Frontal view of the templeI redeemed myself off from the ignominy of having been an unworthy ignorant Odiya all these years. Being born and bred in a diverse and culturally vibrant state, I possessed little knowledge of what my state had to offer. I meandered all through my growing up years blankly. But today, after all these years, the subdued spirit has ignited and wants to learn more about its rich homestate Orissa. And thus started my journey . Because its never too late. And I started with 64 Yogini Temple, Hirapur.
The archedway displaying the 64 yogini statuettesThe 64 yogini temple at Hirapur, which is just 15 kms from Bhubaneswar, hides within itself deep mysteries and untold legends. Its uniqueness can be gauged by the fact that it is only second of its kind in Orissa and one of four such temples in the world. The temple is hypaethral, that means it is roofless. And the circular archway dons 64 statuettes of yoginis.
One such Yogini statuetteLegend has it that a demon king Raktabija had a boon that for each drop of his blood spilled on the ground, he would multiply his form. When his existence became intolerable, Goddess Durga waged a war against him. Durga took the help of the yoginis and directed them to drink all the drops of blood before it could touch the ground. Thus the demon was killed.
The village Hirapur though being so close to the city has its rustic charm surrounded by open swathes of paddy fields and a small pond in front of the temple.
You have to cross this Kuakhai river bridge to reach Hirapur.For more information on 64 yogini temple, read the,
HINDU article which featured a story on this little known temple.
Frontal view of the temple
The archedway displaying the 64 yogini statuettes
One such Yogini statuette
You have to cross this Kuakhai river bridge to reach Hirapur.
26 comments:
Not surprisingly.. I too dint hav any idea bout 64-Yogini mandir.
Its intersting,splly the 'roofless' part.
Enjoy Orissa and do share it all with us.
I am amazed to learn about this Temple in Hirapur since I have seen a similar roofless temple called Chausat Yogini Temple in Bedhaghat near Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh.
Isn't it lovely that our blogworld gives us opportunities to share information and our experiences? Thank you for this very interesting post Ravi.:)
Looks like my kind of place!
Very interesting story. Good to know about these hidden jewels of India
@debashish: Its never too late :) Be proud of Orissa
@indica: Yes the Jabalpur temple is another one. do u have a post on that?
@Mridula: Do make it a point to visit once u r here in Orissa.
@vamsee: Thanks for visiting
Thanks Ravi. I have heard about this myth. Thanks a lot for the nice post and the snaps!
Go on dear wayfarer.
Ravi,
In my case it's been like: travelled more, written less. I started blogging just last year yaar.
My last post on the MP series I had started on has been on the Khajuraho temples. After that I went to Bandavgarh National Park (where I sighted a tiger too), then Jabalpur, Bhedaghat, and continued to Bhopal, Sanchi, Bhojpur, Bhimbetka...and till now I have not put up posts on these places. I have photographs of these lovely places, and hope to write some blog posts some day. Will let you know then.:)
@Baiju: Thanks for dropping by. I didnt know Raktabija is so popular.
Nice post!!! and now after reading your post, I am planning to visit this temple on my next trip to Orissa.
Thanks for dropping by at my blog and the comment.
@Alok: You surely must. As an Oriya especially :)
Nice post man...really excited to see the place.
Somebody once said, 'Life is a book and those who don't travel read only one page'. When I first read this quote, I didn't feel the depth of it since I was not a traveler then. But now, traveling has become an addiction. I have been a fitness freak for quite some time now. Combining the two passions of my life - fitness and traveling - what clicks is adventure-sports.
I have been passionate about wildlife ,treking ,paragliding,climbing and other outdoors.
I have always liked getting in toch with people who share common interests.I have recently started my blog on adventure sports in india.You can put your views there and also share your experiences and new places with me.
http://adventure-sports-india.blogspot.com/
Abhishek
Hi
My second attempt at commenting here :)
Its amazing how we discover history at every nook and corner of our own backyard..a great post ..keep them coming
Hello,
I am actually a Journalism student writing an article about a mountain in the Orissa province in India. I'm after some first hand quotes, and wonder if you are likely to be back in the area anytime soon to pay a visit to the mountain and be credited in my article!? Sorry, can't give too much away at the moment until all my sources are confirmed and reliable!!
I would read more on this topic if writers were more like you about using interesting information and adding brain-stimulating content. This is an excellent piece of writing. Thank you.
While it is important to have good writing skills, that is only part of writing a good article. Obviously you possess these skills, but you also have a special flair for informative writing. Well done.
ecommerce website |
ecommerce website development
This article is informative, well-written and very interesting. I have truly enjoyed reading your own points of view and I agree with you for the most part. Now I have to think about this material.
seo melbourne |
search optimisation melbourne
While this subject can be very touchy for most people, my opinion is that there has to be a middle or common ground that we all can find. I do appreciate that youve added relevant and intelligent commentary here though. Thank you!
My page : term life insurance quote
To know more about Life insurance rates and to gain some insightful knowledge on Life insurance agent then do visit our website : peoplesurance.com
While this subject can be very touchy for most people, my opinion is that there has to be a middle or common ground that we all can find. I do appreciate that youve added relevant and intelligent commentary here though. Thank you!
My page : Dry needling
While it is important to have good writing skills, that is only part of writing a good article. Obviously you possess these skills, but you also have a special flair for informative writing. Well done.
My page : ecommerce website design
You need to be a aspect of a competition for one of the finest top quality weblogs on the web. I most certainly will suggest this site!
Nice post. I learn something more challenging on different blogs everyday. It will always be stimulating to read content from other writers and practice a little something from their store. I’d prefer to use some with the content on my blog whether you don’t mind. Natually I’ll give you a link on your web blog. Thanks for sharing.
While it is important to have good writing skills, that is only part of writing a good article. Obviously you possess these skills, but you also have a special flair for informative writing. Well done.
Wonderful blog!!! Even we didn’t know about all those things you’ve written in your blog Fox Travels
Post a Comment