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On the geometry of the sriyantra

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2016

Dick Tahta
Dick Tahta*
Affiliation:
St John's Cottage, Alton Barnes, Wiltshire SN8 4LB
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Extract

Practitioners of Tantric yoga are said to use certain diagrams, called yantras, as aids to meditation [1]. The most interesting of these, from a geometrical point of view, is the sriyantra (the great yantra). A version of diis, shown below, has been reproduced in various recent books and articles as an example of the mathematical achievements of early non-European cultures. In this article I want to make some observations about the geometric structure of the sriyantra, and to comment on some of the claims being made about it. I also hope, in passing, to be offering an example of the sort of geometric situation that can be explored with the powerful Cabri geometry program [2].

Type
Research Article
Information
The Mathematical Gazette , Volume 76 , Issue 475 , March 1992 , pp. 49 - 60
Copyright
Copyright © The Mathematical Association 1992

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References

1. Khanna, M. Yantra: the Tantric symbol of cosmic unity. Thames and Hudson (1979). Rawson, P. Tantra, the Indian cult of ecstasy. Thames and Hudson (1973).Google Scholar
2. Cabri-géomètre, geometry construction program for Mackintosh or IBM compatibles, from Cedic-Vifi, CNRS, University of Grenoble.Google Scholar
3. Bolton, N.J. and Macleod, D.N.G. “The geometry of the sriyantra.” Religion, 5.7 (1977) pp 66–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4. Kulaichev, A.P. “Sriyantra and its mathematical properties.” Indian Jour. Hist. Science, 19.3 (1984) 279–292.Google Scholar
5. Joseph, G. The crest of the peacock. Tauris (1991).Google Scholar