Chausathi Yogini Temple, Hirapur

Hirapur is an old village near Bhubaneswar whose best-known landmark is the Chausathi Yogini Temple, dedicated to the 64 yoginis, female deities worshipped in Tantric practice. The village is thought to have thrived between the 9th and 10th centuries CE, when the Bhaumakara dynasty ruled, rulers who supported Tantric rites.

The shrine is circular and has no roof over its sanctum. Its stone images show each yogini in a different pose and expression, with her own attributes and symbols standing for a separate aspect of divine energy. The round plan is read as a symbol of the wheel of time and the repeating cycle of existence.