Mehrauli’s Sacred Gem: A Guide to Yogmaya Temple

Mehrauli¹, lying in South Delhi, is one of Delhi’s oldest cities, which has witnessed various dynasties battle for it. Over numerous centuries, Mehrauli has grown, with each stage leaving its unique mark on the city’s growth. The settlement now contains several historic monuments and buildings from different periods making it a richly historical location. Although not having magnificent architecture, some places near the “axis of the world”, as mentioned by Ranjana Mittal in her case study Sacred Memory – Memory of Temples in Delhi, are nonetheless significant culturally, one of which is the Yogmaya Temple in Mehrauli.

The temple is 500 yards from Qutub Minar in Mehrauli, which is enclosed within the walls of Lal Kot². It is one of the surviving twenty-seven temples destroyed in the present-day Qutub complex during the twelfth century to establish the rule of Ghurid Turk. Historian Swapna Liddle in her work, The Qutub Minar Complex and the Village of Mehrauli,mentions that both Jain Dadabari Temple and Yogmaya Temple had strong public backing and were therefore spared. Interestingly, it is considered one of Delhi’s ancient temples dating to the Mahabharata period.

According to folklores, King Yudhishthira, the eldest of the five Pandava brothers mentioned in the epic Mahabharata, built the temple after winning the famous Kurukshetra battle. Some even claim the temple was built by Lord Krishna and further built by Tomara ruler Anangpala Tomara. Even though the original ancient temple is no longer standing, it’s very likely that its structural remnants still exist in the Qutub Minar complex³ along with others. It was later reconstructed, and people continued to worship in it.

Some sources mention that Hindu Ruler Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, who previously served under the reign of Adil Shah Suri of the Sur Empire, first renovated the temple in the sixteenth century. However, the present structure of the temple was built and renovated by Seth Sidhu Mal of Chandni Chowk who was an amir (high-official) during the reign of emperor Akbar Shah II of the Mughal Empire in the year 1827 with further renovations by the temple trust.

“The temple stands against a heavy looking building which does not appear to be older than the temple itself. From the floor of the temple — which was paved with red stone twenty years ago, and is now covered with marble — to its copper gilt pinnacle, it is about 42 feet high” (Carr, 1876). Except for the exquisite carvings of Lord Vishnu, Goddess Lakshmi, Goddess Durga and Shesha Naga (at the entrance), there is nothing particularly fascinating about the temple’s current structure.

However, one peculiar architectural feature of the temple is a long rectangular room built around the temple which is currently used as a storehouse for storing food items, also called ‘Bhandar graha.’ Interestingly, this room was believed to have been built by the sixth Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb around the seventieth century, who attempted to transform this temple into a mosque but was unsuccessful. It is evident from the fact that temple structures are always square and mosques have longish rooms. Moreover, one could see a dome-like roof on top of the room which further asserts this theory.  “The reason behind it was that the labour Aurangzeb hired for this purpose, cut their hands during the night and whatever work they did the whole day vanished in the night,” said Kuldeep Mishra, the head pujari of the temple. (Yogmaya Temple, a Symbol of Unity, Latest News Delhi – Hindustan Times).

The temple houses several deities, but the chief deity is Goddess Yogmaya or Jogmaya who is the goddess of purity and illusion and is regarded as the source of ultimate power of Lord Vishnu by the Vaishnavaits. Bhagavata Purana and Devi Mahatmya mention her as the daughter of Yashoda and Nanda, sister of Lord Krishna, and the incarnation of Adi Shakti (supreme goddess in Shaktism) who is the benevolent aspect of Goddess Durga. The goddess is also known by names such as Mahamaya, Mahalakshmi, Ekanamsha, Vindhyavasini etc.

Folklore says that she was replaced with Krishna, the eighth child of Devaki and Vasudeva when he was born in prison. Assuming her to be the child of Devaki and Vasudeva when Kamsa, brother of Devaki, tried to kill the newborn by tossing her against the stone slab, she took her actual form and warned him predicting his death, and vanished in the air. According to the locals and priests, the body of the goddess was then split into three parts. Her head fell in Mehrauli, in the Aravali Ranges of Delhi (area of Sanjay Van), where the temple is and manifested in the form of a black stone (pinda form), her feet turned into lightning and her trunk fell in Vindhyachal (the Vindhya Mountains), in Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh where a famous temple named Vindhyavasini stands. This narrative is somewhat similar to the folklore associated with other Shakti-peetha temples in India such as Kamakhya Temple in Assam, where various body parts of Goddess Sati⁴ fell and manifested in the pinda form.

However, the temple is called as ‘Siddha Peetha⁵ Shri Yogmaya Mandir’ as the belief that Lord Krishna built the temple is firm among the locals and priests.“The room where the black stone is placed is about seventeen feet square; the flat roof is surmounted by the usual truncated pyramid with slightly curved sides; the frame of the door of the room is made of marble. The sacred stone is placed in a marble well about two feet wide and a foot deep; it is tenderly concealed in tinsel and cloth” (Carr, 1876).

Another folklore that associates the goddess with Mahabharata is that Arjuna, third of the five Pandava brothers, and Lord Krishna visited this temple and pleaded with the goddess to help them kill Jayadratha, who was responsible for the death of Arjuna’s son Abhimanyu in the battle. The goddess, with the help of her Maya, caused a brief eclipse which allowed Arjuna to behead Jayadratha. Legend also has it that the daughter of King Prithviraj Chauhan⁶ was an ardent devotee of the goddess and visited this temple every day to pray.

Perhaps, one of the Jaina sources has indirect references to the temple as the name of Delhi, or more specifically Mehrauli, is mentioned in a thirteenth-century Palam Baoli inscription in Palam Village as ‘Sri Yognipura,’ which served as a significant pilgrimage centre for Jaina pilgrims and possibly even a commercial centre. “The evidence of 8th-9th century sculptures, inscriptions, including the Iron Pillar⁷ Inscription, and architectural fragments from the Qutub Archaeological Area suggests that the area was known as Yoginipura during the Gupta, post-Gupta and Pratihara periods, and then became known as Dhilli or Dhillika⁸ after the Tomars constructed Lal Kot” (Singh, 2006, Part VI, Chapter: Excavations at Lal Kot 1991-92 and Further explorations in Delhi by B.R. Mani).

Yogini temples, of which no remains have been discovered, are said to be the source of the name Yoginipura as the area to the south of the imperial city of the Indraprastha⁹ was known to be the abode of Yoginis. These are semi-divine females who achieve divine spiritual knowledge through yogic practices and are prevalent in Tantric traditions¹⁰. It is believed that there is only one surviving yogini temple which is now referred to as the Yogmaya temple. Scholars like R.V. Smith believe that yoginis continue to be worshipped along with the goddess Yogmaya. However, the goddess is worshipped with flowers and sweetmeats while rigorously forbidding the use of alcohol and meat as the goddess is considered pure and exacting which is contrary to tantric practices.

Yogmaya temple observes numerous festivals throughout the year including Khatri’s Kuldevi festival which is held the day before Rakshabandhan, Kalki Devi Janmohatsav which is observed between July and August, Janmashtami, Navaratri which is held in October. These festivals indicate a synthesis of Shakti as well as the Krishna Bhakti cult. However, it is unclear for how long these festivals have been observed. “The most romantic season, after Sawan, Basant, interestingly enough, was celebrated in pre-Sultanate times at the Yog Maya Mandir, in Mehrauli” (Smith, 2015). Although Navaratri¹¹ is the biggest festival celebrated in the temple that draws a large number of devotees, one important festival, of which its historicity can be traced is the Phoolwalon ki Sair (the procession of the flower sellers) also known as Sair-e-Gul-Faroshan which is also celebrated with much enthusiasm.

Origins of the festival date back to the rule of Mughal Emperor Akbar Shah II in the year, 1812. Folklore has it that goddess Yogmaya appeared in the dream of Begum Mumtaz Mahal, the wife of the emperor after their son Mirza Jahangir was exiled to Allahabad in an attempt to shoot Charles Seton, a British resident, from a red fort window for favouring Bahadur Shah Zafar II¹² over him for the succession to the throne. The queen wowed to offer floral pankhas (fans) and chhatar (canopy) in the temple and chaadar (sacred cloth) made of flowers at the dargah of Qutub-ud-din Bakhtiyar Kaki¹³ if her wish, of the release of his son, was fulfilled. It was then, that this tradition was started. Another theory states that after failing in his efforts to transform the temple into a mosque, Emperor Aurangzeb apologised while offering chhatar to the goddess in the temple.

“This festival originally used to take place in the monsoon month of Saavan, on Shukla Chaturdashi or the 14th day of the bright fortnight” (Goyal, 2010). But in present times, the festival is celebrated between September and October. Phoolwalon Ki Sair was discontinued during the Quit India Movement¹⁴ by the British in the year 1942 but was revived in the year 1962 by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India. Since then, the civil society organisation ‘Anjuman Sair-e-Gulfaroshan’ has been organising the festival in collaboration with the Government of Delhi.

The Chief Minister and Lieutenant Governor of Delhi also participate in the festival. Processions are laid by shehnai players in brocade sherwanis and dancers, carrying floral pankhas, chaadars, and chhattar offered at the two sacred places, as mentioned above, followed by cultural performances such as Kathak, Qawwali etc at Jahaz Mahal in Mehrauli. The festival has grown and evolved from a day into a week-long celebration. Previously limited to Delhi, this festival now attracts participants from various states.

“The organisation of PWS by the Mughals was in itself a cultural means of resisting the structural power exerted by British capitalism and its consequent colonisation of India” (Sircar, 2019). This temple was chosen for the festival as Mehrauli was well renowned for its deity at that time as well. Owing to the celebration of this festival, the temple is also considered a symbol of unity among Hindus and Muslims. However, according to historian Sohail Hashmi, the festival has turned into a bureaucratic circus since the year, 1962.

Temples of Goddess Yogmaya can be found in different parts of India and one in Pakistan, but the ones located in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh are significant due to their connection to Lord Krishna’s birth and Mahabharata, attracting a large number of devotees. Even Sir Thomas Metcalfe, 4^th Baronet¹⁵ in his commissioned work Reminiscences of Imperial Delhi, mentions the temple highlighting its significance and popularity since ancient times. According to a temple priest, the first priest to look after the temple was Chanchak Baba, who later delegated the duty of the temple to the Vatsa family whose ancestors have been looking after the temple for generations.

While it is difficult to trace the historical origins of the Yogmaya Temple due to a lack of tangible evidence, it has been assumed that the temple has existed and been popular since pre-Sultanate times. Although architecturally insignificant, its uniqueness, however, stems from its association with a Dargah, as well as from the memories that have been passed down through generations in the form of stories, and traditions. These memories have travelled over time through different layers of Delhi’s history, and have held cultural and social significance which has helped establish its respectable antiquity, making it a ‘Culturally Living Temple.’

Archit Sehdev is a graduate in History from Delhi University. His area of interest lies in the ancient and medieval history of India, along with its rich cultural heritage. He is always eager to explore and learn more about the diverse culture of his homeland, be it music, yoga, or any other aspect.

References

• Carr, Stephen. (1876). Archaeology And Monumental Remains Of Delhi. E.M. Wherry, Superintendent Mission Press, Ludhiana. Superintendent Mission Press, Kolkata. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.46950/page/n47/mode/2up
• Chaudhuri, Zinnia Ray. (2017). “Once a Symbol of Secularism, Phoolwalon Ki Sair Festival Is Now a Mere Shadow of Its Past Glory.” Scroll.in (Newspaper Article) https://scroll.in/magazine/855992/once-a-secular-symbol-mehraulis-phoolwalon-ki-sair-festival-is-now-a-bureaucratic-circus
• Goyal, Anuradha. (2010). “Ancient Yogmaya Temple, Mehrauli – Delhi Heritage.” Inditales (Blog) https://www.inditales.com/ancient-yogmaya-temple-mehrauli-delhi/
• Liddle, Swapna. The Qutub Minar Complex and the Village of Mehrauli, in Decolonising Heritage in South Asia: The Global, the National and the Transnational by Himanshu Prabha Ray. Routledge.
• Mittal, Ranjana. Sacred Memory of Temples in Delhi, in Training Strategies for World Heritage Management. Deutsche UNESCO-Kommission e.V., 2007 http://70degrees.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Training_Strategies_for_World_Heritage_M.pdf#page=196
• Nandrajog, Hina. From Indraprastha to Delhi: The Cityscape as Sediment of Memories. The IAFOR Conference on Heritage & the City – New York 2018 Official Conference Proceedings. http://papers.iafor.org/wp-content/uploads/papers/hcny2018/HCNY2018_43345.pdf
• Singh, Upinder. (2006). Delhi Ancient History. Social Science Press. ISBN: 8187358297.                                     Delhi: Ancient History – Google Books.
• Sircar, Sraman. (2019). THE POLITICS OF CELEBRATION: POWER, AGENCY, AND PLACEMAKING IN A FESTIVAL. Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology. Central European University.
• Smith, R. V. (2005). The Delhi that No-one Knows. India: DC Publishers.
• Smith, R. V. (2015). Delhi through the ages, essays in Urban History, Culture and Society ed. by Frykenburg, R.E., Oxford University Press 1986
• Smith, RV. “The Forgotten Legacy of the Phoolwalon-ki-Sair.” the Hindu. www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/the-forgotten-legacy-of-the-phoolwalon-ki-sair-flowers-for-the-prince/article29887483.ece.
•  “Yogmaya Temple, a Symbol of Unity” | Latest News Delhi – Hindustan Times., 13 July 2016. (Newspaper Article)  https://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi/yogmaya-temple-a-symbol-of-unity/story-WMYFCT1MCq5K3gbYJ1YKrN.html

1. Actual name of the city was Mihirawali, that is Home of Mihira (Sun); Archaeologists and scholars like R.V. Smith have also suggested the possibility of the presence of Sun Temple in Mehrauli in pre-Sultanate times built by King Anagpala Tomara near the Yogmaya temple. ↩︎
2. Constructed by King Anangpala Tomara, near the Qutub complex, around 11th century; Ananga Tal Lake is situated to the north of the Yogmaya Temple which is believed to be constructed by the Tomara ruler as well in 12th century. ↩︎
3. A well-known tourist destination nowadays is the Qutub Minar Complex, having an array of historic monuments that date back centuries. The Qutub Minar (early 13th century), is one of the complex’s major attractions and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site; Earlier the part of Lal Kot and Qila Rai Pithora which included various Hindu and Jain Temples; Quwut-ul-Islam (Might of Islam) Mosque present in the Qutub Complex was built by Qutb ud-Din Aibak in 12th century, from the remains of the demolished temples. ↩︎
4. Lord Shiva’s first wife and an incarnation of Adi Shakti; Goddess Parvati, second wife of Lord Shiva, is believed to be the re-incarnation of Goddess Sati according to ancient scriptures. ↩︎
5. Siddha Peethas refers to those sacred places which are built by a famous spiritual personality (Lord Krishna in this case) while Shakti Peethas are those places associated with Goddess Sati. ↩︎
6. The greatest king of the Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty; Ruled over Delhi and Ajmer in the 12th century; Constructed Qila Rai Pithora that encircled the citadel of Lal Kot from three sides; Goddess Yogmaya was believed to be the kuladevi of Chahuhans. ↩︎
7. Constructed by king Chandragupta II of the Gupta dynasty around 4th centuy BCE in Udaygiri; Pillar known for its rust-resistant property; Shifted from Udaygiri to Lal Kot by King Anangapala Tomara; Later shifted to its present location around 13th-14th century; Contains Sanksrit inscription by Chandragupta II which mentions Vishnupada. ↩︎
8. A medieval legend of the Iron pillar (that rested on Serpant Vasuki’s head), based on a Brahman’s prophecy, states that Anangapala’s rule would last as long as the pillar remained upright. After digging, Anangapala discovered that pillar was smeared with Vasuki’s blood, causing the king to re-instate it, but it remained loose, forming the area known as Dhilli or Dhillika. ↩︎
9. City of Lord Indra inhabited by the Pandavas; Mentioned in the Mahabaharata, Puranas, Jaina and Buddhist literature, Tarikh-i-Firozshai; Ain-e-Akbari mentions the name of a village called Indrapat; Ptolemy’s Geography dating to 2nd century CE mentions the city Indabara; Associated today with the area of Purana Qila built by the second Mughal emperor Humayun and emperor Sher Shah Suri of the Sur empire in the 16th century. ↩︎
10. Tantrism is a religious and philosophical movement appearing in India around 5th century CE that existed within both Hinduism and Buddhism.  Tantrism focuses upon ritual aspects that involve the use of meditation and yogic practices to connect with the divine. ↩︎
11. A Hindu Festival celebrated for 9 nights in honour of Goddess Durga, also a form of Adi Shakti. ↩︎
12. The last emperor of the Mughal Empire in India whose rule ended in 1857 after the Revolt; Step-brother of Mirza Jahangir. ↩︎
13. A Sufi saint and scholar of the Chishti Order during the rule of Iltutmish during 13th century; Dargah of the Sufii Saint is near Zafar Mahal in Mehrauli. ↩︎
14. Mahatma Gandhi launched the Quit India Movement on August 8, 1942, urging the nation to fight against British rule with the call of ‘Do or Die’. ↩︎
15. British Resident in the court of Bahadur Shah Zafar II, the last Mughal emperor; Built Metcalf house in the 19th century in Mehrauli and Old Delhi Civil Lines area. ↩︎