaja Devpala of Kacchhagupta ruling in Central India. When we entered the temple, we met a person there who was on duty there on behalf of ASI (Archeological Survey of India). So he gave us some information about the temple. He told his temple has been the venue to teach and practice Tantra science in ancient times. This is said to be the university of Tantra. People from far away places used to visit this place for learning tantra. Even now, on the no moon nights people come here and practice their tantra rituals here. Entry after sunset is totally prohibited in the temple. No one stay here after sunset including the person on duty. The one who has the duty in the night stays in the room constructed by ASI at the foothill. No one dares to come here on the top in the night. As they say tantric powers rise up in the night and so it is not safe to stay there during that time.
As the name indicates this temple is dedicated to sixty four Yogini froms of Goddess. Yoginis are considered the female Yoga masters in ancient times. There are 64 small temples in the outer circular portion while one shrine is located in the centre that is for Lord Shiva. Currently there are Shivlingam in most of the temples. Originally there were 64 Yogini images with the shivlings in all the shrines in the outer circle but some of them were stolen by thieves and so Archeological department safely transferred the remaining images to the museum. Even it is 800 year old, this temple still perfectly preserved and looks Grand and beautiful. Seeing it, I was so amazed to be there.
We visited the place last Sunday. Me and my partner, both of us love visiting historical places and so this time we decided to visit this place. It was a 70 km drive from our place. Road was perfect all the way. There are no issues in reaching to the temple unlike Nareshwar temple. We drove straight to the foot of the hill, on the top of which the temple has been built.
(In this pic you may see the circular temple on the hiltop, amid the green fields)
(There is a beautifully carved sculpture of a bull, Nandi at the entrance. Although It is broken now but still decipherable.)
Nandi, is considered the vehicle and the gate keeper of Lord Shiva. He is said to be very beloved of Lord Shiva. That's why in most of the Shiva temples, you will always find the image of Nandi too.
(Rocky stairs for reaching to the top, the stairs have been carved out from the hill only. The hike to the temple is steep, there are probably more than 100 stairs. It was not tough for us but we had to carry our 3 year old daughter in the arms.)
(First glimpse of the temple as you reach on the top)
(View from the top is just amazing 😄. This is the season of Mustard crop, the yellow color mustard flowers are blooming fully these days. And the presence of these yellow and green together making it looks tremendously beautiful.)
(Entrance to the temple. You may see there are a few stairs on the entrance too so the level of the temple has been further paved up)
(Front view as you enter. You have to take off your shoes etc at this point before entering. As the temple is still functional. People come here for worshipping Lord Shiva and Goddess)
(Lord Shiva shrine at the centre. There are two shivlingam present here unlike the shrines in the outer circle.)
(One of the 64 shrines for yoginis in the outer circular portion. There is one Shiva Lingam in most of the shrines.)
(Roof of the temple is flat and there are drainage pipes leading to the underground tank. This rainwater harvesting system built 800 years ago,still fully functional. The man on duty told water is available here on the top of the hill, in the temple premises all the time)
Most of all I loved the circular design and the strong pillars of this temple. I haven't seen any temple with this design before. There is a striking similarity in the design of this temple and the Indian Parliament. The Parliament of India too is circular in design and with the pillar like this. It is said that this circular design helps a lot in withstanding earthquakes. The temple itself is located in seismic three zone and still standing in its full glory for 800 years. So many people consider this temple the inspiration behind the design of Indian Parliament.
I loved this place, and I will surely recommend this place to everyone who is a lover of ancient places. This place is just 50 kms away from Gwalior. Gwalior is well connected to all the major cities of India by train and flights. Gohad railway station is nearest to Mitaoli. If you want to visit from Delhi, this is just 4.5 hours drive from Delhi. So anytime you may come and visit this place. The one thing missing is the absence of food outlets outside. The reason behind is that it is away from city. There is village nearby and you may find some chips and biscuits etc from the nearby shop. That's all.
