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A yogini (Sanskrit: योगिनी, IAST: ) 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 Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Greater Tibet. The term is the feminine Sanskrit word of the masculine yogi, while the term "yogin" ˈjoːɡɪn is used in neutral, masculine or feminine sense. A yogini, in some contexts, is the sacred feminine force made incarnate, as an aspect of Parvati, and revered in the yogini temples of India as the Sixty-four Yoginis. The worship of yoginis began outside Vedic Religion, starting according to Vidya Dehejia with the cults of local village goddesses, the grama devatas. Each one protects her village, sometimes giving specific benefits such as safety from the stings of scorpions. Gradually, through Tantra, these goddesses were grouped together into a number believed powerful, most often 64, and they became accepted as a valid part of Hinduism. Historical evidence on Yogini Kaulas suggests that the practice was well established by the 10th century in both Hindu and Buddhist tantra traditions. The nature of the yoginis differs between the traditions; in Tantra they are fierce and scary, while in India, celibate female sanyassins may describe themselves as yoginis. In ancient and medieval texts in Hinduism, a yogini is associated with or directly an aspect of Devi, the goddess. In the 11th century collection of myths, the Kathāsaritsāgara, a yogini is one of a class of females with magical powers, sorceresses sometimes enumerated as 8, 60, 64 or 65. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika mentions yoginis. Devi is sometimes portrayed with a superimposed Yogini Chakra, wheel of the 64 Yoginis, placing them as aspects of Devi. File:Nairatmya150.jpg|Devi Yogini,[[Tibet]]9th century File:Devi with Yogini Chakra Rajasthan C19th.jpg|Cloth painting of [[Devi]] with a superimposed Yogini Chakra, wheel of the 64 Yoginis. Rajasthan, 19th century. The term yogini has been in use in medieval times for a woman who belongs to the Nath Yoga tradition founded around the 11th century.

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Related concepts (19)

Matrikas

Matrikas (Sanskrit: मातृका (singular), IAST: mātṝkās, lit. "divine mothers") also called Matar or Matri, are a group of mother goddesses who are always depicted together in Hinduism. The Matrikas are often depicted in a group of seven, the Saptamatrika(s) (Seven Mothers). However, they are also depicted as a group of eight, the Ashtamatrika(s). In the Brihat Samhita, Varahamihira says that "Mothers are to be made with cognizance of (different major Hindu) gods corresponding to their names.

Siddhi

In Indian religions, (Sanskrit: सिद्धि ; fulfillment, accomplishment) are material, paranormal, supernatural, or otherwise magical powers, abilities, and attainments that are the products of yogic advancement through sādhanās such as meditation and yoga. The term ṛddhi (Pali: iddhi, "psychic powers") is often used interchangeably in Buddhism. Siddhi is a Sanskrit noun which can be translated as "knowledge", "accomplishment", "attainment", or "success".

Hatha Yoga Pradipika

The Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā (, हठयोगप्रदीपिका or Light on Hatha Yoga) is a classic fifteenth-century Sanskrit manual on haṭha yoga, written by Svātmārāma, who connects the teaching's lineage to Matsyendranath of the Nathas. It is among the most influential surviving texts on haṭha yoga, being one of the three classic texts alongside the Gheranda Samhita and the Shiva Samhita. More recently, eight works of early hatha yoga that may have contributed to the Hatha Yoga Pradipika have been identified.