[INDOLOGY] Information sought regarding Telugu "Saccra" (cakra)

Wed Oct 12 04:40:14 UTC 2016

Dear Jacob,

I forgot to answer your Chakra vs Yantra question.

Sri Chakra is the same as Sri Yantra.

All such chakras are yantras. But not all yantras are chakras. Yantra is
the generic term and the most frequently used term. Yantra is part of the
three component system mantra-yantra-tantra.

Aagamas are the books that deal with the procedures of installations at
temples. There are quite a few western Indologists who studied these books.
I attended a paper presentation on the topic at SALC department, University
of Chicago.

By the way, the script used in the yantra under question has glyph features
of an older style of Telugu writing, not 100 years as assumed by the museum
people.

On Wed, Oct 12, 2016 at 5:52 AM, patrick mccartney <psdmccartney at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Speaking of chakras and letters, on pp 705-707 of Grierson's article on
> the Sharada script https://archive.org/details/244194891OnTheSharadaAlph
> abetJournalOfTheRoyalAsiaticSociety171916SirGeorgeGriersonKCIEMRAS
> is an explanation of the metaphysics of the alphabet. Unfortunately, there
> is only a discussion of the vowels and not the consonants, etc. It seems
> that the file on archive is not complete. Even though the title page says
> the last page is 708, it does seem to have an abrupt ending.
>
>
> But
>
> On p 705 the following book is mentioned http://www.worldcat.
> org/title/shiva-sutra-vimarsini-of-ksemaraja/oclc/21777974 - I'm guessing
> this is the possible source for Grierson's discussion on the alphabet.
> Unfortunately, the closest copy to me is about 5000 miles away. Archive.org
> has two other books by the author, Iyengar,  but not this one.
> https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Srini
> vasa+Iyengar%2C+P.+T.%2C+1863-1931%22
>
>  Might you have a .pdf copy of this book?
> The Shiva-sutra-vimarsinī of Ksemaraja (1912) by Iyengar
>
>
>  I'd appreciate it if anyone might be able to help me find similar
> discussions/information on the rest of the alphabet? If they are mentioned
> in Ksemaraja's work, does anyone know exactly where? I had a quick look in
> the śaktopāya section.
>
>
> All the best,
>
> Patrick McCartney, PhD
> Fellow
> School of Culture, History & Language
> College of the Asia-Pacific
> The Australian National University
> Canberra, Australia, 0200
>
>
> Skype - psdmccartney
> Phone + Whatsapp:  +61 414 954 748
> Twitter - @psdmccartney
>
>
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>
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>
> On Wed, Oct 12, 2016 at 7:26 AM, <jacob at fabularasa.dk> wrote:
>
>> Dear Nagaraj,
>>
>> Many thanks for your reading of the yantra, and for the confirmation that
>> it is indeed a yantra (though I would still be curious to know if cakra is
>> sometimes used with the same meaning). I am sure the museum will be most
>> appreciate of the information.
>>
>> Also thanks to Arlo Griffiths for the references. A. A. Ślączka's
>> original doctoral thesis can be downloaded from Leiden University here:
>>
>> https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/4581/
>> total%20document.pdf?sequence=17
>>
>> Best wishes,
>> Jacob
>>
>>
>> Nagaraj Paturi skrev den 2016-10-11 22:04:
>>
>>> Dear Jacob,
>>>
>>> It is a Yantra. It has the word yantra inscribed on it.
>>>
>>> It has :
>>>
>>> యంత్రరాజాయ విద్మహి(sic)
>>> మహాయంత్రాయ ధీమహి శం నో
>>> యంత్రః ప్రచోదయాత్
>>>
>>> (yaṁtrarājāya vidmahi mahāyaṁtrāya dhīmahi śaṁ nō
>>> yaṁtraḥ pracōdayāt )
>>>
>>> అస్మిన్  తాంబ్రయంత్రసుఖం
>>> చిరం కర్తుం .... స్వాహా
>>>
>>> (asmin  tāṁbrayaṁtrasukhaṁ ciraṁ kartuṁ .... svāhā )
>>>
>>> హీం జ్వలాయ విద్మహి (sic)  మహా
>>> శూలినే ధీమహి
>>>
>>> (hīṁ jvalāya vidmahi (sic)  mahā śūlinē dhīmahi )
>>>
>>> There is a mention of a deity called pratikriyāśūlin  in the
>>> yantra.
>>>
>>> This may indicate that the yantra is meant to counter the action of
>>> another supernatural power.
>>>
>>> If this guess is correct, it is usually not the kind used in the
>>> pratśṭhā in a temple.
>>>
>>> The interpretation  " it is a Telugu "Saccra" (cakra) used to ward off
>>> disease and spirits of possession" should be correct.
>>>
>>> Using yantras in the installation (pratśṭhā ) in a temple is a
>>> usual practice. But this one does not seem to be of that kind.
>>>
>>> On Tue, Oct 11, 2016 at 8:40 PM, <jacob at fabularasa.dk> wrote:
>>>
>>> Dear list,
>>>>
>>>> Bornholms Museum, located on the eponymous rock island in the Baltic
>>>> Sea, asked me for clarification about the attached object. According
>>>> to the registration notes, which probably date back about a hundred
>>>> years, it is a Telugu "Saccra" (cakra) used to ward off disease and
>>>> spirits of possession. It is also stated that cakras are generally
>>>> installed below temple deities to empower the deity and attract
>>>> people to the temple.
>>>>
>>>> If anybody knows the specific name of the cakra and any other
>>>> details of its application, I would be happy to convey the
>>>> information to the museum. I would also be interested to know what
>>>> the distinction between a cakra and a yantra is in this context, and
>>>> whether the installation of cakras/yantras to empower deities,
>>>> attract people, or otherwise is indeed a general practice in Indian
>>>> temples.
>>>>
>>>> Kind regards,
>>>> Jacob
>>>>
>>>> Jacob Schmidt-Madsen
>>>> PhD Fellow (Indology)
>>>> Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies
>>>> University of Copenhagen
>>>> Denmark
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> Nagaraj Paturi
>>>
>>> Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.
>>>
>>> Former Senior Professor of Cultural Studies
>>>
>>> FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of  Liberal Education,
>>>
>>> (Pune, Maharashtra, INDIA )
>>>
>>
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>
>
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-- 
Nagaraj Paturi

Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.

Former Senior Professor of Cultural Studies

FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of  Liberal Education,

(Pune, Maharashtra, INDIA )

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