Yantra
Yantra is a Sanskrit word that is derived from the root meaning "to restrain, curb, check".[1][2] Meanings for the noun derived from this root include "that which restrains or fastens, any prop or support", "a fetter", "any instrument or machine", "an amulet, a mystical or astronomical diagram used as an amulet."[3][4]
Some practitioners of Tantra employ yantra, mantra and other items in their sadhana, puja and yajna.[5]
Yantra, or other permutations and cognate phenomena such as mandala, rangoli, kolam, rangavalli and other sacred geometrical traditions, are endemic throughout Indian religions.[citation needed]
There are numerous yantra. Shri Yantra is often furnished as an example. Yantra contain geometric items and archetypal shapes and patterns namely squares, triangles, circles and floral patterns; but may also include bija mantra and more complex and detailed symbols. Bindu is the central core. Though often rendered in two dimensions through art, yantra are conceived and conceptualised by practitioners as multi-dimensional sacred architecture and in this quality are identical with their correlate the mandala.
Khanna (2003: p.21) in linking mantra, yantra, ishta-devata, and thoughtforms states:
Mantras, the Sanskrit syllables inscribed on yantras, are essentially 'thought forms' representing divinities or cosmic powers, which exert their influence by means of sound-vibrations.[6]
See also
Notes
- ^ For root यन्त्र् (yantr) meaning "to restrain, curb, check" see: Apte 1965, p. 781.
- ^ For definition: "A yantra (from the root yam) is that which controls or subdues." see: White 1996, p. 481, note 159.
- ^ For definitions for noun यन्त्रं (yantraṃ) including 1) "that which restrains or fastens, any prop or support"; 2) "a fetter", 4) "any instrument or machine", and 7) "an amulet, a mystical or astronomical diagram used as an amulet"; see: Apte 1965, p. 781.
- ^ For definitions for यन्त्रं (yantra) including "any instrument for holding, restraining, or fastening, a prop, support, barrier"; "any instrument or apparatus, mechanical contrivance, engine, machine, implement, appliance"; "restraint, force"; "an amulet, mystical diagram supposed to possess occult powers", see: Monier-Williams 1899, p. 845.
- ^ Bucknell, et al.; 1986: p. ix.
- ^ Khanna, Madhu (2003). Yantra: The Tantric Symbol of Cosmic Unity. Inner Traditions. ISBN-10: 0892811323 & ISBN-13: 978-0892811328
References
- Apte, Vaman Shivram (1965), The Practical Sanskrit Dictionary (Fourth revised and enlarged ed.), Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, ISBN 81-208-0567-4
- Bucknell, Roderick; Stuart-Fox, Martin (1986), The Twilight Language: Explorations in Buddhist Meditation and Symbolism, London: Curzon press, ISBN 0-312-82540-4
- Khanna, Madhu (2003). Yantra: The Tantric Symbol of Cosmic Unity. Inner Traditions. ISBN-10: 0892811323 & ISBN-13: 978-0892811328
- Monier-Williams, Monier (1899), A Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass
- White, David Gordon (1996), The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-89499-1
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