Chausath Yogini Temple, Morena – History

Chausath Yogini Temple, Morena – History

According to an inscription dated to 1323 CE (Vikram Samvat 1383), the temple was built by the Kachchhapaghata king Devapala (1055 – 1075 A.D). Archaeologists claim that the temple was the venue of providing education in astrology and mathematics based on the transit of the Sun. Surprisingly, this temple escaped the curious eyes of Sir Alexander Cunningham, who with his associates, carried out extensive surveys of northern and western Indian antiquities in the late nineteenth century CE. The place was also omitted in the Gwalior state gazetteer prepared by C E Luard in 1908.

M B Garde, who was the face of the Gwalior Archaeological Department during the second quarter of the twentieth century, carried out innumerous conservation activities and surveys. He is been credited with discoveries of various remote sites and monuments. In his book, Archaeology in Gwalior, second edition of which was published in 1934, there is no mention of Mitawali. Garde provided a detailed map of various sites and monuments within the then Gwalior state, in which he included Padhavali which is located very near to Mitawali however Mitawali temple was missing.

The first mention of this temple and village, appears in the annual report of the Gwalior Archaeological Department for the year 1942-46. In this report are mentioned various conservation activities carried out by the department in this temple. Also, were included various inscriptions found at the site. The report does not mention about the discovery of the temple; therefore, it may be assumed that the temple was known before that time. However, this temple is not mentioned in any annual report prior to the above one.

The Parliament of India was designed by the British architect Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker in 1912-1913 and development began in 1921. The Parliament building was constructed in 1927, 20 years before India’s independence in 1947. The building has been highly appreciated for its design across the world. The structures of Indian Parliament House, known as Sansad Bhavan, and Mitawali temple are strikingly similar. It seems that the architects drew inspiration from this temple in designing and building the Parliament House. The Archaeological Survey of India has declared the temple an ancient and historical monument under Act No. LXXI of 1951, dt.28/11/1951.