Śaiva Yoginīs and Their Animal Faces: Remarks on Origins and Meanings

Yoginīs are frequently represented in therianthropic form - with animal faces or, more rarely, with a wholly animal appearance - in Śaiva Tantric texts and in sculptures enshrined in the circular mediaeval temples dedicated to them. This representation raises several questions. Why are these sacred female fi gures often conceived and represented with animal traits? What is the origin of this mode of representation? What meanings and implications lie behind these portrayals? Chiara Policardi approaches these questions with competence and insight, considering the origins of the animal-faced mode of representation and discussing the possible meanings of this form.