Tracing Delhi through its many names, histories

One past sanction — ‘Yoginipura’ — precocious sparked an world statement astatine Delhi University. Last week, The Indian Express had reported that inclusion of ‘Yoginipura’ successful the archetypal portion of the university’s revised undergraduate past syllabus had prompted an uproar from module members.

Many historians argued that portion determination was immoderate humanities grounds connecting Delhi to the sanction ‘Yoginipura’, the determination and value of the tract were taxable to world contention. Several of the varsity’s module members argued implicit the validity of the site’s humanities prominence arsenic the city’s galore names proceed to uncover layers of its analyzable and contested past.

Some references successful Jain texts enactment the beingness of a colony by the sanction of ‘Yoginipura’, too the occurrence of a akin sanction successful 3 13th and 14th period inscriptions, which corroborate the series of rulers but connection small item connected the name’s origin.

A 13th-century inscription recovered successful a baoli (stepwell) successful Palam colony refers to the operation of a good by Uddhara, a householder of ‘Dhilli’. The 13th enactment of the inscription identifies ‘Dhilli’ arsenic ‘Yoginipura’. Since carnal grounds is limited, too a notation successful a fewer inscriptions, historians are divided connected however overmuch humanities value the sanction ‘Yoginipura’ should carry.

Historian Upinder Singh writes successful her publication Ancient Delhi, “The legends known from section traditions connecting the sanction of Delhi with kings Dalip (Dilipa of Epics) oregon Delu, king of Kanauj… bash not incorporate immoderate information and it seems much imaginable that Indraprastha of the aboriginal humanities play mislaid its grandeur immoderate clip astir the Gupta period. Although the excavations of Purana Qila, the tract of Indraprastha beryllium the continued habitation till the Mughal period, it is rather imaginable that Indraprastha mislaid its presumption overmuch earlier the clip of Anang Pal II, the Tomar ruler who is credited to person inhabited Delhi sometime betwixt 1052 and 1060 AD erstwhile it came into beingness astir the Lal Kot adjacent Mehrauli.”

Singh further notes that “Amongst epigraphical evidence, the Palam Baoli Inscription of the clip of Balban dated successful the twelvemonth 1274 AD categorically says ‘The onshore of Hariyanaka was archetypal enjoyed by the Tomaras and past by the Chauhans. It is present ruled by the Saka Kings’.”

The inscription lists the rulers of the Slave dynasty, up to Balban, and identifies the portion of ‘Dhilli’ oregon ‘Yoginipura’ arsenic erstwhile ruled by these dynasties. However, fewer judge the country was known arsenic ‘Yoginipura’ successful past Jain texts and that Prithviraj Chauhan himself was said to person patronised a Yogini temple present soon earlier his city’s destruction.

Between 1806 and 1837, Lala Sidhu Mal, a noble successful the tribunal of Mughal Emperor Akbar II, built the Jogmaya temple successful Delhi’s Mehrauli, connected the tract wherever an past Yogini temple is believed to person existed. While nary factual impervious exists today, it is imaginable that determination erstwhile was specified a temple successful the area.

References to ‘Yoginipura’ arsenic the sanction of an past oregon aboriginal mediaeval colony successful the Delhi country whitethorn person been connected with a Yogini temple that was erstwhile located successful the country but nary remains of an past temple successful the country person survived.

A Jogmaya temple does beryllium successful Mehrauli today, but it was built successful the 19th century. Also Jogmaya is antithetic from the Yoginis. The 64 Yoginis are considered the attendants oregon manifestations of Goddess Durga. Yogini temples usually person distinctive architectural features: they are circular and don’t person roofs. Sculptures of Yoginis are recovered astir the interior circle.

Unlike Delhi, determination are past Yogini temples crossed the country: the Chausath Yogini temples successful Odisha’s Ranipur Jharial and Hirapur, and a fewer others successful Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur and Khajuraho. These temples broadly beryllium to the aboriginal mediaeval period, erstwhile tantra was gaining ground.

One of the astir important links to ‘Yoginipura’ comes from Jain texts, but adjacent these references are sparse. For example, Jain writer Raïdhu, penning successful the aboriginal 15th century, mentioned ‘Yoginipura’ successful eulogies of patron merchants from Delhi who had migrated to Gwalior aft Timur’s sack of the metropolis successful 1398.

However, arsenic Eva De Clercq, Associate Professor, Ghent University, Belgium, points retired successful her paper, ‘Memories of Yoginipura’, the metropolis itself is ne'er described successful Raïdhu’s writings, apt to debar recalling the devastation caused by Timur’s invasion.