About the Place & what to see :

The Yogini shrine at Heerapur, 15 kms from Bhubaneswar, is a Hypaethral temple, meaning a temple without a roof, opening to the sky. It represents a significant variation from the main Orissan architectural convention. There are only four remarkable temples of this kind in India and two of them are in Orissa (the other one is at Ranipur-Jharial (in Balangir dist). Active between the ninth and thirteenth centuries, the Yogini Cult, the cult responsible for these temples, worshipped Yogini Goddesses in the hope of acquiring supernatural powers.

Simple circular enclosures without a roof are an unusual phenomenon among the religious shrines in India. The Yogini temple's circular wall, which is barely 2 meter high, contains 64 niches enshrining sixty-four female images within its inner circumference. These shrines are referred to as the Chausati (sixty-four) Yogini temples, and the cult associated with them is known as the Yogini cult. The Yoginis of this temple are shown as sensuous women with slim waists wearing a ?skirt? held together by an ornate girdle worn low on the hips. Some of the Yoginis also have non-human faces of animals such as the horse, ass, rabbit, elephant and lion. The Yogini cult has its origin in the simple tribal and folk tradition of India that, by the 7th-8th centuries A.D., in conjunction with the Sakta-Tantric (worship of the Mother Goddess combined with certain magical rituals) form had acquired a more definite shape. It is quite apparent that a Sadhaka worshipped Yoginis in order to be initiated into a forbidden world of secret powers that he could exploit to gain control over body and mind, regulate natural elements, and obtain wealth and also some destructive power.


Located on the banks of the sacred Bhargavi river, Heerapur is a small picturesque village. The Yogini Temple, otherwise known as the Mahamaya Temple, conveys an impression of the overwhelming power of its sixty-four Yoginis. It is a circular enclosure of sand stone blocks on a foundation made of laterites. There is a small and narrow passage giving access from the east. The doorway is so small that we have to double up to enter.The height of the enclosure, from the level of the ground, at the outer side varies from eight feet to nine feet- and at the inner side the height, from the paved floor, is around six feet. The Heerapur Temple, the smallest of the Yogini temples in India's circular space inside is only twentyfive feet. And, as we enter, we see a wonderful assembly of Yoginis carved out of fine-grained gray chlorite, who find mention in the text 'Skanda Purana'. The Yoginis are believed to have been worshipped by the followers of some esoteric tantrik cult. They are also variously called Dakini or Shakini or Bhairavi. In many places they are the icons of 'grama devatis' or female goddesses.


The idols of uniform sizes roughly measuring upto one and half feet are sculpted out of black chlorite stones and are nicely ensconced in the nitches made for them on the wall. At the centre of the circular well, there is a platform, a mandap with four pillars. The mandap now lies empty. And on each pillar there is an exquisitely carved sculpture. All these sculptures are testimonies to a glorious past of splendid craftmanship. The images are about 2 feet tall, and the niches in which they are placed were probably treated as miniature shrines.The Heerapur Temple is the only Yogini temple that has female figures on its outer walls. The goddesses, all of them, are the feminine versions of male gods. Lord Shiva, Bhairav, Ganesh, Brahma - stand here in female forms.
The very idea of presenting male Hindu deity in female form is highly subersive.


In the vicinity, inside the barbed wired premises we also find a temple of Lord Krishna. But has been recently built. The exquisite idol of Lord Krishna, crowned with flowers, was fished out of the river Daya. The credit for building the Yogini temple of Heerapur goes to the illustrious Bhauma and Somavamsi rulers of Orissa who were known for their tolerance, liberality and eclecticism. It is believed that the Yogini Temple at Heerapur was built towards the end of the Bhauma rule, in the 9th century A.D., as the sculptures strongly resemble those of the famous Mukteshwar Temple of Bhubaneswar, constructed in the 9th century.

Approach

Air: Nearest airport Bhubaneswar is 12 kms away.Indian Airlines and Air Sahara has flights from Delhi, Calcutta, Visakhapatnam, Raipur, Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai.

Road & Rail : Nearest railway station Bhubaneswar is 12 kms away.Bhubaneswar railway station is connected to almost all railway stations of orissa.