Who are Yoginis?

JyothiViswanadham

Who are yoginis? Is there any knowledge materials on them?

Are these yoginis the superset of the yoginis that we worship in bala tarpanam?

admin

Your question is quite broad. If you want to take a deep dive, I would recommend this book which contains a lot of information on the Yoginis:

Yogini Cult and Temples - A Tantric Tradition by Vidya Dehejia

An excerpt:

The word yogini allows for a number of different interpretations, each being entirely at variance with the next and yet quite correct in its own context. Sanskrit dictionaries give the following meanings: female devote; sorceress or witch; fairy; attendants of Durga; a name of Durga. The word Yogini is given yet another connotation by the Napali Buddhist who uses it to denote the consort of any god, specially in those words of art where god is copulation with the goddess. Each of these possible definitions is of varying significance and has totally different implications.

The following aspects are covered in the book:

Yogini as an adept of Yoga
Yogini as partner in Cakra Puja
Yogini as Sorceress
Yoginis in Astrology
Yoginis of the Internal Cakras
Yoginis of the Sri Cakra
Yogini as the Great Goddess
Yoginis as Aspects of Devi
Yoginis as Attendant Deities of the Great Goddess
Yoginis as acolytes of the Great Goddess: The Matrikas
Yoginis as Patron Goddess of the Kaulas
Yoginis and Yaksinis

deviupasaka

Śrī Matre Namaḥ,

There is another book Tantric Quest - An Encounter with Absolute Love by Daniel Odier which doesn't cover extensively about Yoginis but gives basic understanding about them from both the perspectives of Hinduism and Buddhism. I don't know if the author is a real guru or a fake one but I really enjoyed this book and his other book Desire - The Tantric Path to Awakening.

Śrī Gurubhyo Namaḥ

freyasky

deviupasaka

I was a disciple of Daniel Odier for 13 years. His books are good but he is not interested in liberating anyone, including himself. He gives half practices and his teachings are a dead end, not a genuine path. There is no lineage behind him, even if he met for real the yogini he claims is his teacher he is not transmitting anything different than most new tantric new age teachers. If you are a genuine practitioner at certain stage will become apparent the lack of spiritual energy in the teachings. The words and principles are correct but no darshan is possible with them.

JaniceDevi

The Nava Yogini's in the Bala Tarpanam are attendants to Tripura Sundari.
Each one is a controller of a circuit in the Sri Chakra which correlates to the 9 avaranas.
1. Prakatayogini
2. Guptayogini
3. Guptatarayogini
4. Sampradayayogini
5. Kulottirnayogini
6. Nrgarbhayogini
7. Rahsyayogini
8. Athirahasyayogini
9. Parpartirahsyayogini

I am also attaching a brief document that gives a full-spectrum overview of what is a Yogini. The "Yogini Cult and Temples" which is stated above is an excellent book to learn more about the Yoginis.

hatley-shaman-2019-yogini.pdf

deviupasaka

freyasky

Śrī Mātre Namaḥ, thanks for sharing your experience.