Yogmaya temple

December 20, 2023

The Yogmaya Temple in Mehrauli is a historically important monument believed to be standing at the site of an ancient temple that is said to have come up during the period of the Mahabharata but of which no trace exists anymore.
Also called Jogmaya temple.
A noble in the court of Mughal Emperor Akbar II by the name of Lala Sidhu Mal built the temple between 1806 and 1837.
The area was known as Yoginipura in ancient Jain texts and Prithviraj Chauhan himself was said to have patronised a Yogini temple here shortly before his city’s destruction.
Lala Sidhu Mal, also known as Sed Mal, built his temple on the site where an ancient Yogini Temple is believed to have existed.
The Emperor ordered an offering to be given at Yogmaya temple on his son’s release from British prison in Allahabad.
- Placing flowers at both holy sites (other being Qutubuddin Dargah) became a yearly tradition known as Phool Walon ki Sair, and it continues to this day as the capital’s most prominent display of Hindu-Muslim unity.