The Book, Highlights The Essential Import Of The Innocuous-Looking, Yet Enigmatic, Diagrams Called Yantras Surfacing From The Occult Practices Of The Tantrics. It Examines A Range Of Tantric Yantras, With Their Varieties, Applications, Modes Of Construction And Above All Their Iconographic Features.

Use of mystical designs and diagrams.

In recent years maṇḍalas have attracted much interest among a wider public. The main focus of such interest has been directed toward Tibetan maṇḍalas, specimens of which have been included in numerous publications. But maṇḍalas are found across a wide spectrum of South Asian religious traditions, including those of the Hindus and Jains. Hindu maṇḍalas and yantras have hardly been researched. This book attempts to fill this gap by clarifying important aspects of maṇḍalas and yantras in specific Hindu traditions through investigations by renowned specialists in the field. Its chapters explore maṇḍalas and yantras in the Smārta, Pāñcarātra, Śaiva and Śākta traditions. An essay on the vāstupuruṣamaṇḍala and its relationship to architecture is also included. With 13 colour plates.

The first comprehensive study of the Indian power symbol that allows the individual to take a journey to the primordial center of life • Highly illustrated exploration of every aspect of the yantra, including its related rituals, sounds, and meditation practices • Investigates the continued use of the yantra in modern India as a magic talisman The yantra is both a complex metaphysical symbol and a tool of ritual and meditation. In kundalini yoga, the patterns contained in this metaphysical and geometrical construct correspond to the psychic centers of the subtle body, therefore making the body itself a functioning yantra. In this book, which is the first comprehensive study of the subject, the author provides a step-by-step explanation of the dynamic process wherein the yantra aids the individual in the spiritual journey to return to original wholeness. Every aspect of this important Indian symbol is explored, from its related sounds, rituals, and use in meditation to its application in traditional temple architecture and sculpture. The author also looks at its continued use in both the “black” and “white” magic traditions of the subcontinent, as well as its power as a talisman.

What does it mean to be human? I, Yantra examines ancient Indian narratives about robots and mechanically constructed beings to explore how their Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist authors approached this question. Making translations of many of these texts available in English for the first time, author Signe Cohen argues that they shed considerable light on South Asian religious notions of humanity, self, and agency. She also documents connections between ancient and modern responses to the ethical problems of what precisely constitutes a sentient being and what rights such a being should have. Situated at the intersection of humanities and bioethics, this cross-disciplinary study will be of interest to scholars of South Asian languages and literature as well as specialists in religion and technology.

Objects of worship are an aspect of the material dimension of lived religion in South Asia. The omnipresence of these objects and their use is a theme which cuts across the religious traditions in the pluralistic religious culture of the region. Divine power becomes manifest in the objects and for the devotees they may represent power regardless of religious identity. This book looks at how objects of worship dominate the religious landscape of South Asia, and in what ways they are of significance not just from religious perspectives but also for the social life of the region. The contributions to the book show how these objects are shaped by traditions of religious aesthetics and have become conceptual devices woven into webs of religious and social meaning. They demonstrate how the objects have a social relationship with those who use them, sometimes even treated as being alive. The book discusses how devotees relate to such objects in a number of ways, and even if the objects belong to various traditions they may attract people from different communities and can also be contested in various ways. By analysing the specific qualities that make objects eligible for a status and identity as living objects of worship, the book contributes to an understanding of the central significance of these objects in the religious and social life of South Asia. It will be of interest to students and scholars of Religious Studies and South Asian Religion, Culture and Society.

Apart from ritual commodities, mantras and their chanting, yantras and mandalas play a special and important role in ritual ceremonies. It is considered that if mantras are devatas (deities), then yantras are their abode. Without yantras, the ritual of the deities remains incomplete. This books presents a wide range of yantras, including those of the major gods and goddesses, accompanied by the corresponding mantras. The yantras are meticulously drawn and printed in full colours on art paper. This is a useful book both for sadhakas and art lovers.