Concept

Yogini

Overview

A yogini (Sanskrit: योगिनी, IAST: yoginī) is a female master practitioner of tantra and yoga, as well as a formal term of respect for female Hindu or Buddhist spiritual teachers in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Greater Tibet. The term is the feminine Sanskrit word of the masculine yogi, while the term "yogin" IPA: [ˈjoːɡin] is used in neutral, masculine or feminine sense.

A yogini, in some contexts, is the sacred feminine force made incarnate, as an aspect of Mahadevi, and revered in the yogini temples of India. These often revere a group of 64 yoginis, and are named as such, but can also have 42 or 81 yoginis. The names of the 64 yoginis vary in different classifications.

The story goes that, once upon a time, there lived a demon named Raktabija. As demons are often portrayed in the Puranas, Raktabija was ruthless and oppressive. To bring an end to his tyranny, the Gods turned to Adi Shakti, i.e., Mother Parvati, for help. Responding to their plea, the goddess assumed the fierce form of Durga, and a ferocious battle unfolded. Although Raktabija was defeated, he could not be destroyed easily, for every drop of his blood that touched the ground gave rise to another clone of himself. To counter this, Goddess Durga's divine energy manifested into 64 shadow forms known as the Yoginis. During the battle, each time Raktabija bled, a Yogini jumped into action and swiftly drank his blood before it could fall to the ground. It was through this powerful strategy that the demon was finally annihilated. As a reward for their devotion and valor, the Yoginis were blessed by Goddess Durga with a shrine each of their own. Thus, the tradition of 64 Yogini temples came to existence.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).

Possible passages

Found by search and not yet checked by a person; they may only mention the idea in passing.

All human bodies yield to Death's decree, The soul survives to all eternity. For that alone is derived from the gods, thence comes, and thither returns; not with the body, but when most disengaged and separated from it, and when most entirely pure and clean and free from the flesh; for the most…
Plutarch, Plutarch
States what Yogini is.
Read the chapter · Open in the reader
Then change and motion begin and all this evolution goes on. This state of things is going on cyclically, periodically; that is to say, there is a period of disturbance of the balance, when all these forces begin to combine and recombine, and this universe is projected; and there is also a period when everything has a tendency to revert to the primal state of equilibrium, and the time comes when a total absence of…
Swami Vivekananda, Jnâna Yoga, Part II
States what Yogini is.
Read the chapter · Open in the reader
l.) as follows: “One angel does not perform two things, and two angels do not perform one thing”; this is exactly the property of all forces. We may find a confirmation of the opinion that the natural and psychical forces of an individual are called angels in a statement of our Sages which is frequently quoted, and occurs originally in Bereshit Rabba (chap. lxxviii.): “Every day God creates a legion of angels; they…
Moses Maimonides, The guide for the perplexed
States what Yogini is.
Read the chapter · Open in the reader

Related ideas

Place in the tradition

Part of Yoga.

Explore Yogini in the interactive graph →