A Unique Sculptural Illustration of Kuṇḍalinīyoga at Jogeśvara Temple, Devalane, Maharashtra

Abstract

The article explores a unique set of sculptural panels illustrating the stages of kuṇḍalinīyoga on c. thirteenth-century CE temple in Maharashtra, India. The panels depict stages of awakening and rise of kuṇḍalinī by using the imagery of a serpent which is commonly employed in texts for describing the nature and the form of kuṇḍalinī. The article deciphers these panels with the help of Śaiva tantric, haṭhayogic and Nātha texts in Sanskrit as well as the literary works in Marathi including those of the Maharashtrian saint poets and the Līḷācaritra. These panels constitute an important archaeological source for understanding the nature of yoga traditions of the early second millennium CE. They stand at a cusp of a period when the kuṇḍalinī-based yoga was becoming a dominant paradigm of bindu-oriented haṭhayogic traditions. The presence of the panels illustrating kuṇḍalinīyoga on the exterior of a temple body highlights the provenance of this concept in the public domain, i.e. beyond the confines of the esoteric, ascetic traditions. The analysis of the panels also underlines their relevance for understanding regional currents within the traditions of kuṇḍalinī-based yoga.