Images depicted on the 13th-14th century Someśvara temple show an association with the Nātha Sampradāya. While some images are of the great yogīs of the Nātha Sampradāya, such as Ādinātha, Matsyendranātha, and Gorakṣanātha, other images belong to the other unknown Siddhas of the Nātha Sampradāya. The images are documented and described clockwise as the circumambulatory path proceeds, beginning from the left-hand side of the doorway as one faces the sanctum. There are around 90 images of deities and siddhas on the jaṅghā portion. Identification of some of the Nātha yogis is as follows:

A view of the Someśvara Temple

A ground plan of the Someśvara temple.

Ādinātha The twenty-fifth image is of Ādinātha. Though he is considered Śiva, the depiction is of a meditating yogi instead of his common divine form. He is seated on a pedestal in padmāsana with open hair and elaborate earrings. The yajñopavīta is depicted from the left shoulder, trailing towards the right side of the waist. The right hand is in sucī/tarjanī mudrā. One of the peculiar features of this image is that he is shown with a half-bloomed lotus on his head. In Hindu tantric text, the human body was conceived as a microcosm, in which everything found in the macrocosm has a parallel. "Śiva and Śakti reside in the body; in the lowest of the nerve centres lies Śakti in its dormant state; the yogi rouses it and makes it follow the middle nerve (the Suṣumṇā) and unite with Śiva in the highest centre (the Sahasrāra), the thousand-petalled lotus in the head" (Mallik 1957: 21). The sculptor has probably tried to manifest this aspect in this image.

Ādinātha (?)

Matsyendranātha: Matsyendranātha appears in the twenty-second position. He is seated on a pedestal in padmāsana and dressed in a loin cloth with the yajñopavīta across his left shoulder. A fish is shown on the upper part of the pedestal, which enables the identification of this image as that of Matsyendranātha. His right hand is in Jñāna-mudrā, and the left hand supports the right hand. His hair is shown falling loosely on his shoulders. His large ear-lobes pierced with elaborate earrings have almost reached up to his shoulder.

Matsyendranātha

Gorakṣanātha: The twentieth image in the sequence is of Gorakṣanātha. He is shown standing on the pedestal in a frontal position. Two cows are shown proceeding towards the right side and standing behind him. In the left hand, he holds a bījapūraka, and in the right hand, which is mutilated from the below to the wrist, he appears to be having a club with jholī (the bag belt is observed on his right shoulder). His hair is falling on either side, and his large pierced ear-lobes with earrings have almost reached his shoulder. He is shown wearing a yajñopavīta and a loin cloth tied by waistbands.

Gorakṣanātha

Revanānātha (?): This image, placed in the twenty-first position, is identified as Revanānātha. He is shown seated in ardha-padmāsana. His hands are in dhyāna mudrā, and he holds a votive śhiv liṅga in his right hand. He is adorned with a necklace and huge earrings. He is shown without the sacred thread/yajñopavīta. The right portion of the pedestal is completely mutilated. An unidentified figure of an animal can be seen on the pedestal. Owing to the absence of the sacred thread in the image and the association of the image with the Śhiva liṅga, one can identify this image as that of Revanānātha. It may be noted here that he was a famous personality amongst the Liṅgayata sect. Liṅga worship is an important part of rituals in the Liṅgayata sect, and they do not wear the sacred thread either.

Revanānātha (?)

Vajraghaṇṭāpā: The fifty-ninth image is of Vajraghaṇṭāpā. He is adorned with headgear, huge earrings, lower garments, and anklets. He is shown with a beard and moustache. He carries a huge bell in his right hand and a bījapūraka in his left hand. Because of the huge bell, he is identified as Vajraghaṇṭāpā.

Vajraghaṇṭāpā

Makaradhvaja (?): Yogi Makaradhvaja is seated in the seventy-eighth position in padmāsana. He is adorned with yajñopavīta, loincloth, and heavy earrings. He is shown in an unidentified mudrā with the rosary. A crocodile (possibly) is carved on the pedestal of the image. Hence, he is identified as Makaradhvaja.

Yogi Makaradhvaja (?)

Kaniphanatha (?): This image faces south and appears in the nineteenth position. The Yogi is seated in ardha padmāsana in dhyāna mudrā. The iconography of this image is similar to other images of the yogis. He has a necklace, earrings, sacred thread/yajñopavīta, and a waistband. He is wearing a ribbon tied to his forehead. This image could be identified as that of Kaniphanatha.

Yogi with Lotus: The image appears in the thirty-fourth position. He holds a lotus in his right hand, and the left hand is placed on the left thigh. He is adorned with earrings, sacred thread/yajñopavīta, lower garments, wristlets, and anklets. He has a moustache, beard, and locked hair. We can see the names Paṅkajapā’ and ‘Kamal kaṅgārī’, respectively, in the collected list of Vajrayāna siddha by Rahul Sankratyayana and the ‘Varṇa ratnākara’ text of the 14th century C.E. (Dvivedi 1950:27-31). Considering these facts, this image could be of Paṅkajapā’ and ‘Kamal kaṅgārī’.

Yogi with Staff and Animal: The position of this image is the fifty-fourth. He is adorned with earrings, yajñopavīta, loincloth, wristlets, and anklets. He holds a rosary in the right hand and a staff in the left. An animal, probably a dog/jackal, is shown near the right leg. If this is the case, the image could be that of Kukuripā or Siyār/Syālipā (Dvivedi 1950: 29-30). On the other hand, because of the peculiar fashion in which the Yogi holds the staff, the image could be that of Daṇḍanātha (Dvivedi 1950: 34).

Yogi with Staff and Animal

Yogi with an Unidentified Animal: This standing image is in the samapāda pose and appears in the fifty-fifth position. The iconographic features of this yogi are identical to the previous yogi, except for the vāhana and staff. He holds a rosary in his right hand and perhaps an unknown mutilated object in his left hand. He has an almost straight śikhā. An animal is shown beside the right leg.

Yogi with an Unidentified Animal

Yogi in Prāṇa mudrā with Surya (Vīrupākṣanātha): The yogi is shown standing with Surya on the same pedestal. This sculpture appears in the seventeenth position. He has raised his left hand in prāṇa mudrā, and his right hand is in varada mudrā. He is adorned with earrings, wristlets, and loin cloth. An anklet is shown on the right leg only. The Yogi has a moustache. A kamaṇḍalu is shown near his right leg. He is standing in Tribhaṅga posture.

Yogi in Prāṇa mudrā with Surya (Vīrupākṣanātha ?)

Yogi with Gaṇeśa: The position of this image is sixth in the sequence. The Yogi is seated in Gomukhāsana. He is shown as worshipping Gaṇeśa. He fashions a moustache and is bearded. He is adorned with huge earrings, wristlets, and anklets. He is shown in añjalī mudrā with a bījapūraka or fruit. He is slightly turned to his left. This yogi is a devotee of Gaṇeśa. Gaṇeśa is the founder of the Kānhad sub-branch of the Nātha Sampradāya (Dvivedi 1950: 11). The image can be associated with the Kānhad sub-branch.

Yogi with Gaṇeśa

Two Yogis in Padmāsana: The third and fourth images on the jaṅghā are of two yogis seated in padmāsana facing east. Their large pierced ear-lobes almost have reached their shoulders and are shown with yajñopavīta. The first yogi is smaller than the next one and holds some unidentified object in his right hand, whereas the other yogi has a flower. They could be the Guru-Śiṣya , as the difference in their sizes suggests. Their pedestals are devoid of any symbol, making precise identification difficult.

Two Yogis in Padmāsana

Yogī in Aañjalī mudrā: The yogi appears in the eighteenth position. He is seated in Ardha padmāsana with añjalī mudrā and is shown holding a bījapūraka. He has a hair lock, moustache, and beard. He is shown with rounded earrings, wristlets, and anklets.

Unknown Yogi: The twenty-fourth image is of a Nātha-yogī. He has long hair ornamented with earrings, necklaces, wristlets, anklets, and lower garments. His left hand is mutilated. He is not shown wearing yajñopavīta. The placement of this image is exciting. It is placed between the images of Ādinātha and Matsyendranātha. One would take this sequence as a depiction of the teacher-disciple tradition. Śiva or Ādinātha is supposed to have founded the sect, and Matsyendranātha was his disciple. The presence of an ‘extra’ yogī between Ādinātha and Matsyendranātha is thus baffling. His mutilated appendage further compounds the problem of his identification.

Unknown Yogi

Yogī in the Antarāla (Exterior): A yogī is placed in the twenty-seventh position in the inner niche of the jaṅghā. The niche is tiny and has pilasters on both sides. This yogī is an important figure because he has shown with a chatra and is also placed in a separate niche. He is adorned with a turban, circular earrings, and lower garments. His hands are in añjalī mudrā, holding a bījapūraka between two hands.

Dressed Yogi: This image appears in the thirty-second position. He holds an unknown object. He is adorned with a turban, circular earrings, wristlets, lower garments, and anklets. He has a mustache and beard.

Nude Yogi: The image of a yogi is placed in the thirty-first position. This standing image is naked and has long earlobes without earrings. His hands are reached up to the knees. We can see this type of image on several temples in Maharashtra. One is in the Mallikārjuna temple of Loni Bhapkar in the same district. This image is very similar to the Tīrthankara image of Jainism.

Nude Yogi

Yogī with beard and moustache: The position of this image is the fortieth. He is shown with headgear, wristlets, lower garments, a moustache, and a beard. His left hand is raised; maybe he is dancing.

Yogī with scarf and staff: This image is the forty-sixth in the sequence. He is adorned with a scarf, loincloth, wristlets, and anklets. He holds a staff in his right hand while his left hand is placed on the left thigh.

Yogī with scarf and staff

Yogi in penance: This yogi is shown standing in the samapāda sthānaka and has raised both elongated hands in a cross position above the head. He appears in the seventieth position. He has a śikhā adorned with earrings, wristlets, and loin cloth. He is standing on a raised platform.

Yogi in penance

A yogi holding an unknown object. The position of this image is the seventy-second. This yogi also has the same iconographic features as other yogis. He holds an unknown object in his right fist (muṣṭi mudrā) and has kept his left hand below it as support.

Standing yogi with pot:  An image of a yogi is placed on the inner niche of the jaṅghā, and his position is the seventy-third. He has the same iconographic features as other yogis, except for the staff in his right hand and a pot in the left.

A yogi holding a flower: The position of this image is the seventy-fourth. He is shown sitting in padmāsana and probably holds a flower in his right hand. He is adorned with huge earrings and yajñopavīta. A ribbon is likely tied on the forehead of the yogi.

Standing yogi with staff: The position of this image is the eighty-eighth. The yogi is standing, holding a staff in the right hand and an unidentified object in the left. He is adorned with yajñopavīta and loin cloth. His hair reaches up to his shoulders. He is slightly bent at the waist.

Yogī on pillar: There is a yogi or devotee on the eastern side of the right pillar of the antarāla. Two bells with chains are shown on both sides of the yogi. He is seated in ardhapadmāsana and añjalī mudrā with bījapūraka. He is adorned with circular earrings, wristlets, and anklets.

Yogīs and musicians.

Discussion

The Someśvara temple contains twenty-seven images of the Nātha Siddhas or Nātha yogis, suggesting their popularity and well-established tradition in the contemporary society of the 14th century CE. Located about 42 km from Pimpri-Dumala, Alandi is a pilgrimage center with a strong affiliation to the Nātha Sampradāya since medieval times. A manuscript found at the Nātha monastery of Śivadīnānatha Kesari in Paithan lists 84 Siddhas, beginning with Ādi, Umā, Mina, Chaurangi, Gorakhi, Śānti, and others. These doyens of the sect and some lesser-known yogis, such as Ghaṇṭā, are depicted in the iconography at Pimpri-Dumala. However, due to a lack of identifying marks or mounts, it is difficult to distinguish the unidentified images of Nātha-Siddhas from the famous ones of the 11th-13th centuries, such as Gahininātha, Kāniphanātha, Nivṛittinātha, and Jñānadeva. 

The location of the Pimpri-Dumala.

Additionally, the Someśvara temple portrays a possible sequential representation of the Nātha-Siddha tradition, depicting images of Ādināthā, Matsyendranātha, Revaṇanātha, and Gorakṣhanātha in a hierarchical order. Interestingly, the presence of an 'unknown yogi' between Ādinātha and Matsyendranātha raises intrigue, as a similar phenomenon is observed on a 13th-century gateway at Dabhoi, Gujarat, where the sequence begins with Ādinātha, followed by Matsyendranātha, Cauraṅgīnātha, and Gorakṣhanātha. In contrast, the 16th-17th century Someśvara temple at Ulsoor near Bengaluru in Karnataka does not depict Ādinātha or Gorakṣhanātha. These variations in depiction could be due to regional diversity. Overall, while only a few images have identifying marks or mounts, the iconographical similarities among the identifiable and unidentified images indicate that the anonymous images are likely of the yogis or Nātha-Siddhas.