Chausath Yogini Temples

Most Indian temples build upward, toward a covered sanctum. These temples do the opposite: circular, open to the sky, built for 64 goddesses said to fly.

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Art & Culture · ArtnCulture0165

Chausath Yogini Temples

Circular, roofless, built for 64 goddesses

Late 9th c.

Khajuraho, oldest survivor

Built under the Chandela dynasty. It now stands largely in ruins.

10th c.

Bhedaghat, the largest

Built by the Kalachuris. It holds 81 shrine chambers, not the usual 64.

11th c.

Morena (Mitaoli), best preserved

Built by King Devapala of the Kachchhapaghata dynasty.

Present day

On UNESCO’s tentative list

India has proposed a serial nomination, grouping several sites together.

A resemblance, not a proven inspiration

Mitaoli’s circular plan is often said to have inspired Delhi’s Parliament House. There’s no evidence architect Edwin Lutyens ever visited it, or even knew it existed — the resemblance may just be coincidence.

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Must Know

• Chausath Yogini temples are a distinctive form of Indian temple architecture. They are circular, and open to the sky.
• Their boundary wall holds a ring of shrine chambers, most often 64 of them, for the 64 Yoginis, plus one more for the goddess Devi herself.
• Unlike most Hindu temples, they are hypaethral — deliberately roofless. This was meant to allow communion with yoginis, believed capable of flight.
• They were built roughly between the 9th and 12th centuries CE, by dynasties including the Chandelas, Kalachuris, and Kachchhapaghatas, across Central India.
• Around 13 such temples survive in India today. Eight of them stand in Madhya Pradesh alone.

Good to Know

• The Khajuraho Chausath Yogini temple, built in the late 9th century under the Chandela dynasty, is the oldest surviving one of its kind. It now stands largely in ruins.
• The Morena (Mitaoli) temple was built in the 11th century, by King Devapala of the Kachchhapaghata dynasty. It’s one of the best-preserved examples still standing.
• The Bhedaghat temple, near Jabalpur, was built in the 10th century by the Kalachuri dynasty. Unusually, it holds 81 shrine chambers rather than the standard 64.
• At roughly 125 feet across, Bhedaghat is the largest circular Yogini temple in India.
• India has proposed a serial nomination of its Chausath Yogini temples for UNESCO World Heritage status, grouping several sites together under one tentative listing.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. How many shrine chambers do Chausath Yogini temples typically have in their boundary wall?

65 (64 for the Yoginis, plus one for Devi)

32

108

81

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Great to Know

• A popular claim holds that Mitaoli’s circular design directly inspired Edwin Lutyens’s Parliament House, in New Delhi. There’s no documented evidence Lutyens ever visited the site, or even knew of it.
• The resemblance is real enough that a former Archaeological Survey of India regional director once called it “too unmistakable to be ignored” — even without proof of any direct influence.
• Their circular, open-to-sky plan sets Yogini temples apart from almost every other major Hindu temple tradition. Most other temples build upward and enclosed, around a covered sanctum.
• The Yoginis themselves carry a deliberate duality. They’re shown with beautiful female bodies, often paired with animal heads — a visual language meant to hold both allure and menace at once.