Serial nomination of Chausath Yogini Temples

The Chausath Yogini temples have 64 images of the Yoginis in their individual cells or shrine with intricate stone carvings circularly arranged. These temples are mostly situated on hilltops. Yogini refers to a female practitioner of yoga and chausath is the Hindi word for the number 64. The Yoginis are 64 in number and hence called the Chausath Yogini. They are a group of forest spirits and mother goddesses. The Chausath Yoginis were feared & worshiped for their tantrik^[1] power. It is this embodiment of both alluring and threatening qualities, as well as the large number of goddesses from the group that identifies them as Yoginis.

The cult of the Yoginis was very powerful between the 9th and 12th centuries CE. The tribes in the old Gondwana forests of Central India were the original devotees of the Chausath Yoginis. Ultimately, the traditional Hindu pantheon of Gods and Goddesses got incorporated in the Chausath Yogini.

This cult celebrated the feminine and its power. The temples were designed to “reflect the form of a reclining, languid woman”. This is how they celebrated sensuality and fertility. The temples were typically circular, on elevated ground (or pedestal), and open to the sky. The statues of the 64 female forms were in chambers lining the circumference of the temple. Dancers probably performed in the central courtyard. There are around 13 such temples in India out of which 8 are in Madhya Pradesh.^[2] These include Chausath Yogini temples at Khajuraho, Bhedaghat, Mitaoli, Dudhai, Badoh, Hinglajgarh, Shahdol, Naresar in Madhya Pradesh; Hirapur, Ranipur in Odisha and Lakheri, Rikhiyan in Uttar Pradesh and Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu.

The document provides details of the thirteen temples put up for serial nomination.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Khajuraho
The Chausath Yogini temple in Khajuraho is an ancient temple dedicated to the Yoginis^[3]. Constructed in the late 9th century under the patronage of the Chandela dynasty, the temple exemplifies the architectural and cultural heritage of the region. It is part of the world heritage site ensemble. The temple is situated on a stone outcrop to the southwest of Shiva-Sagar Lake and has a north-east orientation. This temple is quite unique; as most Yogini temples found in India are circular in shape, but this one is rectangular in shape. Three sandstone sculptures of Brahmani, Mahishasurmardini, and Maheshwari^[4] found on site have been displayed in the Khajuraho Museum.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Mitaoli
The Chausath Yogini temple in Mitaoli, Madhya Pradesh, was built in the 11th century, under the patronage of the Gurjara- Pratihara dynasty. It is located on a hilltop. The temple features a circular layout, with the central shrine dedicated to the primary deity and 64 subsidiary shrines arranged in a circular pattern around it. Each subsidiary shrine houses a sculpture of a different goddess, symbolizing the various manifestations of female divinity. The central cell was originally dedicated to Devi, but currently all the cells have an image of Shiva.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Jabalpur
The Chausath Yogini temple located in the historical city of Jabalpur dates back to the 10th century. This circular stone temple holds immense historical, religious, and artistic significance during the Kalachuri dynasty. Dedicated to the worship of the 64 Yoginis, female deities associated with yogic practices. The temple is situated on a hilltop, with a panoramic view of the surrounding landscape. The temple is circular in design with a thick and huge outer wall. The temple consists of a circular central shrine with 81 subsidiary shrines arranged in a concentric pattern around it. The rest of the sculptures are of Brahminical Goddesses and gods, including Ganesh, Bhairava, and Hanuman. The Chausath Yogini temple includes other ancillary structures, such as a courtyard, pillared halls, and a stepped water tank. These elements contribute to the overall architectural and cultural significance of the temple complex.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Badoh
Only thirty miles south of Dudahi is the town of Badoh with its Gadarmal temple of the Mothers, which seems to have been another temple of the forty-two Yoginis, and in this case, a rectangular one. It is composed of a rectangular shrine and a tall and massive shikhara, adjacent to some Jain temples. The few remaining images of the Yoginis are too fragmentary to aid us in dating this temple. A date between 950-1100 may be suggested for these two shrines of the forty-two Yoginis.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Hinglajgarh
The site of Hinglajgarh on the border between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh has yielded a vast number of sculptural remains when it was being cleared to construct the Gandhi Sagar dam. The temple is circular in design. Among the more than five hundred sculptures recovered, a number of fragmentary Yogini images and a Mahishasuramardini sculpture have been identified and it can be said with some confidence that the site of Hinglajgadh once had a Yogini temple.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Shahdol
The Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh, known in ancient inscriptions as Sahasa-dollaka, has yielded a large collection of Yogini images that may be divided into two groups, one being a series of seated Yoginis and the other a set of standing images. Both groups have inscribed labels which belong stylistically and palaeographically together, suggesting that the temples were of contemporaneous construction. Unfortunately it is not possible to identify the exact location of either temple. These Shahdol Yoginis are today dispersed in three different locations.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Naresar
Twenty images of Yoginis, housed mostly in the Gwalior Museum, were collected at the beginning of this century from the site of Naresar. Located roughly fifteen miles from Gwalior, in a lonely picturesque valley into which a cascading stream descends as a waterfall, Naresar appears to have been a center of building activity. Today a group of over twenty small Saiva temples may be seen at the site and originally it seems that there were more shrines. Unfortunately no existing foundations of the Yogini temple remain, but one possible site for its location is at the top of the hill overlooking a small artificial tank. Naresar Yoginis date to the closing decades of the 12th century.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Lokhari
On top of an isolated hill in the Banda district of Uttar Pradesh, near the village of Lokhari, are twenty images of Yoginis together with a large quantity of stone blocks that once formed the walls of a Yogini temple. The temple is said to have been built in the first half of the tenth century CE. On the hillside adjoining the mound of stones that once comprised the Yogini temple are fragments of carving, perhaps of the 10th century, that may have belonged to another shrine standing in the vicinity; it appears that the Yogini temple is possibly of the same date. The goat-headed Yogini that went missing from Lokhari in the 1980s, was found in London, which was later returned to India in 2022.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Dudhai
About twenty miles from the town of Lalitpur in central India is the small village of Dudahi, beyond which may be seen the extensive ruins of the once prosperous old town of that name. It was a flourishing centre under the Chandela rulers and thus it was sufficiently important for the monarchs to build several temples at the site, just as they did in Khajuraho, along the banks of an artificial tank. Standing in isolation on the top of a mound some distance away from the main centre of religious activity, in the forest of Buri, is Dudahi's circular Yogini temple, which is locally known as akhada^[5].

Chausath Yogini Temple, Rikhiyan
Roughly one hundred and fifty miles from Khajuraho, in the Banda district of Uttar Pradesh, along the south bank of the river Jumna, is the shady, deserted glen of Rikhiyan with an underground spring providing cool fresh water. Only a solitary temple stands on a rocky outcrop, but numerous architectural fragments and carved stones lying around the site indicate that Rikhiyan was at one time the scene of considerable temple-building. Rikhiyan's Yogini temple is no longer in existence, but it can be inferred that like Khajuraho, it was rectangular. The dating of these weathered and often mutilated sandstone Yoginis of indifferent workmanship is not easy. The absence of the halo and the lack of attendant figures and flying couples suggests affinity with the Orissan temples, and that the Rikhiyan Yoginis belong early in the 10th century.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Kanchipuram
This Chausath Yogini temple is located in Kaveripakkam near Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu. Several Yogini images of the Chola period, around 900 AD, were recovered from the site. These include one now in the British Museum, others in the Madras Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Royal Ontario Museum. The British Museum Yogini is ascribed to Kanchipuram; the collection site is not known, but many sculptures of the same style were recovered from a large "tank" (artificial lake) at Kaveripakkam, seemingly derived from nearby temples. The image formed part of a large set of Yoginis.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Hirapur
Hirapur is the smallest of all Yogini temples and measures only thirty feet in diameter, with stone walls barely eight feet high. This shrine is generally assigned to the end of the 9th century or to the beginning of the 10th. Further support for such a date comes from the treatment of base mouldings under each Yoginī niche. These mouldings, though here simplified, are akin to Type III mouldings such as are seen on the Mukteśvar temple. The Hirapur Yoginis are extraordinarily beautiful figures with exquisite features and sensuously formed bodies. It was constructed by Queen Hira of Bhaumakara dynasty (8th century CE) and the village takes its name from the queen.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Ranipur
Deep in the interior of Orissa and several miles from the nearest town of Titlagadh, is a rocky outcrop between the small villages of Ranipur and Jharial. Testifying to the past importance of this site are the remains of a number of small stone temples built upon the rock, one large brick temple nearby and also a site in the vicinity that is yielding Buddhist remains. Crowning the rocky mound is the circular temple of the sixty-four Yoginis, and at its foot is a large natural tank which, a thousand years ago, appears to have been a significant place of pilgrimage.

Description of the component part(s):

The Chausath Yogini temples are unique in terms of their hypaethral design and circular plan form which is a symbolic representation of the time cycle, cosmic order and continuous flow of energy.

The most commonly seen temple would have a circular layout with multiple (usually 64) cells of equal size in the peripheral structure and a colonnaded pavilion. The outer wall is supported by pillars. These individual cells are dedicated to each Yogini with their idols and vary in number. The central open to sky courtyard has a shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva/ Shakti which is visible from each cell. The building is single storeyed with a flat stone slab roof.

The temples are simple stone load bearing structures with modest carvings on the main temple structure. The stone sculptures are however carved with intricate details.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Khajuraho
It is completely made of locally found coarse granite stone, unlike the other temples in Khajuraho that are built in sandstone. The base of the temple shows primitive mason work. It originally had sixty-five cells in rectangular form measuring 103ft. / 60ft., of which only thirty-five have survived and can be seen on ground. It is situated on a 5.4m high platform. All the cells are of equal size except one which is comparatively larger. These cells can be accessed through small doorways and have individual shikhara^[6].

Chausath Yogini Temple, Mitaoli
The temple has a radius of 170 feet (52 m) and within its interior, it has 64 small chambers each having an open mandapa^[7] supported by pilasters and pillars on the front. The roof of these cells and the mandapa are flat with stone slabs which have perforations in them to drain rainwater to a large underground storage tank. The pipelines from the roof that lead the rainwater to the storage are visible on site. According to an inscription found here, dated V.S. 1380 (A.D. 1323) the temple was constructed by Maharaja Devapala of Kachchhapa-ghata dynasty^[8]. The design of the temple has withstood earthquake shocks without any damage to its circular structural features, in the past several centuries. The temple lies in the Seismic Zone III.

Constructed using local sandstone, the temple displays intricate carvings and sculptures on its exterior and interior walls. The stone sculptures depict goddesses, mythical creatures, celestial beings, and scenes from Hindu mythology, showcasing exceptional attention to detail and artistic finesse. These elements contribute to the overall architectural and cultural significance of the Chausath Yogini temple.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Jabalpur
The diameter of the temple is 124 feet. There is a central shrine with 81 subsidiary cells in a concentric circle around it. This circular cloister contains 64 sculptures of Chausath Yogini. The main shrine houses an image of the primary deity, while each subsidiary shrine contains a sculpture of a different goddess.

The names of most of the Goddesses inscribed on the pedestals differ from lists given in Sanskrit texts (literature). The inscribed images belong to the 2nd-10th century CE. One sculpture of Kushana era (2nd Century CE) and other sculptures of red sandstone, which are roughly dated back to nearly the 8th Century CE are here, which tells us that many ancient temples would have been situated here. The temple is built with sandstone and granite stones as a testament to the exceptional craftsmanship of the Kalachuri artisans. The sculptures exhibit a high level of detail and artistry, showcasing the technical mastery and creativity of the period.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Badoh
The Chausath Yogini temple in Badoh or the Gadarmal temple as we view it today, consists of a rectangular shrine surmounted by a massive shikhara, with a small porch in front. The shikhara, made up of carved blocks collected from ruined Hindu and Jain temples in the vicinity, is patently a later addition.

The temple has eighteen fragmentary images of goddesses which are partially preserved from the waist down. The platform has exactly forty-two grooves to which the tenons at the base of these images were once fitted. It seems that, like Dudahi, this was another temple of the forty-two Yoginis, although this one followed a rectangular plan.

The roof above this temple was added later and originally the Badoh temple must have been hypaethral like the other Yogini shrines.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Hinglajgarh
The Hinglajgadh Yoginis are seated figures, partly cut away from the background of the plain slab, leaving two pilaster-like panels on either side. Flanking figures are few with just an attendant below and a flying image at the top beside the petalled halo behind the head of each Yogini. The Yoginis are well modelled figures, generally with torsos left bare. On the basis of stylistic considerations, it is suggested that the Hinglajgadh Yoginis are contemporary with those at Naresar and were probably carved soon after the middle of the 10th century.

A Yogini with three faces and twenty arms sits in lalitāsana^[9] with one leg resting against a reclining male in the temple. There is a four-armed Indrani sculpture and an elephant-headed Yogini as well. Yogini Chamunda sits on a lotus seat below which is a reclining male. She has a third eye on her forehead, fangs in her mouth, a scorpion placed at the level of her navel, a snake knotted around as a necklace and a garland of skulls. The fifth Yogini is a standing image.

However, the surviving pieces are sufficient to indicate that the Hinglajgarh Yogini temple belonged to a tradition that included the matrikas in the Yogini fold, and regarded the Yoginis as an acolyte of the Great Goddess.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Shahdol
The shrine is lost today and what remains are the ruins and fragments dispersed over a large area. The Yoginis are all carved of what appears to be the same variety of sandstone and all are roughly three feet in height. All have inscribed labels which are palaeographically akin, and further  the suggestion of their common authorship is a signature mark resembling the Nagari numeral four (though not in itself a numeral) that is seen on these images.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Naresar
The Naresar Yoginis are badly damaged and appear, in fact, to have been deliberately disfigured.

A unique feature of Naresar Yoginis is that they are numbered, thus providing us with their exact location in the circle. All the images recovered belong to the first third of the circle.

Other remnants of Naresa Yoginis include a four-armed Yogini holding a child, but the pedestal and inscription are damaged. The Yoginis are carved on a simplified slab with a plain backdrop; a seated attendant on either side along the base and a flying couple at the top.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Lokhari
Each Yogini in Lakhori temple measures roughly five feet in height and is carved on a slab of coarse-grained sandstone with a rounded top. Only the figure of the Yogini and her vahana are sculpted against the plain slab of stone which does not contain the additional details of her throne, attendant figures at the base or flying figures above. This feature and the significant absence of haloes, indicates a similarity to the Yoginis at Hirapur, Ranipur-Jharial and Rikhiyan, and therefore it is concluded that Lokhari belongs to the first half of the 10th century.

The Lokhari images do not possess the artistic beauty and finesse displayed by the figures at Hirapur or Bhedaghat. The modelling of the Yoginis is minimal and some of the features, such as the feet, are rendered in a clumsy manner. The Yoginīs have large rounded breasts and rounded stomachs and they sit usually in lalitasana with one leg folded against a seat or mount and the other resting on the ground.

The Lokhari Yoginis have a special fascination which lies in the fact that most of them have animal heads, with the human face being a rare occurrence. A set of twenty images, nearly all theriomorphic, having the heads of animals such as horse, cow, rabbit, snake, buffalo, goat, bear, and deer, has been recorded. A unique image not found in other Yogini groupings is Saśakanana (Rabbit-faced One), shown with small rabbits peeping out, one from each end of her seat. There are no inscriptions found at Lokhari.

The Lokhari temple is another example of a tradition that includes the matrikas among the Yoginis.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Dudhai
The Chausath Yogini temple was circular in plan and hypaethral, but is now in ruins. It is built of large evenly laid blocks of sandstone and is today in a state of ruins with only two segments of the circle still standing. It has a diameter of fifty feet and there is evidence of a fairly wide entranceway leading up to it. Each individual cell commences halfway up the stone wall and is three feet high and three feet in width, with a curved sloping ribbed eave in front.

There were 42 niches dedicated to Yogini images, but unfortunately no traces remain of the Yogini images that were once placed within these cells, and there is little evidence on which to try and date the shrine.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Rikhiyan
The Yoginis from this site are carved in sets of four on long rectangular slabs which have no curvature along their length. The slabs were apparently intended for rectangular placement, and multiples of four indicate a temple of the sixty-four Yoginis. When first reported in 1909, at which time the slabs were also photographed, there were still ten slabs (forty Yoginis) at Rikhiyan. Since then the site has been steadily ransacked, and later the authorities removed the remaining three slabs (twelve Yoginis) to the nearby Gadhwa fort for protection.

The slab from Gadhwa labelled RK5 gives us a good idea of the Rikhiyan Yoginis. The goddesses and their mounts are carved against a totally plain background with no accompanying figures of any type. Each Yogini sits in lalitasana with one leg resting on the ground and the other folded at the knee and placed upon her vāhana. These Yoginis, sculpted with heavy breasts, broad waist and large stomach, speak definitely of an inferior quality of workmanship.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Kanchipuram
Two stone sculptures of goddesses in the collections of the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) and the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art (NMAA) once shared a temple in northern Tamil Nadu, together with other similar goddesses, the god Shiva, and perhaps other deities.

Slightly larger than life-sized, these fierce, tantric goddesses combine features identified with an idealized female beauty together with elements that signal danger. They have voluptuous bodies and intricately carved jewelry, but they also wear adornments made of writhing snakes and they hold threatening objects, such as skull cups and weapons. When they were part of an active temple, they were probably believed to bestow great powers upon devotees but to be dangerous to people not initiated into their religious traditions.

Although no trace remains of the Tamil Yoginis’ temple, extant Yogini temples in India, further north, suggest what it looked like. Because the number of Yoginis in temples and texts varies so widely, one cannot ascertain how many Yoginis were originally part of the temple in Tamil Nadu. Three matrika sculptures that were found with the Tamil Yoginis may or may not have been enshrined alongside the Yoginis in their original temple. These smaller goddesses probably once belonged to a set of seven matrikas enshrined in the southwestern part of a temple dedicated to Shiva. Separate shrines for matrikas and other auxiliary deities were (and still are) a standard part of Shiva temples in southern India. Whether or not he occupied a central shrine remains a matter of speculation.

Through inscriptional references and comparable temples, it can be inferred that the Tamil Yogini temple was constructed with brick walls above stone foundations. Although many brick temples from the period of Chausath Yogini in Kanchipuram have either crumbled or have been converted into stone, some still survive in northern Tamil Nadu. Two examples are the Cuntaravarāta Peruma and Kailasanatha temples at Uttiramerur, about 25 km south of the city of Kanchipuram.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Hirapur
The Hirapur temple is built of coarse sandstone blocks with laterite in its foundation, while its Yoginis are carved from fine-grained grey chlorite. The inner walls of this circular temple have sixty niches with all sixty Yoginis still in position. The small central pavilion, clumsily reconstructed in recent years, has eight niches with images of the remaining four of the sixty-four Yoginis, and four housing images of four Bhairavas. In the centre of this shrine-pavilion stood an image of Shiva which, regrettably, was stolen soon after the discovery of the temple. The Yogini images are about two feet in height and the chlorite slabs from which they have been carved are tightly wedged into the niches prepared for them. Each Yogini niche has been treated as a miniature shrine, with base moulding below and a roof treatment above, containing a relief carving of an arch such as is seen on all Orissan temples. The sandstone is badly worn and while the details are blurred, the general outlines are still discernible.

The Hirapur Yoginis are standing images, all delightfully poised with the soft, rounded thighs extolled in poetry as comparable to the smooth stalks of the banana palm. Faces are delicately carved, often with a gentle smile that further enhances their beauty, while the fact that some of the Yoginis have animal heads does not detract from their attractiveness. Jeweled girdles placed low on their hips hold a skirt that is indicated only by a line along their ankles, and they wear elaborate ornaments of various types. There is great variety in hairstyles which include large ornamented chignons placed to one side of the head, hair piled up on the crown, and small tight curls arranged neatly on the head. Most of the Yoginis have two arms (sixteen have four arms and one has eight) and none have halos or attendant figures, the goddess being carved against a plain slab of stone.

Because of the nearness of the site, it is not far-fetched to assume that the same workshops that produced the temples at Bhubanesvar were also responsible for the Hirapur temple. Stylistically, the Hirapur sculptures display the closest affinity with the beautiful carvings adorning the Muktesvar temple in Bhubanesvar. The sculptures in both Hirapur and Muktesvar exhibit a similarly soft and sensitive modelling of the female form, characterised by a sense of restrained animation and quiet elegance. The details of jewellery and ornamentation form a striking contrast to the smooth, rounded planes of the almost bare body. According to an 11th century Odia text Ekamrachandrika, the temple at Hirapur was one of the Shakti pithas of Ekamra (Bhubaneshwar).

Hirapur is the only Yogini temple to have sculptures on its outer walls, where there are nine niches each containing a sandstone female figure.

Another unusual feature of this temple is a projecting entranceway flanked by doorkeepers. On either side of the narrow vestibule is a skeletal male, wearing a garland of skulls and snake anklets, with one figure holding a severed human head. On the pedestal below are two more similar skeletal figures holding skull-cups and with jackals beside them. The entire mood is suggestive of Sava Sadhana rites.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Ranipur
The Ranipur-Jharial Yogini temple has a diameter of approximately fifty feet, making it more than twice the size of the Mirapur temple. The images are comparatively larger and all the Yoginis are shown dancing, each striking an identical pose (karana). The positioning of the legs is basic to all Indian classical dance and is a stance assumed at the start of each set of movements; thus, the Yoginis are poised as if ready to commence their dance. There are sixty-four niches in this temple, and at its centre, still relatively intact, is the original small roofed pavilion containing an image of dancing Śhiva. The textual concept of Śhiva at the centre of a circle of Yoginis is thus followed here exactly. However, the fact that Shiva and the Yoginis are dancing appears to be a novel iconographic arrangement. Śhiva has three faces and eight arms and is shown with ūrdhva linga; Ganesha and the bull Nandi are also carved along the base of the image. While the main entrance into the temple is a simple opening on the east, there appears to have once been a secondary entrance on the south. This has been neatly filled in with stone blocks similar to those used in the main structure, but this portion of the wall is still distinguishable as a later addition. The significance of this second entranceway which does not exist at Hirapur, is not clear. As at Hirapur, here too the matrikas are not in evidence.

Ranipur-Jharial reveals a larger proportion of animal headed Yoginis than Hirapur. Among the several such striking Yoginis is one with the head of a cat. The buffalo headed Yogini and the goddess with the antelope head are both arresting figures.

The Yoginis of Ranipur-Jharial are all carved from the same coarse-grained inferior sandstone that was used to construct the walls of the temple. The stone is badly weathered and this has greatly affected the quality of the sculptures.

A dancing Martand Bhairava image has been found from the shrine. ‘Martanda’ is one of the names of Sun god, and ‘Bhairava’ is a ferocious form of Shiva who is associated with Yoginis—this points towards a syncretic solar-cum-saiva tantric deity. The solar aspect of this temple could also be ascertained from the four faces of Martand Bhairava representing four directions.

 Notes: 

[1] Occult

[2] Debasmita Mahanta, 2020, Conservation Plan Of Chausath Yogini temple Of Ranipur- Jharial, Odisha

[3] Female practitioner of yoga

[4] Forms of Hindu Goddesses

[5] wrestling arena

[6] Spire

[7] Pillared hall

[8] Kachchhapa-ghata were originally the vassals of Gurjara-Pratiharas and Chandelas

[9] a royal sitting posture

Cultural Legacy: The Chausath Yogini temples represent the ancient yogic and tantric practices associated with the worship of the Yogini deities, emphasizing on feminine energy. It holds spiritual and cultural significance as a place of reverence, meditation, and connection with the divine feminine energy. This unique religious tradition adds significant cultural value, contributing to their OUV. Local people (especially women) of Khajuraho, Jabalpur, Morena, Hirapur and Ranipur still visit the temple every year to celebrate Navratri (festival associated with the Goddess Durga) and other festivals.

Criterion (iii): The temples serve as a unique testimony to the ancient yogic and tantric traditions prevalent between 9-12th century under the reign of various rulers in different regions. It reflects the spiritual practices associated with the worship of the Yogini deities, contributing to our understanding of ancient Indian cultural and religious traditions. While other Hindu temples focus on mainstream deities like Vishnu and Shiva, the Chausath Yogini temples highlight a more esoteric and mystical aspect of Hinduism, focused on goddess worship and Tantric practices. This diversity of religious practice and architectural form enhances the global significance of these temples.

Criterion (iv): The circular layout of the Chausath Yogini temples sets them apart from other temple types in India, which are typically rectangular or square in plan. Their innovative design and integration with nature, combined with the ritualistic importance of the Yogini cult, make them an exemplary representation of architectural ingenuity in early medieval India. The Chausath Yogini temples showcase exceptional artistic and architectural brilliance. Their circular design, precise stone carvings, and intricate detailing demonstrate the mastery of artisans. The circular, roofless structures emphasize the connection between the deities and natural elements, especially the sky. The worship of Yoginis in such an environment fosters a direct relationship between the spiritual and natural worlds, further enhancing the temples’ unique standing as an architectural ensemble that transcends the boundary between human-made structures and the cosmos.

Justification of the selection of the component part(s) in relation to the future nomination as a whole:

The Chausath Yogini temples are an exceptional example of early medieval temple architecture, embodying unique architectural innovation, religious, spiritual and cultural values along with their integration with nature. Their Outstanding Universal Value, combined with their historical, cultural, and spiritual significance, justifies their selection for future nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The temples are recognised monuments under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and are protected by national heritage legislation. In some temples, conservation efforts are in place to ensure the preservation, conservation and maintenance of the temples and their surrounding areas, while for some there is a requirement of further concretised actions to preserve their remains.

Regular maintenance, periodic restoration, and awareness programs contribute to the sustainable protection of the site. The temple is protected under the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites, and Remains Act of India. The ASI actively engages stakeholders, including local communities, scholars, and heritage conservation experts, in the management and decision-making processes.

However, there is a need for a more comprehensive and site specific management plan that must involve regular monitoring of the temple's structural stability, preservation of the stone carvings, and protection against environmental factors and invasive activities. It should also emphasize on community engagement, educational programs, and raising awareness about the historical and cultural significance of the temples.

The Chausath Yogini temples retain a high degree of authenticity in terms of their form, materials, location, function, and cultural significance. Apart from the few completely in ruins, the temples retain their original layout and material and construction techniques. The sculptures were carved using tantric iconographic principles, which remain preserved in the surviving sculptures.

The temples have been maintained well with minimum interventions in the original structure, thereby preserving its authenticity and integrity. Only preliminary repair works have been done of the protected monuments. The use of the temple for worship and rituals by the locals contributes to the authenticity of the temple.

Despite exposure to natural elements and occasional loss of sculptural details, the physical integrity of the temples, including their circular layout and the arrangement of the Yogini niches, remains intact. Most of the temples have a shrine of Shiva associated with them. This context further supports the integrity of the Chausath Yogini Temple. Several Chausath Yogini temples have been strategically placed on hilltops or high terrain, offering panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. This setting reinforces the sense of spiritual elevation, where the temple's isolation from mundane life elevates it to a place of divine power and communion with nature. The harmony between the built form and its natural surroundings is a hallmark of this architectural ensemble.