Yogmaya, or Jogmaya, is Maya, the illusionary power of the Goddess. When Krishna was born in Mathura he was carried to Gokul, and the baby girl born to Nanda was brought back in his place. When Kansa tried to kill her, she vanished, foretelling that Krishna would kill him. Tradition holds that Krishna wished for a temple in memory of this sister, and that the Pandavas built it at the end of the Mahabharata war. It was here that Krishna left for Dwarka and the Pandavas for Indraprastha.
12th-century Jain texts call the Mehrauli area Yoginipura after this temple. It has been destroyed and rebuilt many times. The present temple was built in 1827 by Lala Sethmal, a rich merchant. The main idol is a black stone pindi in a small marble enclosure about 2 ft wide and 1 ft deep.
