The Antiquities of Orissa v2.c17.83

v2.c17.83

**Bhagavatī's Temple:—**On the western side close by the corner there is a magnificent temple dedicated to Bhagavatī It was erected during the reign of Vijaya Keśarī, i e., about two centuries after the erection of the Great Tower. It marks the first step towards the spread of the sexual doctrine of the Tāntric Vāmācārīs which originally did not form a part of the Śivite system at Bhuvaneśvara. All the old temples were dedicated to Śiva in the form of a plain *liṅgam*, a more or less cylindrical mass of stone, without any carving or ornamentation, or mystic symbol. But in the later forms, the cylinder was fixed on a loop-shaped horizontal stone, rounded at one end and more or less pointed at the other, and having two or three encircling lines on the top. This was called the Yoni. This, however, did not satisfy the followers of the Vāmācāra system, and a distinct female figure, to serve as the consort of the *liṅgam*, was held essential, and the temple under notice was erected to supply a local habitation for the wife of the presiding divinity of the Great Tower.