Very cool. Originally posted by Manasataramgini, who had captioned the image:
“The shaiva shrine of kukaDeshvara showing the niches with the yoginI-s in rudra’s retinue”
Now, a brief word on the comparative Indo-European theology from me …
In broader IE terms a similar pattern of association is observed with Dionysus and His Maenads (inter alia – Meliae, Thyiades, etc.), Odin with His Valkyries, and may underpin the enigmatic ‘Apollo Amazonius’ [Pausanias III 25 3].
Now, the interesting thing is perhaps less that the cognate IE deific expressions have Female Retinues – but rather that in many of these cases the ‘mythic’ figures have sidereal expression amidst clades of human female Devotees.
Manasataramgini has, of course, mentioned the Yoginis (the ‘mesocosmic’ saliency for Whom is well-known) – and elsewhere, also, the Rudraganikas acting as just such a retinue especially during the MrgaYatra [‘Wild Hunt’ – to translate slightly figuratively] rite of the Agamic Mahotsava.
As applies Dionysus – we have fairly overt testimony (buttressed with linguistic and other evidence) which points toward the Maenadic clade being functionally similar … mortal women empowered as ’embodiments’ of the mythic figures of His Divine Retinue.
As applies the Valkyries of Odin – again, the typology appears to be in evidence. Insofar as we seem to find human women of identifiably human (if aristocratic) birth being ‘incarnated’ Valkyries – and acting in decidedly Yogini-like fashion …
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To return to Manasataramgini – he had earlier spoken of the place of worship itself (and They Who are depicted upon the exterior) as follows:
“When intact, & under saiddhAntika admin, the shrine known as kukaDeshvara in Mh state would have been a little gem when viewed from the massif facing it to the north. The retinue of rudra is comprised of the mAtR^ikA-s & the 64 yoginI-s as seen other seuna yAdava shaiva shrines”
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Also, in terms of some ‘Supporting Materials’ – the following are excerpts from an article I had written two years back, ‘The Rudragaṇikās – A Radical Revaluation’ :
Viz. Dionysus:
And viz. Odin:
arya-akasha 
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